Sights in Madurai
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Sri Meenakshi Temple
The Sri Meenakshi Temple is the abode of the triple-breasted, fish-eyed Goddess Meenakshi Amman (‘fish-eyed’ is an adjective for perfect eyes in classical Tamil poetry), is considered by many to be the height of South Indian temple architecture, as vital to the aesthetic heritage of this region as the Taj Mahal is to North India. It’s not so much a temple as a 6-hectare complex enclosed by 12 gopurams, the highest of which towers 52m over Madurai, and all of which are carved with a staggering array of gods, goddesses, demons and heroes.
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B
Tirumalai Nayak Palace
What the Meenakshi Temple is to Nayak religious architecture, the Tirumalai palace is to the secular. Unfortunately it’s in a state of rot today, but the shell that remains is still impressive. The main event is the entrance gate, main hall and Natakasala (Dance Hall), with their faded yellow plasterwork, lion and makara (crocodile-elephant creature) sculptures and a series of fabulous murals that hints at the opulence the Nayak rulers once enjoyed. The rectangular courtyard, 75m by 52m, is known as Swargavilasa (Celestial Pavilion), and while time has taken its toll, you still get the sense the plaza fully deserved the name. The Indo-Saracenic palace was built in 1636 …
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C
Gandhi Memorial Museum
Housed in the tamukkam (old exhibition pavilion) of the Rani Mangammal is the excellent Gandhi Memorial Museum, set in spacious and relaxing grounds. The maze of rooms contains an impressively moving and detailed account of India’s struggle for independence from 1757 to 1947, and the English-language signs pull no punches about British rule. Included in the exhibition is the blood-stained dhoti (long loincloth) that Gandhi was wearing at the time he was assassinated in Delhi in 1948; it’s here because he first took up wearing the dhoti as a sign of native pride in Madurai in 1921.
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Mariamman Teppakkulam Tank
This vast tank, 5km east of the old city, covers an area almost equal to that of Sri Meenakshi Temple and is the site of the popular Teppam (Float) Festival, held in January/February, when devotees boat out to the goddess temple in the middle. When it's empty (most of the year) it becomes a cricket ground for local kids. The tank was built by Tirumalai Nayak in 1646 and is connected to the Vaigai River by underground channels.
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D
Vegetable & Flower Market
Just north of the Sri Meenakshi Temple, before you get to North Avani St, the daily vegetable market is a labyrinth of bustling laneways strewn with aromatic herbs and vegetables. In the thick of it, on the 1st floor of a nondescript cement building, is the gorgeous flower market. Vendors dexterously heap mountains of marigolds and jasmine onto scales for the temple flower sellers here.
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E
Madurai Government Museum
Inside this museum is a neglected collection of archaeological finds, sculpture, bronzes, costumes and paintings. A shady children’s park with pay-as-you-go rides and slides is alongside the museums’ entrance driveway.
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Temple Art Museum
Within the Sri Meenakshi temple complex, housed in the 1000-Pillared Hall, is the Temple Art Museum. It contains painted friezes and stone and brass images and good exhibits on Hindu deities.
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