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Road Trip: Bangalore to Madurai

Did you ever came across a term- “Hodophile”? This means a lover of roads or says one who loves to travel. Within the first year of our marriage, my parents and Mausi and Mausa Ji visited us with a plan to visit Rameshwaram.

Boon of Being A Hodophile
Roadmap ,distance and time taken

Benefits of Road Trip:

I am going to discuss the benefits of road trip Firstly it will give you a chance to listen to background stories.

Secondly, This will help you in self-reflection as to how far we have come and figure out the true potential within us.\

Thirdly, It helps you to rebuild the castle of memories, an opportunity to sleep in your mother’s lap, listen to the wisdom of your father again, learn new recipes from an aunt and new savior techniques from Coal mine Uncle.

Wherever you go ,Go with all your Heart-Confucius

Fourthly, it gives an opportunity to Experience a greater sense of Gratitude toward fellow traveling members and even nature.

Rise in nature’s lap

Fifthly Re-energize, Recharge and Refresh: Taking a trip away gives our minds and our bodies a chance to let go of everyday stress.
It’s about saying ‘yes’ to doing things that we enjoy, slowing down and taking care of ourselves.

As we were tired of the night-long journey.

Therefore on arrival, we planned to take a nice breakfast early in the morning which was served nicely on Banana leaf and trust me we were the utmost satisfies. It was SARVANA HOTEL somewhere in a way to Madurai. After some rest, we headed toward

Breakfast served nicely on Banana leaf

What are the must-visit historical places in Madurai?

Probably the Meenakshi Madurai Temple is a place worth seeing by every art lover. The architectural masterpiece is the finest example of a Dravidian style of architecture. Dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswara, who is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, this temple is located in the heart of Madurai city.

The monumental temple was built during the Pandya reign by Kulasekarer Pandya.

According to historical findings, the creation of this temple can be traced back to early A.D.

Madurai Meenakshi temple is built over an area of a vast area, with five different entrances. This temple has fourteen majestic towers.

Four of these massive towers known as Rajagopurams are nine-tier, while there is one seven-tier gopuram as well.

There are five numbers of five-tier gopurams. Along with these, there are two three-tier gopurams and two golden gopurams. All the gopurams display fine sculpting with intricate carvings on them, adding on to the grandeur of the Meenakshi temple.

The majestic thousand pillar hall of the temple

Beauty and exquisiteness of work excellence,

Opening timings of Madurai Meenakshi temple is from 5 AM to 12.30 PM. It again opens for darshan at 4 PM to 9.30 PM.

Most noteworthy is Thirumalai Nayak Palace:

Thirumalai Nayak Palace was built in 1635, by the King Thirumalai Nayak who had the vision of creating a masterpiece for a royal stay. It was designed as a residence for the king by an Italian architect.

This is
An artistic blend of Dravidian and Islamic styles, Thirumalai Nayak Palace is a place worth admiring and exploring when on a Madurai Tour.

The architecture of Thirumalai Nayak Palace, Madurai

Swarga Vilasam and Ranga Vilasam are two major sections in which Thirumalai Nayak Palace can be divided. These two sections comprise of a royal residence, quarters of workers, auditorium, religious places, ponds and gardens, queen’s harem, etc. 

The interiors of this palace mesmerize everyone with its intricate paintings and sculpting.
King’s Throne: These columns are linked by arches and an arcaded gallery.
I want to sing like a bird sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think-Rumi

Seems like Sculpture on the roof of the palace are worth noticing.

I think it may be first appearance of Dragon in Indian Sculpture

Thirumalai palace is known for its majestic pillars, with a height of about 82 feet and a width of almost 19 feet.  Dreams in colors, for hues, are vibrant. 

Painting on the wall depict dream of King
Presence of Microlithic tools
Presence of Buddha statue that Buddhism is philosophy of ages
Intricately defined beauty of women
Some glimpse of life in Madurai.

Best time to explore: Best time to explore this Sangam literature mentioned the city is November to February

A specialty of Madurai: Temple printed Silk Saree and business hub of Southern India.

Delicacy of Madurai: Temple area food.

How many Gods does Meenakshi Gopuram depict? Share your views.

Stay curious on your walks !