Now that I’m a resident of sorts here in Madurai (albeit a very short-term one), next thing you know I’ll be blogging every trip I take down to the shops. Okay, maybe just this once…
First stop, the 400-odd year old Pudhu Mandapam arcade (just beside Madurai’s main temple – Meenakshi Temple). While it may be no Liffey Valley, its hard to beat when it comes to calendars, pots and pans, booksellers and tailors (and fantastic intricate stone carvings). There’s talk of the authorities throwing the shop-keepers out to restore it to its original ceremonial use – not expected to happen any time soon though.
After that, if it’s spices, fruit & veg, PVC pipework and gold & platinum you want, we might just need another blog post…
Btw, So I have been asked “Where am I?”, so here’s Madurai courtesy Wikipedia maps…
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/article1309649.ece
The Slow Boat to Delhi 