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| Vandiyoor Theppakulam at Twilight |
Hi People, Hope All of you
are doing well. Chop-Chop and now it has almost been 6 years for me in Madurai.
Started my graduation in 2007 and now I am about to complete a successful stint
of almost 2 years in a reputed corporate firm, designated as the so called
“Software Engineer”. What was supposed to be a sojourn for me and my family in
Madurai, till I complete my graduation has indeed become an odyssey to be frank.
Like Duncan Fletcher’s extended contract for team India, we keep extending our stopover
in Madurai and procrastinate the relocation to Chennai each and every year.
A thought sprouted
why not to write a post? after witnessing a series of events that moved and
made me love the people of Madurai more. There are a couple of times where I
have lost more than 400 rupees in BMTC Volvo buses. The BMTC (Bangalore) bus
conductors have the habit of not giving you the change although they have it
with them, unless you keep pestering them for it. There was a day when I gave
the conductor a 500 rupees note for a 100 rupees ticket as I didn’t have enough
change and he told he doesn’t have the change either and will give me later.
The bus was crammed and meanwhile my destination came when I realized that I
forgot to ask for the change and got down as such. The conductor had looted my
400 bucks with such an ease and strategy. Not to forget that many conductors
here in Bangalore don’t even provide the tickets properly, but they will get
the ticket money for a sum lower than the actual ticket cost and will keep the
money in some pocket which duly is meant for that illegal money.
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| People of the City that Never Sleeps |
This particular
god-awful event might have in fact happened to many a people in Bangalore if I
am not wrong. I don’t blame those bus conductors alone here; my carelessness
has also played a decisive role in losing my money. I wonder how a passenger
will travel peacefully despite travelling in an air conditioned bus, without
having got his change back. Most of the passengers will definitely be obsessed
about his balance money for the entirety of the travel and will obviously be
prone to lose the happiness despite the luxury travel. A similar kind of event
happened in Madurai as well, where in I gave the conductor 100 rupees for a
single ticket of 11 rupees (when you give 500 rupees for a single 11 rupees ticket
in Madurai you will be abused and kicked out of the bus eventually, however
polite and soft the conductor is :P) he told he will give the change
afterwards, I forgot to get the change back as I always do, but this time when
I got down and after the bus went few yards further, the bus stopped and the
conductor got down shouting “Thambi………. Thambi……”, I turned back and went
towards him without even remembering that my change was with him… and he
said "Micham vangiko pa sorry
marandhutaen" (Get the change back, sorry that I forgot to give you back).
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| The Cultural Icon of Madurai |
The Majority of the Auto drivers in Bangalore and Chennai are
intractable and are tough nuts to crack. They don’t mend to you easily, though
you call them bhaiyya or Anna or whatever! One such instance in Chennai, when
we asked an auto driver for a route near ECR he chided with rudeness and clamor
for no reason and another guy deceived us by deliberately rerouting us to a
wrong route. Whereas in Madurai when you just spell out the word brother in the
local dialect “Annae” rather than Anna, the Drivers would be moved and I bet
they would guarantee you a reasonable cost for the travel and would respond you
with all smiles for all the questions you put forth. A profound influence of the cultural heritage of Madurai is seen
over among its people too.
As a student waiting for my college bus at
Thamukkam Grounds for more than a year, I would be witnessing the Akshaya trust
van, halt near us for a minute to feed an old man who was residing at the
platform! Whenever Akshaya trust van comes, you can blindly tell that the time
is 8.05am, such is their punctuality in feeding the needy and the roadside
dwellers 365 days a year! Take a bow and a special salute to Mr.Narayanan
Krishnan, the Madurai born philanthropist and the owner of Akshaya Trust. His godly,
virtuous and daily deed of providing food thrice a day to all the needy people
around his vicinity via his Akshaya Trust, preach us the Virtue “Helping hands
are better than praying lips”.
Click on the below Video, to know who this Godly Human, Narayanan Krishnan is
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The value system remains intact. The beautiful people of this
beautiful city that never sleeps (Madurai) follow a very simple lifestyle and
they are all polite to the core, well-behaved, good-natured, respectful and
friendly. In addition to above all traits they do live in Rap-port with each
other.
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| An old lady - all smiles with the Madurai Idly |
Recently when I reached Madurai on an early morning and when I got
into a local bus I witnessed something wholly engrossing and fascinating. It
was around 5.30 in the morning and it was breezy cold that particular day.
Hardly 6 to 10 were only seen in the local bus. An old lady fumbled and got
into the bus from the railway station. The conductor, who was quite young, gave
his hand to that old lady to lift her up as she was fumbling and shivering out
of the cool breeze. He then said “Paati kooda yaarayavadhu kootitu vara
koodadha? En thaniya vandha? Sweater, shawla keala vachurukiya romba kulurudhu
inniku! (Why did you come all alone? Why don’t you bring someone with you? Do
you have a muffler or sweater with you? It’s quite cold today).
You may wonder any good human being who knows what humanity is? Would
do all those above mentioned things, but what’s so special about these people
particularly in Madurai! I should definitely confess that having been to many
other places in Tamil Nadu, having stayed in Chennai for more than a decade and
a half and now after completing nearly 2 years in Bangalore I would say the
people of Madurai are the best when it comes to hospitality. People of Madurai
are warm and they even treat a stranger with utmost concern and humbleness. The
dialect of Madurai may be difficult to interpret or quite odd to understand but
it definitely is music when you suddenly encounter to hear it from people far
away from the “Athens of the East”. The innate helping attitude in the people
of Madurai, and the way they make their guests feel comfortable with their arms
wide open is what their individuality is all about. The ever cheerful people of
Madurai have indeed preserved the essence of their ancient culture and have
made their heritage very proud.
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| Madurai Unleashed |
Nationality isn't all about blood. It is what is in the people’s heart. The love for your Nation, the respect for your Mother land, those who inhabit it, and the respect and acknowledgment of the spirits and elders. That is what it is to be an Indian on the whole. Proud to be an Indian and Tamizhan!
PS: Naanum ippo Madurai Kaaran da !
