Meenakshi Amman Temple !

For all those who asked for pictures…presenting the Meenakshi Amman Temple ! Full details of the place is here..

These two pictures were clicked during an earlier visit.

These pillars and stone know each of my travails. My joys. My sorrows. For it is here that i spoke in silence. To the voice within. In silence. To peace. Part in belief. Part in practice. And more importantly, all in reverence and peace !

The Meenakshi Amman Temple at Madurai, is a must see. So, if you haven’t seen this place. Pack your bags ! Its a significant piece of architecture that i have never stopped being in awe of.

Built about three hundred years ago, when there were no cranes, no lifts, no cement, no sophisticated architects and 3D experts with expertise in Maya, it is a celebration of whats possible ! And yes, a sight to behold. The internet will supply you with inputs and information. I am just sharing a few pictures that i clicked !

Temple tower covered with scaffolding now

The temple is under renovation. All towers are covered with scaffolding and presumably the architecture on the towers are getting a new coat of paint. It will be a sight to behold when the scaffolding comes off. For sure !

Painting work on !
The dry temple pond and the dual painted steps to the pond


The temple cow just outside the sanctum sanctorum. Well, the colourful drape on the cow has been sponsored by Sivasakthi Bakery ! But that’s besides the point. The rituals are quite something ! Rich and full of pageantry !


A passageway with a painted designs for the cieling, Tirukural verses on one side, and sun rays streaming in through pillars on the other ! I stand there. Absorbing each moment. I dont know for how long !


A pillar in the South Tower. The camera and my own limited photography skills convey a very small fraction of the beauty of the place. It has to be seen and experienced. So, go ahead. And make that trip. If there is any other information / help that you need, do write in !

So, I step out after a couple of early morning hours in the temple.

As has been the practice with me for a few years now, i buy trinkets here. I pay. And the shop keeper says, ‘Rhamba Danks’. I hear it as Rhamba Dance ! And then in a minute i realise he was actually thanking me with a “Romba Thanks” ( Thank you very much ). I wonder whats come of me. To think of “Ramba Dance” ! At this time of the hour. With this setting. Huh !

On yet another note, there is this guide, who speaks in an American accent with a stiff Tamil dialect, that i can hear in the background. And he tells tourists that the Temple was built to keep the economy going. “Building a large structure gave employment to many thousands of people for many many years”, he says, rolling his R.

I notice that tourists nodding their heads vigorously. I wonder if these guides adapt their ‘presentations’ to current contexts. But, this theory seems plausible.

That is the solution ! Are world leaders of the recession hit world listening ? I wonder. For now, I hurry home. I am hungry. Already.

11 thoughts on “Meenakshi Amman Temple !

  1. Aleta says:

    Oh my! Beautiful details and bright hues ~ thank you for sharing these pictures and taking me to a place that most likely my feet will never find ~ but you have delivered to my mind’s eye!

  2. That was funny, the idea of the guide modifying his presentations according to the times:) That reminds me of Dubai’s Burj Tower construction which was halted due to lack of funds! Hmmm…

    The pics’re beautiful, Romba thanks;)

  3. Priya says:

    Nice pics’. Sometimes history is repeated over and over and they get tired too. u never know.

  4. Yes, I agree.
    Tourism is important to remove recession.

  5. Ranu says:

    real good pics!!! I had been to Meenakshi temple way back in 1991 thanks for sharing the pics….. revived lots of memories

  6. Well, there was an apsara called Rambha so maybe she comes over and dances sometime! ;).
    Were you thinking of the Southie movie bombshell?!

  7. Kavi says:

    Aleta : thank you ! I hope someday you will visit this place !! 🙂

    Naperville Mom : Glad you liked it..!

    Priya : I agree !

    Hobo : yes !!

    Sriram : Thanks mate !

    Ranu : Thanks !! Glad it revived your memories and thoughts

    roshni : Rambha…!! The bombshell !! Now we are talking ! 😉

  8. ashok says:

    great post Boss!!!

  9. nsiyer says:

    Beautiful pictures.Nice to see that they are painting the temple with Asian Paints.

  10. Jeevan says:

    I visited the Meenakshi Amman Temple a year back and been hurry we couldn’t be around much looking at 1000 pillars and sculptures. Nice pictures.

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