unexpected events of our trip

Nandini, after our morning walk, suggested we go sightseeing and eat lunch at a different place. She researched and chose Bangala resort which is rated high and is popular!

When we reached the resort, the staff at the reception said we need to book ahead! Nandini requested him to check if we three could be accommodated! He went in, a little hesitantly and returned after a while. He said we could get a thali meal, not the full meal served on banana leaf. We accepted gladly, and we were seated a little away from where people were already busy eating! The service was polite and gracious! The food was nice and tasty! Less expensive than she thought. We walked out thanking the manager! He just waved, perhaps late comers was a routine for him!

 https://www.thebangala.com/

Do notice the village woman carrying cow dung!

Can't read the small print, written for an Angreji news paper, by a farang! (In Thai, a foreigner!). A typical nose up in the air attitude! Having seen their castles, built using the wealth they plundered, I daresay the chettiars had worked hard to afford the mansions they built! 
They live in 75 villages, and are in a minority in each of the villages. I guess they are trying to find solutions to their problems which were and are obviously serious.

A fascinating picture! 

We had made a quick stop at the Athangudi Tile factory before that! The demonstration by the two skilled tile makers was impressive, the tiles looked the same, though hand made.  We were not shown the processing of the tiles after they were molded! I guess the process is mostly basic!

• The tiles are rich in colour and intricate in design. The timeless designs are an influence of the culture and heritage of people of Karaikudi famously known as Chettinad which has been declared a heritage town by the Tamilnadu Government. As a pride of their origin almost all the Chettinad households use these tiles for their homes. ..  I quote
• https://www.homelane.com/design-ideas/all-you-need-to-know-about-athangudi-tiles/

On our way  to Madurai

Tara remembered Aruna and Visesh lived in Madurai! She got their contact thru a common friend and it was wonderful meeting them after many years. We know them from our Bangkok days.  They run a school and the story  https://www.adhyapana.com/ needs another separate blog! We were served lunch in the school! Perfect for us, felt like home.

Impressive view of the schools open yard!

Tara, Aruna and Nandini

Meenakshi ammal temple visit:

We had seen this temple perhaps 45 years ago! I remember walking around totally flabbergasted by the grandeur of the temple! We had a few hours to spend before going to the airport for our flight home. Aruna thought we could just make a quick visit to the temple. I wasn't too sure, imagining the long queues. 

Thanks to the teacher power we did have a quick darshan. They spoke to one of their ex-students, her brother was the head priest! We were briefed well on where to wait, meet and follow the priest, who would take us in. We had a wonderful experience and were comfortably on time at the Madurai airport. No picture though of the interiors, except a few we managed walking around the exteriors !

A thoroughly researched set of No's!

This report is for Rohini who thinks I like to talk of food, especially when traveling! 

We had dinner in Thanjavur after our visit to the temple. Guided to the place by our driver. It was interesting. Food was cooked in an open area, just the roof was covered like an extension of a factory shed. Cooking was done using wood fire! I saw the kitchen while I washed my hands! Looked open and clean! It was good food and we ate well as we were hungry! I still maintain that the rasam, made by Chandramouli's grandmother in this style is still the best! 

The breakfast the next morning at the home-stay was nice. The lunch at Chidambara Vilas was good! Many varieties though! We had light a la carte dinner and in good style! The breakfast was also right, but our mind was already on our next part of the journey! (I am allergic to French words adapted to English as it is pronounced as in French and I get corrected all the time!)

The grandeur of Chidambara Vilas and other mansions

 As we entered the Chidambara Vilas I noticed a picture which reminded me of my grandfather in a similar attire and his photo displayed in the same way! Just that, no other similarities! 

https://www.sangamhotels.com/chidambara-vilas-pudukkottai/

The resort is very impressive. The staff very welcoming. We arrived around lunch time and had a quick lunch. Being a bit tired after the morning activities and the drive I just slept. I missed a demo of how to cook Chettinad cuisine but joined a talk about Chettiars and their style as businessmen. We retired early after dinner!

As Dayanidhi commented on my earlier blog on mansions, chettinad reminds one of Thailand and Penang, in short, areas which are better off. Sethu was also surprised to see so many mansions in that small area! There are so many lessons one can learn from the chettiyars. The way they became prosperous, the reason they had to leave Burma. The rationale for building so many Mansions and so on! However it is also true that we do not see the abject poverty we saw right after our independence!

I remember arguing with friends, I was a teen, that we should not have used the Rastrapathi Bhavan and other big places as residences, we were a poor country! We should have used them as public places. I have learnt that I am a lone voice in such a debate and will be shouted down! Most humans are built differently.  

Incredible woodwork!

We didn't go out in the evening.
Walked around the swimming pool!

Dining area

Pooja room

The general manager of the resort tooks us around 

The group of residents at the resort

We drove the next day to visit a factory making the famous chettinad tiles. On the way the driver stopped to show us this Mansion. More like a museum, we just walked around. I guess the fee collected helps to maintain the mansion.