After five days in Madurai, our group has had a bit more time to examine Lady Doak College, Madurai, and service sites.  On Friday night we participated in “International Night” with the Lady Doak students.  Believe it or not, we had to perform (dancing and singing on stage).  With little time to prepare, we chose something easy… the Cha Cha Slide.  I’m not sure if students thought it was funny or were actually impressed, but everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.  More importantly, the Lady Doak students performed traditional dances from Tamil Nadu in beautiful traditional saris.

On Saturday, we went to a mental rehabilitation center, Shristi.  This was the part of the trip I’ve been most apprehensive about, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.  Shristi is about 15km outside of Madurai in a peaceful plot of rice-farmland in a valley.  It was absolutely beautiful and serene.  The rehab center itself was entirely self-sustainable.  As part of their program, residents choose one of many skills to learn, and then spend part of their day either working in the dairy, making biofuel, cooking, gardening, creating compost, or making crafts from coconuts and banana leaves, etc.  The residents seemed happy, motivated, and proud of the work they were doing.  The Shristi staff also were very pleasant and anxious to share their model of rehabilitation and the work they’re doing.  One of the things I loved about this service site was how outward facing it is — community outreach, volunteer programs, and work with residents’ families is helping dispel myths and build more awareness about mental illness in southern India.

Today we went to the Meenakshi Temple here in Madurai.  The temple was built in 3 phases – 7th century, 14th century, and 17th century.  As non-hindus, we were not able to see the innermost part of the temple (the 7th century portion).  The portion we did see was absolutely amazing – the colors, the intricate granite statues, the symbolism, and best of all, observing the people worshipping there.  There is so much history and complex symbolism – it would take years to understand everything going on in the temple.  One thing I did learn is that the temple was built in the shape of Meenakshi (the hindu god Shiva’s wife).  The west entrance is the head, one north entrance is the arm, the south entrance the other arm, and two east entrances are the legs.  The center region of the temple is the water (stomach/womb) and has a large statue in the middle to represent her belly button.  So much more, but there’s a bit to get you started.

Just like the temple, India is complex and intricate.  I know there is no possible way I will understand the culture before I leave in a week or so.  Hopefully my work with Mother Theresa’s Home and Mizhalai Ilam over the next week will create a foundation to better understand this culture through building relationships with the people in Madurai.