|
The people
of Madurai are amicable, hospitable, and deeply respect and
value their traditions. Though Salwar Kameez, a North-Indian
ethnic wear for women, has made deep inroads into the city's
populace, many prefer the traditional Indian wear of Thavani
or Dhavani, also called Half Saree, and Saree. Recently too,
the preference for Western wear has increased.
Maduraiites like to entertain themselves by watching movies
and visiting amusement parks. The city has plenty of Movie
Halls, numbering about 50. This is a large number for a city
of Madurai's size, and recently many Movie Halls have closed
down due to High ticket rates. Madurai once had a rich
tradition of Carnatic music, boasting of several stalwarts.
Popular carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi was born in
Madurai and learnt music here until she moved to Madras.
Madurai is famous for the Jil Jil Jigarthanda, Paruthi Pal,
and sugar cane juice. Jigarthanda is a delicious drink made
of algae, milk and sugar. Paruthi pal is yet another drink
made of cotton seeds, flour of raw rice, coconut and jaggery.
There is also a special 'fruit mixture' drink that is sold
here, mostly near the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Some of the
famous restaurants in Madurai are the Modern Restaurant
(since 1956), Arya Bhavan and the latest Madurai Meenakshi
Bhavan. The specialty of Modern Restaurant is the
scrumptious chili parotha, which is spicy shredded bits of
parotha garnished with green chilies, lemon, and cilantro.
Another favorite joint is Murugan Idli Shop that serves
steaming hot idlis and a variety of chutneys to go with it.
One great distinction about Madurai's road side food joints
is that they are available almost all the time. Visitors to
Madurai are recommended to try the dosas and pongals; there
are some 30 varieties of dosas alone.
Madurai is also well known for its fragrant Jasmine flowers.
Jasmine is known as Malli or Malligai in Tamil. Madurai
Malli is an important horticultural produce. The buds are
transported every day to major cities in India, like Mumbai. |
