Oh! What a change ..
Yes, this is
what strikes me of the then ‘neat Madurai’ and the present shambles that the
place is in. I vividly remember the ‘broad and neat’ Veli veedhis and Maasi
veedhis which were the peripheral
layers of the then city noted for its square layout with Shri.Meenakshi temple
defining the centre of the city. Now, the place is liberally littered and
consequently stench-filled making one wonder if there is any civic
administration at all. What is more perplexing is the chocking bottle necks to
traffic in the last decade or so. Obviously, the population of vehicles and
their species have increased several fold over its former slow, less polluting
buses, autorickshaws, that were outnumbered by Cycles, cycle rickshaws and the
‘horse-drawn’ jutkaas. There were lodging places of varied standards/
categories serving the ‘floating population’ typical to Madurai.
Always there has
been enough eateries and eatables /beverages exclusive to Madurai – catering to
the time of the day; the culture of prolific consumption of Vadai/ Bajji/
Samosa/ varied sundal varieties is
all too typical to the place. These were evening delicacies offered ‘ala carte’
and in ala cart[e] dispensation on mobile carts that would vanish by 8.30 pm or
so only to re-appear by 4.00pm the next day. Such mobile carts were mobile only
after the business , stationed at a place. A peculiar porridge-like drink exclusive
to the place is Cotton milk fondly
christened ‘Paruththippaal’ by
locals. No outside dares taking
Paruththippal while another beverage Jigerthanda
has forth-coming patronage by tourists drawn by its nomenclatural
complexity.
Incidentally, a shout of ‘Paruththippaal’ rents the auditorium when some movie sequence is
draggy or drab. Madurai cine-goers especially the members who cannot afford
‘high-priced tickets [Re 1. 10 or more then] would not hesitate to call out ‘Paruththippaal’ as dissent or
disapproval of the on-going scene in a movie. Screams of paruththippaal are
native to Madurai or rather endemic to the place. After strenuous
brain-storming, I deciphered the use of ‘Paruththippaal’
for dissent. The most plausible explanation could be that several repeat
grindings may be necessary to extract a reasonable volume of coton milk; it
suggests the same matter is being repeatedly churned in the story and thus ‘Paruththippaal’. This trend is on a
decline –perhaps with no story to follow in any movie.
With no
alternative modes of transports like suburban trains or metro services,
perching on buses for travel is a delight for the youth of Madurai
and around.The general patronage for Passenger services of the Railways
is far less compared to other districts of the state.
Yet, life in
Madurai is quite attractive owing to its ‘highly accommodative’ economic
cushioning –not so easy elsewhere.
To Continue
Prof. K.
Raman
No roads in the city is worthwhile travelling or even to walk. Yet people manage to spend their time in purchasing. Gone of those days when you get Paruthippal in every corner of the city. Now it is replaced by Kabang Koozh.There was only one shop selling Jigarthanda in the corner of Keezhavasal near vilakkuthoon. Now you get the same throughout Madurai.
ReplyDeleteTo go in and around Madurai we engaged cycle rickshaws but autos replaced them.
Madurai also loosing the charm of cine theaters.
K.Venkataraman
It is a pity that the city(?) of Madurai known for its culture and heritage is fast becoming a place unworthy of comfortable living. Yet there is no denying the fact that there is an innate charm that still keeps one glued to the city. Despite my association with Madurai for more than 5 decades, I have never tasted paruthippal or jigarthanda even once thanks to the aversion that the very names caused in me.
ReplyDelete