TNB - Madurai's Meenakshi City

We headed down from Tanjore to Madurai to set up camp for the next few days. I will let Madurai's pictures do the talking. The entry ways are extraordinary - in the four cardinal directions are ornately carved and painted gopurams - each one massive and incredibly beautiful. The complex itself was quite big and it was really easy to get lost, but that's a good thing. There was so much to see - Meenakshi, or "the fish-eyed-one" (supposed to mean gorgeous but She was a bit far away to really tell...), and the elaborate wall and ceiling friezes, but describing them all would be difficult - that's where a trusty camera comes into play, I guess.

Even still, walking around and hearing the chants, the rustle of raffia from the flower vendors furiously making garlands for Meenakshi, and the excited conversation as people who had pilgrimaged from far away approached the inner sanctum for darshan was really an incredible experience. From a spiritual standpoint, you realize that people are here as more of a fulfillment of spiritual duty and not because it's something they do regularly like we go for darshan in the USA. From an economic standpoint, I'm simply floored by the number of people that make their livelihood from the goings on of the temple. From security to prasad-vendors to pujaris to peddlers, Meenakshi is like a small city in and of itself. It's alive constantly with the hustle and bustle of all types of life.

What got me though is all the pushing and shoving that goes on in the lines for darshan. I find it very odd that people who should be very excited and happy to be at Madurai for Meenakshi's darshan can be so angry and abusive to each other. Seriously, in line a good 20m from the murti darshan, a guy is literally shoving people in front of him telling them to hurry up. And when he gets in front of Meenakshi's murti, he stands there for 30 seconds having his darshan and when people tell him to move along he gets mad and starts yelling at the people around him in Tamil - right in front of Meenakshi herself! Now, clearly this is the exception, and not the rule, but I'm bothered that it happens at all. I understand that the concept of a "queue" in India is not understood so people just mosh together, but there really isn't any need for pushing and shoving. If you can't let someone have darshan for a peaceful 20 seconds, then don't expect to let other people let you do the same.

Sigh. Anyway.