Madurai - Day 02 | Samanar Hills | Tirupparankundram | Keeladi | Yanaimalai

I CONTINUE FROM HERE: Madurai - Day 01

I woke up early and got ready by 7AM. On my way to the bike rental place, I had my breakfast. The rental process was smooth. A few local boys handle this. I had to pay Rs600. The boy took a picture of my ID and handed me the keys of the scooter. 

First, I headed to Samanar hills. This rock by a lotus pond is impressive. At the base there is Karuppanasamy temple . The whole setup seems like a perfect picture framing. 

Locals had gathered at the temple to celebrate some kind of a ritual. They were performing some prayers and cooking pongal at the temple premises. They brought two goats to be sacrificed for the local deity. I did not want to see it, so I immediately left the place and began my climb up the hill. 

The climb is simple. It will hardly take you 15-20 minutes to reach the summit. On the way, there are some jain reliefs. It was odd that here was a jain shrine, which is known for its strict vegetarianism and non-violence and right below the rock, a locals were preparing to beheading goats. 

Though it was a short trek, the view from the top was impressive as this is the only elevated region in the vicinity. I could see Madurai city at a distance.

Back at the base, the devotees were serving Prasada - Pulivogre and Sakre pongal. They offered me some too. It was absolutely delicious. Before they got ready to kill another goat, I decided to leave. From the outside, I could hear the goat cry and it made me very uncomfortable. The blood from the dead goat killed earlier was being licked by two dogs. The sight disgusted me and I felt helpless and angry at the same time. When will this madness stop? How many more centuries of education is required for our people to abandon such superstitions? 

From here, I rode to Tirupparankundram. When I reached there it was crowded and it was a bit difficult to find parking. Luckily, a fish seller had just vacated a spot, right in front of the temple entrance. The road where he or she might have sat was still wet with the water used to clean and I could smell fish. I parked my scooter and walked to the temple. The temple was crowded. Apart from being a Sunday it was also an auspicious day as per hindu calendar. Many weddings were happening at the temple. Young couple, dressed in their best, accompanied by their friends and family, after their wedding rituals were in the queue to seek blessings from the main deity. 

However, the wait wasn’t that bad. I got a darshana pretty quickly. Though this temple is famous as a Murugan temple, the main shrine has three idols. Three huge sculptures directly protrude from the wall. On the right is Ganesha, on the left is Murugan or Karthikeya and at the centre is Durga. I am not sure how this became famous as a Murugan temple. 

I had some sakare pongal that was being served at the temple but it wasn’t as good as the one I had eaten in that small temple by the Samanar hill. 

Outside, I saw a man sell Thenan kuruthu - Palm tree heart. It was on the list of things to try that my friend Gowri had provided me. I was happy to see it and ordered a plate. He gave me a plate of assorted slices from tender to slightly mature ones. He told me that I should try it with some palm jaggery. It was very tasty. 

I then took a village route to Keeladi. On my way, I came across a man selling Nungu and Pathaneer. I immediately stopped and ordered the drink. I love how they serve this drink in a palm leaf formed like a cup. He suggested that I try it with some Nungu (ice apple). It was absolutely refreshing. I never found Pathaneer later, as tasty as the one I had there. It was mildly sweet and not at all sour like the ones I tried later. 

The Keeladi museum is impressive. It is very well planned and maintained. The information and exhibits were very good. There were carnelian bead jewellery, ivory comb and burial urns. Some ancient pipelines made of terracotta have also been unearthed here. 

After spending a good amount of time going through the content, I rode to the archaeological site a few kilometres away. Again, the site is well maintained. 

The findings in Keeladi suggest a secular (No proof of any religious sites found in this settlement), urban Tamil civilisation (from perhaps the Sangam era) existed as early as 600 BCE, which critics claim challenges a preferred narrative of an exclusively “Vedic” or “Aryan-based ancient civilisation. Hence the political controversy - transfer of archeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna and reduction in funding by the union government that led Tamil Nadu government taking over the excavation. 

I also visited Konthagai archeological site which is being renovated for viewing. However, the workers allowed me to visit and requested me not to take any pictures. Luckily the officer was not there. 

Along the way, I watched a kabadi match in Konthagai village. Local boys had gathered there to cheer their favourite teams. 

It was already 1:30PM and I was hungry. So, I stopped at the Temple city restaurant in Keeladi. This is one of the best restaurants I have been to in Madurai. The food there is very good. Though it is a chain of restaurant found all around the city, this particular branch on highway, just near Keeladi junction, is the one you must visit. I tried their Sambar Sadam and jigarthanda. I was sharing the table with a young North Indian man and his father. 

After ordering his food in English, he told his father in Hindi - “These guys do not want to speak in Hindi. I don’t understand what their problem is. After all Hindi is our national language.” I could not help smirking. Most Indians are ignorant of the fact that India does not have a national language. Our constitution states 22 official languages and Hindi, like Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and others, is just one of them. 

He did not stop at that. He continued - "These people do not have proper roads in the South. All this is done by the centre (Union government) as it is a highway. Imagine what would happen if these people take control of our nation and Government? "

I felt like educating him a bit. But may be it is the age, I remained silent; like his father. He appeared to be a working professional with a good educational qualification - perhaps an engineer. But degree does not ensure an educated mind after all. This arrogance though cannot be generalised is seen among several North Indians who have recently moved to the South. 

On my way back, I stopped at the Sheik Meeran store who founded the Jigarthanda drink in 1977 and had one there again. I stopped at Theppakulam on the way. It was hot and I decided to return back to the place at night to see the lighting. 

I then went to the  palace - Thirumalai Nayakkar mahal. The intricate designs and paintings were impressive. Otherwise, it’s more of a courtyard than a palace.

I returned back to the hotel and relaxed for a while. At around 4PM, I headed out again - to Yanaimalai. At first, I took a village route and ended up in front of Arulmigu Yoga Narasinga Perumal Thiru Kovil at the base. 

Realising that I was heading in the wrong direction, I came back to the area where the climb begins. At the base, there were a few kids playing. They guided me to the stairs leading up to the hill. 

The trails end somewhere midway. The climb ahead was steep - almost 70 degree elevation. I could have done it but since I was alone, somehow I did not dare to take that risk. So, after contemplating for a while, unwillingly, I gave up the idea of climbing further. 

On my way back, I met young boys and girls from Kerala. I spoke to them for a bit before heading back to town. 

I went back to Theppakulam. I visited two temples - Arulmigu Sri Muktheeswarar temple and the Mariamman temple. People were performing strange rituals at the Mariamman temple. Men and women were lying on the floor and someone from the family would keep a lamp on their chest and recite some prayers. I had never seen such a ritual before.  

In Muktheeswarar temple there were families meeting to discuss an alliance. The boy and girl sat facing each other and the family members were around them discussing a marriage proposal. There were a few such gatherings at the main courtyard. 

All around the lake there were eateries setup. The stalls mostly sold momos, sandwiches, parrotas and desserts. This seemed like a popular hangout place for the people of Madurai. I went around and tried some food before heading back to town. I retuned my scooter and walked back to the hotel. 

This day had turned out amazing. I visited many interesting sites - Temples, hills, places of historical importance and tried lots of local delicacies - a perfect day for a traveler. 

To Be Continued...