Amit Sinha's Travelog

I have a few minutes to kill at the Madurai airport, and looking
around me, its like a mini replica of San Jose Airport, as it seems
that this place caters only to the NRI community, with the occasional
business traveler. It does make sense, as with the excellent bus
connections, I find it hard to see why someone would take the flight
to Madurai.

I look around me and there are little brats running around with thick
american accents, followed by parents in jeans and salwars and bad
american accents… This could be San jose International Airport,
minus the Spanish!

Transport has been a fascinating experience in the past few weeks
that I have been here in Madurai. Buses are by far the most popular
forms of public transport, available in all shapes, sizes and forms.
From the old rickety ones that serve the suburban and city regions,
to the short-haul buses to places like nearby Karaikudi which have
TVs and show Tamil movie DVDs, with English subtitles!!! The long-
haul buses though, are by far the most interesting. They are full
sleepers, i.e., they have no seats, and instead have comfortable
sleeping berths, lower and upper, much like a train. While the single
ones are comfortable, the doubles can be a little intimidating, as a
single traveler, as you will be spending the night in the same bed
with a stranger! But such issues do not seem to affect the average
traveler, who is most accommodating of the situation.

A note on the airport before I sign off though- It serves only about
eight to ten flights a day, but is extremely clean and neat, with
professional staff and facilities, and what’s more, free Wi-fi, which
scores mega points in my book!

More about my experiences in Madurai when I return to Chennai and get
some time to have my virtual life catch up with reality.

As most of you know, I am in Madurai in South India, looking into some microfinance activities. When I go into the villages to meet with the local women and interview them, I am normally accompanied by one of the English-speaking managers. Despite having grown up in Tamil Nadu, my Tamil is embarrasingly mediocre, and I need to rersort to having someone translate the more complex questions for me.

However this morning, I was out on my own, along with one of the local project officers, who spoke mainly Tamil and a smattering of English. However, as it turned out, English was not required, because what was needed was someone who could understand what I was trying to say, and then put it across in the right words… it worked like a charm, and I think I got more out of the day than most other days. It just goes to show that langugae barrier is really not a barrier, if the person is smart enough to understand and interpret.

A dingy, non-air-conditioned cubbyhole in the small South Indian town of Madurai may notbe the first place that comes to mind for cheap broadband, but at Rs. 20/hr, or less than fifty cents an hour, you can sit on an old computer and access the net at blazing fast speeds.

I was walking around trying to find a place to eat and happened to see the faded sign announcing fast internet, and decided to check it out.

I’m trying not to be attached to the internet, but its hard with it being everywhere- you just can’t escape it.