While walking on bye-pass road, a Maruti Omni pulled ahead of me. A young man on back seat called out a name – ‘Annamalai, Annamalai!’. At this, a dirty man in rags (who lingers on the fringe of road and seem to have lost in a world of his own) came over to the car, and collected a pack of food & water.
Now, if this sound familiar, you might know or heard about Akshaya Trust of Madurai. Ever since the life of a 5-star hotel cook who’s visit to home town (Madurai) evoked an absolute turnaround on his career, many mentally unstable roadside souls were fed daily. Mr. Krishnan is taking care & feeding them daily for the past 6-7 years without fail.
The Maruti Omni is one belonged to Akshaya Trust donated by well-wishers. Curious about name calling, I approached the car and asked about it. The young man who helps Krishnan in this routine said ‘we named him!’.
Pandia or Pandian is a name closely associated with Madurai. The Pandian Kingdom ALWAYS ruled from Madurai. So the prominent train to Madurai was named Pandian Express & the state roadways corporation with Madurai as headquarters was called Pandian (PRC) till all such corporations were merged and named blandly as TNSTC. Even rural folks in southern Kerala refer Tamilians as ‘Paandimaar’ instead of ‘Tamizhan-maar’.
We take it for granted that Pandia is an ancient Tamil name. Well, I came across the following detail at Pandia website (while visiting this link, just scroll above – not down – to read about Pandia)
Pandia was a Greek moon-goddess of light and enlightenment and daughter of Zeus and Selene. She was reckoned to be one of the most beautiful goddesses on the Olymp. There is a particular Homeric hymn that gives us the story about Pandia. Then again, others say that Pandia is the daughter of the Hindu god Krishna.
This is quite new to me. Does Krishna had a daughter named Pandia? Are Pandians known as descendants of Krishna? Or, Pandia & Pandian are two completely different names not be confused upon? Are there any other reference to the origin of Pandians of Madurai? Just curious.
City buses in Madurai were a changed lot now. Even 3 months back, we can spot only a few ‘Low Floor, Deluxe’ buses on city roads. Now it easily outnumbers the ordinary ones. Most buses plying within city were these low-floor types now.
These private-built buses look sturdier than regular ones. Automatic doors, air suspension were welcome addition. But it has started showing signs of wear & neglect due to characteristic poor maintenance.
State transport corporations quickly adopted Lalu’s technique of charging more without raising basic ticket prices. Bus fare on low floor buses were 200% to 250% higher than basic fare.
The following were the ticket fares between Periyar Bus Stand & TIrumangalam (approx: 20kms):
Basic fare: Rs . 5.50 [red bus with big yellow band in middle]
It seems more than 90% of buses in this route were low floor – as it serves high commuter traffic of south-bound mofusil travellers, who find it easier/time saving to visit Tirumangalam than to visit Mattu Thavani Integrated Bus Stand (MIBS).
How does it perform in cost-conscious Madurai?
Daily wage earners depend mostly on city buses. You should see the expressions in their face, when three consecutive buses to their destination were all ‘low-floors’. They even have a nickname for it – ‘kollakara bussu’ (pirate bus) !!
