Bangalore - Madurai sector - Desperate in need of a Jigar Thanda

Sometimes its easier to book a ticket to an international destination that book a ticket within India. I have been planning Madurai for ages from Bangalore and it seems to be next to impossible to get a ticket to this ancient Tamil city. There is just one train that runs on this sector everyday and a few others are scattered through the week but they are booked this entire month.

I tried for some cheap flight tickets and was surprised when I realized that there are no direct flights. All flights are routed through Chennai. I checked Air India, as I thought the national carrier should have better connectivity but the flights had a stop over at Chennai too. I have been online the entire week, looking at fares and some of them are as high as Rs15,000/- Yup..you read that right. Besides Jet and Spice Jet that offered cheap fares, the rest of them were expensive. And most airlines like Go Indigo does not fly to Madurai unfortunately , for I have now started flying them everywhere thanks to their penchant for being punctual.

I vaguely remember an airline that used to fly directly to Bangalore. I guess with Kingfisher folding its wings, loads of airlines have now dropped sectors on their routes. Madurai is not even a remote destination for that matter. I can understand if I was flying to Timbaktu. I have no choice but to go back to the Indian railways and check for tatkal . If all goes well, I leave tomorrow and will be cooling off with some Jil Jil Jigar Thanda

Markets and temples

Patteeswaram, Tamil Nadu

Just before you enter any temple in India, you have to pass through a market. In some cases, shopping happens right inside the temple complex. Very often I find the markets more interesting.


Madurai, Tamil Nadu


Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu


Chidambaram , Tamil Nadu.


Thirukadaiyur,Tamil Nadu

Travel and travel stories

There has been a bit of a slow down recently in my writing as well..the reason being I dont want to become a factory churning articles by the day.Travel writing is an intense personal experience, sometimes even more exhilarating and draining than the journey itself and just putting it down in an avalanche of words does not make sense to me.I have three articles published last week and my favourite among them is my wild Masinagudi night safari .Please read it (you can click on the words "Masinagudi night safari and it will take you to the article )when you have the time and let me know your feedback . There was a story on a cave temple in Madurai published in Metro Plus, Inside Story and a piece on Kaidala, a small village in Karnataka which is the birthplace of a legendary 11th century sculptor . The links to these two are down and I will post the stories shortly. Meanwhile , the above picture is that of a man smoking in the Kaidala temple.

India through my eyes - What the Gods eat !

Grams sold outside the Azhagar (Alagar )temple dedicated to Vishnu near Madurai . This is bought by devotees and served to the Gods.. I asked why and no one answered..

Expressing art

In Madurai inside the Thousand Pillar Hall of the Meenakshi Temple . For these tourists, expression is probably art..when will we ever learn to be responsible tourists ?

Update : Please read the comments for my views on this

India through my eyes

Outside the 17th century Thirumalai Nayak Palace in Madurai, a group of old women sweat it out to make a living. They sell a few knick knacks, some colourful bags and trinkets. I met these old women who were trying to sell me a few bags that I did not want. But I was caught by their warm smiles and their desperation to make a living at this old age. I took their pictures - one of them coyly smiled as she was just preparing to have lunch. We bought a few bags as well and a small trinket ..just to make their day

I am to Madras (Chennai )again for a couple of days and will see you all later in the week. I would like to thank Aaarti and Jeevan for giving me these awards. I give them away to everyone who take time off to visit my blog everyday and motivate me with their comments. Here are the two awards - the first one is from Aaarti and the second fron Jeevan . Thanks guys.