namma mejura

When share autos were introduced, it used to be a tin box with a door & squeezed with people. It moved slowly but never menacingly.

Madurai_16, originally uploaded by Photolocale.

But then auto rickshaws by Piaggio catched up, it changed the equation. It is actually a 3 seater auto but wider than the usual auto. It doubled up as ‘share‘ auto – not quite legally though.

With their bigger size, auto drivers now squeeze 8 – 10 people in this 3 seater auto with a wooden plank serving as additional row of seats. And it runs like a monster with it’s tail on fire!

Those heavy looking beast lurks and moves fast, and true to auto driving rules, the drivers try to sneak into spaces where none exist. With a high pitch diesel motor, such a rash driving monster is really a menace to pedestrians and two wheeler riders. Accidents involving these monsters were becoming regular. Seems they will replace sand laden lorries as road demons.

They make life difficult for commuters hopping into a city bus. They always squeeze between the bus and bus stop. No wonder we regularly see reader letters in newspapers clamouring for a ban of these ‘share’ autos.

If you did your schooling in Madurai during 80s – 90s or earlier, chances are that you had at least one cycle trip to Pulloothu. It is one of those nice little secluded spot, that doesn’t grow into a tourist spot but remain endearing to lads.

Pulloothu seemed far from the madding crowd, on a tree-shadowed road from Kochadai to Sholavandan. After about 7kms from Kochadai, a small board on left side, indicating ‘Boys Town‘ is the mark that directs towards Pulloothu.

It is a small stone canal from a water spring that gives a steady but small stream of water throughout the year. Eventhough there isn’t any facility nearby, it’s very secluded & a sudden change into a hill like terrain, makes it a worthy trip.

The city & the development is inevitably inching closer to Pulloothu. The new 4-track North-South National Highway No.7 (Kashmir to Kanyakumari) now goes very close to the place where we make a left turn to Pulloothu.

The small path along side the tiled houses is the original road to Pulloothu. Now this entry looks like any ordinary lane. The place & surroundings are still green. Hope Pulloothu will retain it’s uniqueness & become a regulated picnic spot.

Seems all roads leads to WCTC (Word Classical Tamil Conference) Coimbatore. A temporary board put up by highways department at Palanganatham roundana towards bye-pass road says “Way to Semmozhi Maanaadu – Kovai“!

Since the 4-track road & ring road entirely bye-passes Madurai, this bye-pass road is now within city. A new name is due for this only genuine wide road in Madurai.

Renovation of Madurai Airport is nearing completion. There were conflicting reports on the press about new airport will be functional by end of June, July this year. But going by the photos it seems it will take at least another 3 months. And then add another month or two for a convenient date of opening ceremony. The probable expected date can be any time in September – October this year.

Pics on Airport developments were posted in SkyscraperCity Madurai Airport Forum by Harish Ravi & Ananth. They mentioned that pics were taken by one Mr.Gnanavelu. Please view all the pictures at the following places.
Post No.349
Post No. 353

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I’ve posted couple of sample photos here for a quick view.

Some more photos were available at All about Madurai forum

4-track roads have become the reality around Madurai since 2009. If you travel on road towards north (Salem), south (Kanyakumai) & north-east (Trichy) you can travel in relative comfort, fast & smooth. All these roads were 4-track & completed. Further the road towards south-east (Tuticorin) is also 4-track and fast nearing completion.

But all these improvements come with a price, that place regular travellers in a fix. If you have to commute about 30 kms on these 4-track daily on a car, you have to pay about Rs.75 per day for using the road. Adding to the rising fuel expenses, this adds a sizable Rs.2,000 burden per month.

If you visit nearby Melur (30kms) on Madurai – Trichy road in a car, you need to pay Rs.50 one way (or Rs.75 for two way – if returned same day). Car travel from Madurai to Chennai cost around Rs.235 one way on toll fee. About the same as a reserved second class sleeper ticket on train.

Toll charges seems to be costliest between Madurai and Trichy (120 kms) with Rs.95 one way (or Rs.145 for two way). Needless to say, it has put a positive effect of car owners who travel single. They either opt for other modes (Rs.40 is the fare on bus), or go for car pool whenever possible. NHAI can claim they are forcing car owners go green!

