THE BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE OF "ATHENS OF THE EAST" (MADURAI)

                                                        

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.

                          

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).

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

                 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.

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.

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 !