My Way On Highway: Day 40, Bye Bye Munnar, Hello Madurai

Ok, I admit it. I am suffering from ‘Post-Munnar Blues’ because I can’t remember having been to a more beautiful place in our country in a long long time! As you must have guessed, Day 40 of MyWayOnHighway was all about leaving Munnar for more adventures ahead. This time our car, Gulabo, was heading towards the city of divinity – Madurai. But there was a wonderful stopover and detour that expanded the 3.5 hour long drive to almost 5 hours across the mountain terrain of the Western Ghats. Here’s how the day went…

Bidding Adieu To Munnar

It was hard but had to be done. I am talking about saying “see you again” to Munnar. And we did that in style. Some 15 kilometres away from the aforementioned hill station, Lockhart Gap got our attention with its crispy white clouds that the sun was hiding behind. The mist clad hills together with the lush green landscape give a spectacle that is hard to forget. Comic relief was not far as we were soon to discover upon reaching the Malayil Kallan Gufa. A board pointing to it said: “Once upon a time, a thief lived inside this cave and used to loot the travellers who pass…”

Loo Break

Travelling by road has many advantages but it does bring in a few challenges as well. For instance, where to take a bio break? Well if you happen to be on the route being discussed here, then do not hesitate to stop by the eatery right next to the Malayil Kallan Gufa. The folks who run the place keep a clean and hygienic ‘pay per use’ toilet. Here are the coordinates in case you want to GPS it: 10.036767, 77.131761

Haathi Hamara Saathi

It is no secret that the husband and I are in awe of the elephant. Even after seeing it up close in Thekkady and Periyar, we couldn’t resist the temptation of having yet another rendezvous with the royal beast. So we took the advice of helpful bystanders and took the Anayirankal Dam route to Madurai. It was not an effort in vain for we did spot the lone beast enjoying a pre-noon munch in its natural habitat as we went wild with the camera; from a safe distance, of course. Notice the tusks? Well, that’s the male Asian Elephant because the female either has no tusks or really short ones known as tushes.

Hello History

Stepping into Madurai, one of the oldest cities in the world tracing its roots to the 4^th Century BC was thrilling to say the least. The husband and I were first welcomed by the street hawker selling coconuts. Yep, the orange variety (as promised earlier) was tried and passed. The salty taste of the coconut water woke me up from the laziness that comes from parking oneself in the navigator’s seat all the time. The rising temperature did its job well and the air-conditioning was required to take position.

God’s Own Land

The famous Meenakshi Amman Temple is the lifeline of this 2,500-year-old city. Considered to be an important contender to the latest list of the ‘7 Wonders Of The World’, the Meenakshi Temple is an example of faith and local culture come together in an architectural marvel. It consists of 14 gateway towers aka gopurams, the tallest of which goes as high as 170 feet in height. The vivacious interplay of bold colours against which the different characters of the temple motif come to life cannot be missed. A chat with the guards tells me that the temple gets about 20,000 visitors every day! It remains opens from 5 am till 12:30 pm and then again from 4 pm till 9:30 pm.

The Kazimar Big Mosque and Maqbara stand testimony to the multi-faceted beauty of Madurai. Celebrated as the first mosque in the city, it is believed to have been built by the 20th successor of the Prophet Muhammad in the 13^th Century. The sufi premises are also graced by the Maqbara of the famous Madurai Hazrats. We got the rare opportunity to interact with their successors.

What A Wonderful Stay

The Madurai Residency is a fabulous place to stay at when in Madurai. It enjoys a brilliant location that covers all important religious places including the Meenakshi Temple in a kilometer’s radius. We got a lovely room in the new extended wing and I will definitely recommend 319 to one and all though the Manager Operations, PK Shandrashekhar tells us that it is 313 that gets most recommendations. The man is a wonderful storyteller and we got a glimpse of it while relishing a delicious dinner of prawn curry and rice at the rooftop restaurant. Now I know that every nook and corner of Madurai has a reason to be so. Clearly a day does not do justice to this city that never sleeps (yep, buses ply 24x7 and there is a Night Fruit Market) and we must visit again!

Yawn! Think I should hit the bed now for we have an early morning ride to take to Ooty. G’nite. (Pictures courtesy Tariq Khan)