The rates were higher for heavy vehicles. Needless to say lorry owners are not taking it lightly. A return trip between Tuticorin and Bangalore is said to be costing Rs.3,500 on toll alone. They have announced indefinite strike from August 2, 2010. They are readily supported by private bus & van operators.

Hope some respite will be available from their protest.

It’s been a while since I blogged. Much has happened in Madurai in the meanwhile. I wanted to blog with appropriate photos & getting delayed. Finally got them & will be blogging regularly from now on.

Before that, I wanted to share the rare photos of Madurai appearing in a forum. It’s a treat to see serene streets around Meenakshi Amman Temple & Yaanai Malai standing alone.

It’s not known about the origin of these photos, but a great find. Do have a look at http://allaboutmadurai.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25 and also on the second page at http://allaboutmadurai.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=25&start=10

The very first twitter camp at madurai was held on Sunday 21st march 2010. Organized by DotComInfoway, it is indeed a notable effort. They made good arrangements & also provided Tea & Lunch for all participants.

First Twitter Camp of Madurai underway

The camp was scheduled to be inaugurated by Ms.Chinmayi, the well known singer of Kollywood. But we readily discounted that as travel costs wouldn’t justify such a visit.

As expected, the organizers announced at the meet that Ms.Chinmayi is indisposed & would instead do an e-inauguration. The e-inauguration is an euphemism as the presenter searched files & clicked a video (shot apparently couple of days earlier) on screen.

Nevertheless it shows the reach DCI had in Kollywood circles and I wouldn’t blame them for using this way to bring media’s attention to the camp. Thanks to big names, it was a prominent news in ‘The Hindu’ Madurai edition. They also brought a local (Vaigai) TV channel’s boss to the event, which ensured good coverage in local new channel.

Event was worthwhile in the morning (I couldn’t spend the whole day there). It’s DCI show all the way. Certainly not their fault, as there isn’t any other sponsor and the event was held in their office. Really a good effort by C.R.Venkatesh for bringing this event to Madurai.

The agenda mentioned ‘Anand nataraj’ of Cogzidel would speak. But ironically he tweeted that he is sleeping in the car at Yelagiri hills(?!) by 9.30am

Rock Temple 2, originally uploaded by daynee2003.

Yaanaimalai (Elephant hill) at the outskirts of Madurai has a unique shape & a treasure trove for archaeologists. It has jain caves at the top, numerous inscriptions all around the hills and also two carved temples at the bottom.

Lakshmi Narasimha temple is carved deep into the hill and the deity (carved in the hill) stands near the centre of the hillock at ground level.

It’s a wonder that some people thought it fit to propose cutting the hill, carve a sculpture in the middle & scoop the remaining rocks for granite exports. The effort was named as beautifying the place & to give Madurai a tourist place!

Well, Yaanai malai already earned it’s own merit over thousands of years (it’s even mentioned in very old tamil scripts) to become a tourist spot. And being a unique shape, it already have a striking pose, looking majestically at the approaching urbanization.

Rock Temple, originally uploaded by daynee2003.

Thankfully, protests were loud & that proposal was officially struck down last week by Government of Tamilnadu. Now it only needs beautification around the hillock & promoting it properly.

The tail end of the hillock still retains a lot of greenery and a nice picnic spot, untouched by urbanization.

Cart, from a Bus in Madurai, originally uploaded by Ganga108.

Though it’s not common, Horse carriages are still plying in Madurai. A nice way to entertain the kids and re-live the rustic charm of older days when you visit Madurai.

Areas like SS Colony, Chokkikulam – Krishnapuram Colony were slowly toting up with 4 – 5 floor apartments. In fact, most new constructions in these areas are only apartments.

Houses in these areas used to have ample space all around & invariably sport couple of coconut trees besides many flowering plants. Now many new apartments come up in just a single or 2 plots of old houses.

As a result, they have only about 3 feet space between the compound wall & the building. The ground floor in these buildings have space only for car parking slots, a lift & a ubiquitous power generator.

Advertisements by the builders usually show a trendy building standing tall amidst lush greenery. But a vast majority of them have no scope of greenery. The entire ground is covered end-to-end with cement leaving any greenery only to potted plants in some of the balconies.

It’s literally a concrete jungle.