Indian Columbus

Madurai  city is famous for its magnificent Meenakshi Sundareswara temple, a well-known fact. Sundareswara temple is the first Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam of the Pandya region. (The important temples of Lord Shiva that were revered in the verses of Shaivite saints are called Devara Paadal Petra Sthalams). The second Paadal Petra Sthalam in the Pandya region is  the Tiru Aappanoor  temple. It is located in the Sellur locality in Madurai. Even though it is an ancient and prominent temple of the city, it remains less popular.   Highlights: Sambandhar  revered the temple in his verses in Devaram. God  - Aappudaiyaar Goddess  - Kuravankamazhum Kuzhali Other names of God - Annavinodhan, Rishabhapuresar, Idapuresar Other names of Goddess - Sunganda Kundalambal Teerth  (Holy water) -  Idaba Teerth Sthala Vruksha  (Holy tree) -  Bilva Second Devara Paadal Petra Sthalam in Pandya region Legend: As per the legend, a Pandya King,  Cholantaka Pandya  by name, fainted

Those who go to Madurai, the Temple City of India, get overwhelmed by visiting the grand Meenakshi Temple and generally do not explore further. Few people go beyond this gigantic temple and visit various sites of historical and heritage values. However, not even those few would have heard about this hidden treasure called  Samanar Malai . At a distance of around 10 km from Madurai Junction, in a small hamlet called  Keezha Kuyilkudi , the hillock that stretches about 3 km of area is located. Due to 1000+ years old Jain sculptures on the hill, it is named  Samanar Mala i (in Tamil, it means the hillock of Jains). A distance of 10 km is not a big deal. However, this village remains lesser known and is not easily accessible. Public transport is poor, and the mobile signal is weak; it may be impossible to book call taxi from this village. There are no other means of transportation available here. It is advisable to go in your own vehicle or book a cab for half a day from Madurai. The

Madurai is the Temple City of India. In addition to the famous Meenakshi temple, there are many ancient temples at every nook and corner of the city, which is well known. However, most of us might not know that Madurai has an old mosque dating back to the 13th century. Kazhimar Big Mosque , called  Kazhimar Periya Pallivasal  in Tamil and Qadi Taj al-din, is the oldest mosque in Madurai. This mosque is located on Kazhimar Street, a small street that branches out near the Bus Stand. The mosque is traditionally believed to have been built in  1284 CE . It is said that Sayid Jamal Aldin, a descendant of Prophet Mohammad, was sent from Egypt as Qazi (the religious arbitrator) for Malabar in the 13th century CE. His son,  Qadi Sayyid Taj al-din , became the Qazi of Madurai. He built Big Mosque as a thatched structure originally. As per the legend, the Pandya King of Madurai donated the land and permitted Qazi to construct the mosque. (Who was that Pandya King? There is no firm record)

The middle-aged man from Gujarat had a sleepless night. It was definitely not because of his stay in a stranger's house in a faraway city in South India. The sight of hundreds of poor people wearing only loin-cloth left him sleepless. He kept on thinking about the acute poverty condition that was prevailing in the county. On the very next day, he changed his attire. Since that day, he had worn only a short dhoti and additionally a shawl during the winter. He did not bother to change his attire when a world leader laughed at him and called him "half-naked Fakir".  Yes! The man was none other than Mahatma Gandhi. In Madurai city of Tamil Nadu, he delivered a speech to the peasants on 21st September 1921 CE. The peasants' poor condition made him give up his traditional attire and adopt short dhoti as the symbol of identification with the country's poor. Thus, Madurai played a vital role in the life of Mahatma. And we have a memorial museum for Gandhi in the ci