We woke up early this morning, packed our things for the weekend and drove an hour and a half to Madurai. It was us, Chandra, Vijayasarathy, his mom, and their daughter Divya in the car. The drive was beautiful, passing the mountains, rice paddies, small villages along the highway... We stopped at one small temple while we waited for a train to pass. They burnt some incense which we catch in our hands and breathe in, and then take the white powder to mark a dot on our foreheads.
When we got to Madurai we first stopped at Vijayasarathy's sister's house on the outskirts of the city. We have been meeting so much family, it's getting really hard keep track of how everyone is related in these big families! Afterwards, we went to leave our things at the hotel we are staying at for the night. We then went out with Chandra and Divya to do some jewelry shopping. We went to a famous three story jewelry store, full of nice gold and silver items. Chandra bought us beautiful anklets that we wore to the wedding tonight. It was fun to walk around a big, bustling city again after the quiet of Kanivadi and Pattiveeranpatti. People are selling food and goods on every corner, the streets are overflowing with auto rickshaws, buses, motorcycles with 4 people on them, and cars. Cows lazily graze through the garbage on the streets and block traffic without a worry. Madurai is the second biggest city in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, and very busy. It was funny to see a father riding his bike pulling a wagon full of children behind him.
We had a nice late lunch at the veg restaurant at the hotel. We had the standard lunch meal- a plate with 11 small bowls with different curries, sambals, cauliflower, curd, and vegetables, along with mountains of rice and popadom. It ended off with sweet cardamom biason, very delicious.
At 3 we left to go sightseeing. We drove over to Madurai's famous temple, the Meenakshi temple. We first walked through a small bazaar in front of it, with hundreds of little stands selling all sorts of things- bangles, pots, statues, clothing, bags, food... We bought many souvenirs, presents for the girls at Bethania (earrings, bangles), and had some custom sewn shirts made (about $4 each). We then crossed the street, where a huge line was already forming to get into the temple that opened at 4. The Madurai temple was beautiful. It's over 3600 years old and made out of all stone. The incredible colors of the painted statues and ceilings were mind blowing. It was huge. The statues of different gods were so intricate and impressive, we were in awe. There are four main towers, facing North, East, South and West, all displaying an overwhelming assortment of various bright colored carvings of gods. There are also special gold peaked towers as well. We walked around the Golden Lotus Tank of water in the center, with steps leading down to it. Only Hindus are allowed in the main, religious center of the temple, so we waited in the outer areas with a beautiful view of the colorful skyline. The most exciting thing was finally seeing an elephant! As we walked through the huge temple area, different statues of gods were on display, as well as live representations of them. There was a huge elephant with bright paint covering its grey, wrinkly skin. It blessed people's foreheads with its trunk and knew how to collect donations by grasping notes in its nose and giving it to its handler. We got to touch and take a picture with the huge animal, the temple's version of the elephant God Genesha. Next to it there was also a big bull inside, also painted bright colors. We got to touch and take a picture with it too. It was crazy to see live animals inside of a temple! We walked around the various rooms, seeing the very famous intricate carving of Meenakshi being married. We saw monks giving offerings to the gods, people burning incense, hundreds of people praying to the various statues and countless gods. We walked through the room of One Thousand Pillars- each pillar made of huge stone blocks, with detailed carvings and designs. It was all so beautiful and grand, it's hard to imagine this could have all been built in 1600 BC. The time and manpower that must have gone into its construction is unbelievable.
After the temple we came back to the hotel for a quick coffee and to change for the evening "engagement" reception. We got dressed up in our nice shuridas, anklets, colorful bhindis, chains, bangles, toe rings and earrings. We feel very Indian :)
We arrived at the wedding engagement, in a building was covered in bright strings of green, red, and yellow lights. Outside the brightly lit up building was a huge billboard with a picture of the faces of the bride and groom. We entered the sea of bright saris, flashing cameras and smells of jasmine. We posed for photos and pinned jasmine in our hair in the entrance. The main room was brightly lit, with hundreds of chairs set out for the guests and a stage with two big chairs. The bride came out and sat in one chair. She looked so beautiful, with sparkling jewels all over, flowers in her hair and brightly colored saree. The husband was very smiley and handsome with his Tamil hero mustache and nice suit. Their names, along with their college degrees were written on the back wall behind them, as doting relatives came to shake hands, pose for pictures and put white powder on their foreheads. Strings of flowers were strung on their necks, and they opened presents as the camera filmed it all and it streamed onto the TVs in the room. The music from the band there was loud and we went up on stage with Chandra and Vijayasarathy to sing and eat cake with a boy whose birthday was today and to pose for more photographs. We saw so many relatives that we know from Patti and met new relatives as well. It was a very colorful and festive affair. Downstairs we enjoyed a big, delicious meal served on a banana leaf. Waiters came by in a line, each serving one item- mushrooms, borotas, coconut chutney, sambal... Yum! It was all very delicious and ample for the hundreds of guests. Several people came up to ask where we were from, and if we knew the bride or groom. Everyone there was happy, all seemed to know everyone else there like one huge family. Tomorrow is the actual marriage, as tonight was just the engagement. We arrive tomorrow at 8 for breakfast! Wow. Better get some rest now!
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