It hasn't been easy finding Internet access here in Northern India. Internet cafes seem to be plentiful in the state of Kerala but not anywhere else. So to continue with my blog:
Over the hotel's adequate complimentary meal I met a well to do Indian businessman/farmer and and a retired British lady who's been vacationing in India once a year for the past 15 years. The Indian gentleman spoke perfect English. He's currently in Madurai on business purchasing farm equipment. The British lady was accompanying him to gain a better insight into the daily lives of Indian locals. Their fathers had been close friends in the past and both families remain so till this day. Emmanuel Johnson, the Indian businessman explains that he's currently wearing his Dhoti(white Longyi) instead of his usual dress shirt and slacks because he has to play his part not to look too Westernized, otherwise the farm equipment wholesalers will charge more money to those they identify as wealthy. I ask Emmanuel Johnson, the Indian businessman if he's had trouble finding laborers to work his fields. When traveling through the state of Kerala, I've been told on numerous occasions that its hard to find workers as everyone tends to move away for opportunities better suited to their high education level. Kerala boasts a 95% literacy rate. This was evident in the number of people who possessed excellent English speaking skills. Comparatively, in the state of Tamil Nadu where Madurai is located, I found it difficult to find anyone who spoke English much less with any amount of fluency. According to Emmanuel, this was in part due to the lack of education provided by the state. This lack of education was the reason why it was relatively easy to find laborers. They really didn't have any other opportunities afforded to their education level.
Taking my leave from an interesting insight into the educational differences between two states in India, I head out to do more sightseeing. I've reserved today to see the biggest attraction in Madurai, the Sri Meenakshi Temple. Constructed in the 1500-1600s, the temple is considered the heart and lifeline of this 2,500 year old city. The temple complex stretches around 45 acres and houses multicolored, multilayered, intricately carved idols on 12 Gopurams (towers). In the interior are halls which contain an immeasurable amount of shrines dedicated to a small proportion of the estimated 330 million Hindu gods. Just to be brief on this subject matter of Hindu gods, all these gods represents a different face of the one supreme god "Paramatman" or "Brahman".
I've never seen something so ancient and yet so finely preserved. The colors on the facade of the temples and towers were vivid and bold. There was a calming presence in the interior halls where hundreds of people of Hindu faith chanted and prayed. These same people used a a large amount of turmeric powder sprinkled on sacred images signifying fertility, prosperity, and good luck.
Walking back to the hotel, the sun was setting and it started to get dark. It was also starting to buzz with activity as most people were getting off work and began their shopping activities. Loudspeakers located every 50 ft or so were blasting what I gather were advertisements in the Tamil language. People upon people poured out onto the streets. Pedestrians, bike rickshaws, auto rickshaws, cow driven carts, people driven carts, motorbikes, cars, trucks, and cargo trucks dodged each other, each trying to get ahead in the rat race. Poking my head into a large gold/jewelry shop out of curiosity, I find outs its especially busy right now due to the coming Diwali festival. It's a Hindu festival and is India's biggest holiday of the year. Families save all year to engage in the ritual of buying brand new clothes and gold to sport around. This 5 day festival signifies the triumph of good over evil. To illustrate this, Hindus use lights to illuminate every corner of their house, incense sticks and firecrackers are lit all night long to demonstrate their joyfulness and gaiety.
Feeling the need to take this all in, I wander the overcrowded streets for the next 2 hours. While myself dodging traffic, I chance upon a street food vendor I spotted a night ago. With every thought in my head telling me not to, I risk it and order up two unfamiliar Indian dishes. One was an empty samosa crushed, sprinkled with raw carrots and onions, and topped with a liberal amount of a very spicy gravy. Yum! The other was an indescribably spicy mix of unknown ingredients that looked like bean chili that was equally delicious. Guess how much!? 20 Rupees or $0.45! What a way to end the night!
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