The cultural heritage

Madurai is the cultural city of Tamil Nadu and most importantly the
birthplace of the language 'Tamil'. Located in the heart of Tamil Nadu, this
city is known primarily for Meenakshi Amman Temple and Vaigai River. NR
Sethuraman shares his experience about his visit to 'the city of tempels'

I had heard that Madurai is a wonderful place to visit in the southern region
of Tamil Nadu. So when I got a chance I roamed around the city to visit some of
its well-known spots. Though one has heard that Madurai is a temple city, but
only once you visit do you get to know how many the city has and very ancient
ones at that. Usually Madurai is known to be a hot city, but the pleasant
weather in the peak summer was more than a surprise to me. I hired an auto and
thought of covering as much as places I could, as I did not want to waste the
opportunity provided by the pleasant weather.

Meenakshi Amman Temple: The temple in the southern side is dedicated to Sri
Meenakshi, the consort of Lord Sundareswarar (Shiva) and the other to Lord
Sundareswarar. This is one of the biggest temple complexes of India. It is about
258 meters in length and 241.4 meters in breadth. Of the five Gopuras (towers)
that surround the 48.8 meters high southern tower is the tallest. This temple
was built by Kulasekara Pandya, but the entire credit for making the temple as
splendid as it is today goes to the Nayaks, who ruled Madurai from the 16th to
18th century and left a majestic imprint of their rule in the
Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple. The temple has many inscriptions of the rulers
in the 16th century. The places to visit in this temple includes Raya Gopuram,
Chitra Gopuram Potramaraikulam, Mudali Mandapam, Rani Mangammal Mandapam,
Ooonjal Mandapam, Ayirankal Mandapam and Musical Pillars. Timings to visit are
5.00am to 1pm and again 4pm to 9.30pm.

Azhagar Kovil: It is situated at a distance of 22km from Madurai city. The
idols of Vishnu and Lakshmi are huge and beautiful. The temple finds mention in
Sangam literature dating back to 2,000 years. The tower consists of three tiers
depicting Vishnu in three postures-sitting, standing and reclining. The shadow
of the vimanam never falls on the ground. It is one of the few temples in the
country built in tiers.

Rakkayi Kovil: One needs to walk a kilometer to reach this hilltop temple.
This walking is very adventurous, as one should climb a steep road to reach the
temple. Though it has a small waterfall, but taking a bath in it is considered
to be a scary task. Its time to visit coincides with the timings of Meenakshi
Temple, and only a planned trip can help the tourists to view both these
important places. (Note: This place is full of monkeys and one needs to be
careful with their belongings)

Tirupparankundram: It is located five miles southwest Madurai. This is the
place where Lord Muruga and Devayanai, daughter of Indra married. This temple is
built between the hills. Tirupparankunram is also mentioned in legend as the
place where the sun and moon abides. The timing of this place also coincides
with the other two temples in the temple town.

Gandhi Museum: This museum is a great historic tamukkam palace of Rani
Mangammal, built during 1670. The importance of this museum is that in 1955, the
palace and the land of 12 acres were dedicated to Gandhi Samak Nidhi by the
Government of Tamil Nadu in remembrance of the life and work of the Father of
our Nation. Gandhi Memorial Museum has a remarkable collection of Gandhiji's
paintings, sculptures, Gandhian quotations, articles of village industries and
khadi crafts. The collections of varities of Gandhiyan thoughts are been
portrayed as paintings in this museum. The handicrafts and the articals used by
Gandhi are been preserved here. Timings to visit are 10.00am to 1.00pm and
2.00pm to 5.45pm (open on all days).

Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal: Thirumalai Nayakar palace was built by Thirumalai
Nayakar in 1636. The paintings, carvings and designing of the mahal shows the
amazing talents of the Nayak kings. This Mahal is situated 2km southeast of
Meenakshi Amman Temple. A classic example of the Indo-saracenic style, the piece
de resistance of this mahal is its carved dome outsoars without the support of
girders or rafters. It has 248 pillars of each, 58ft tall and 5ft in diameter.
The gigantic pillars and paintings of the events that took place before, the
ethics impress ourselves and takes us to the 16th century. The timings for
visiting the palace is 9.00am to 1.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm.

(The author is a Correspondent at CyberMedia)