Chatting with folks on the streets of Madurai....

Completed my meanderings of the central city area of Madurai, fascinating, as they encompass the fourteen temple complex. Heavily domestic tourism dependent, with in Indians (Hindus) visiting on pilgrimage, but very few tourists evident from outside India.

Best shoe repair in Madurai--uses truck tyres for soles....

         Feeling that I had captured enough temple shots, or at least these temples, I concentrated my picture taking today on people in the work place, engaged in the business of making enough money to buy food for families. As such I tried, not always successfully, to avoid use of the built in  point & shoot telephoto that I feel is a ‘cop out’ and mostly misses the unique character of the subject. I tried to engage in simple, friendly conversations that would lower inhibitions (white folks are a REAL rarity to 99% of people on the streets of India. Who knows, but I might have been the first white person they had ever spoken to. Strange you say, but ask yourself, how many folks from Tamil Nadu have you ever spent time with discussing your work. But isn’t tourism all about people meeting people, so that barriers come down and prejudices disappear?.

            

The Honda water pump mechanic....

Glad that I have taken up the challenge of people photography as suggested in my educational reading, finding that I got a lot more out of my solo wanderings through the alley ways and lanes of Madurai and spent pleasant time sharing a laugh with strangers.
               Tomorrow, I head off to the ‘deep south’—that is to the southern tip of India at  Trivandrum---after Trivandrum, the next land is Antarctica!! Train leaves at 5.00am sharp and should arrive 7 hours later. Plagued with a pesky head cold, hopefully I can catch a spot of ‘shut eye’ in my AC2 sleeper berth en route.
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              Most cities and countries seem to have there own natural noise levels. Some have commented that Jamaica is an example of a noisy country with loud electronic music, shouting and laughter widely accepted by people as friendly & sociable behaviour.

First you dye me--then you eat me!!

             India from my own observations is a country of extreme noise pollution. Cars are judged by the size of their klaxons---large trucks and busses, having the loudest and most intimidating. Drivers drive with their thumbs on the horn button---- in total, the streets are a cacophony of sound. Initially, I found this all to be very wearying, but have to say that after 8 weeks ‘on the road’ that it disturbs me less--- maybe I am now slightly hearing impaired! Not only that, Indians are much more likely to speak with loud voices early or late in hotel corridors and in restaurants. No offence is intended or taken—that’s just the way it is and if you come to India, just get used to it!