A Stairway to Heaven
Anna-Dora Maron from Denmark writes that, despite all the reading and talking to friends who had been to India, nothing prepared her for the actual experience of being in India. Like many before her and perhaps many after, she fell in love with India, especially the Meenakshi temple, because it is like eating a good meal after days of starvation!
The flower market in the Meenakshi temple
Like anyone who is to stay in India for three months, I read all the guidebooks in the local library. I also talked for hours with friends and acquaintances who had been to India in order to be prepared for the big culture shock in India. No matter how much I tried to prepare, I never became fully prepared for the culture shock I faced when I arrived in Madurai.
No Mid Way
At first, I was so scared of going to India. People told me that either you hate India or love it. There is nothing in between. I was warned about no toilet paper, people staring and lots of beggars who follow you wherever you go. I was frightened.
Though I came to India as a paranoid and insecure girl, my feelings about India changed the moment I stepped out of the Madurai Airport.
The first thing I experienced in Madurai was that people drive like crazy down here. From the first time I travelled on the main road, I pictured myself dying in a car crash, several times a minute! People on the roads do not think about others and they all have the same philosophy: “Drive for your life!” Even though I felt like dying on the main roads of Madurai, I came to love the city right away.
The inside of the temple in Thiruparankundram close to Madurai
A City of Contrasts
What I love about the city is that there are so many contrasts everywhere you go. You see the beautiful and tremendous Meenakshi temple and next to the temple there are lots of plain and boring apartment buildings. In the temple, you see beautiful women in saris with flowers in their hair. Soothing music plays in the background and there is a scent of oil and flowers. You walk on your bare feet and feel connected to the temple and absorb all the sights, sounds and smells around you.
The contrast to this peaceful and beautiful place is the streets of Madurai. Everything outside the temple is busy and chaotic. Some people stink of dirt and sweat and wear only the most necessary items of clothing. The street is dirty and the temperature is hot; unlike the temple. This contrast is amazing, because when you come from the busy streets of Madurai and walk in to the Meenakshi temple, it is like a stairway to heaven.
