July 9, 2010
Today we are in Tanjore, a city about 4 hours away from Madurai by bus. Two days ago, for our community service, we got to help some architecture students from Madurai design new food stands for the temple there, and if they like the design, the temple will actually construct them. We were also in the newspaper that day for the work that we’re doing at the temple.
Also, the other night we went to a Muslim area in Madurai and got Egg Parota for dinner. The way they make it is amazing- they make parota (a type of bread) then chop it up and mix it into a sort of scrambled egg thing- but the process of making it is much like a show. It’s really quite musical. Then yesterday morning we went to a stone mason’s workshop where we saw how they carve stone by hand into beautiful statues. A few people from my group ordered small statues that will be ready for them to pick up next week- and only for about $20.
For lunch yesterday, I decided to try the traditional lunch. We have been going to a café type restaurant right next to the hotel in Madurai for most meals, and at lunch, everyone but us gets basically a round tray with rice and a bunch of hot sauces that they, of course, eat with their hands. It still amazes me that people can eat like that without even looking at their food! The dish was very good, especially when eaten with my hands, and I’ll probably get it again when we go back.
This morning, in Tanjore, we went to see a temple and a museum. The southern temples are much more elaborate than the northern ones, and most are painted bright colors (though this one wasn’t because it is historical and no longer in use). The museum was awesome because it used to be a temple, and there were two amazing towers that we were actually allowed to go to the tops of. We got to see the beautiful landscape and colorful houses from that perspective. As we left, there was a man selling parrots, and one of my friends bought one to set free. I really want to buy one and figure out a way to bring it home! Except do I really want a pet parrot?
