Friday, 26 September 2014
Our guide, Jairaj, has been working with a group of cycle-rickshaw owners to try to start a tourist trade much like the popular cycle-rickshaw rides in Delhi. Cycle-rickshaws are dying out -- losing out to auto-rickshaws, but the cycle-rickshaw drivers typically cannot afford to purchase a tuk-tuk. We had a procession of four cycle-rickshaws to take us through the byways of Madurai, from the Thirumalai Nayak Palace to the Meenakshi Temple. It was a spectacular ride!
First, the line-up:
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| Ross wasn't feeling well and decided to stay back at the hotel, so I rode with Christy while Lon had a rickshaw to himself. |
Everyone seemed to enjoy the ride (except, perhaps the motorized vehicles, especially buses, who had to share their space on the bigger streets).
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| Metal ware and kitchen supplies |
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| Onions -- part of a block that was entirely onion wholesalers |
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| Vegetables |
We went down small lanes, both commercial and residential. It's a side of Madurai we probably would not have taken the opportunity to walk through.
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| This lane mostly sold metal ware for cooking. |
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| More metalware |
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| The residential streets were well-kept and inviting. |
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| A small shrine to Ganesha on the street -- although it also has a trident, cobras, and a Nandi bull associated with Shiva. It's perhaps a foot hight on a meter-high tiled platform. |
Fruits and vegetables are found everywhere.
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| A lane devoted exclusively to bananas -- mostly wholesale. |
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| Banana leaves are used as plates. No washing! Just feed them to a cow. |
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| Peanuts |
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| Vegetable displays are performance art. |
And the amazing guide who made it all happen:
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| Thank you, Jairaj! |
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