"This painting was the only one I managed to make while staying in Madurai. I would dearly liked to have painted some of the scenes in the city but at the time didn’t feel I was up to coping with the probable curiosity I may create.
 
With a population of around a million, Madurai is one of the oldest cities in Southern India, dating back to the 5th century BC. Legend has it that Lord Shiva was born here, hence the reason for the city's magnificent Meenakshi Temple.
 
When I came to leave Madurai in the late morning of the third day, rather than walk with my heavy backpack to the station, I chose to take a cycle rickshaw that was waiting at the gate to the bungalow. About halfway to the station I noticed a stall on the other side of the street that was selling bananas, and thinking they would be something good to eat on the train, asked the driver if he could stop and wait while I went across and bought some. Instead of pulling in where we were, he crossed the road into all the oncoming traffic, to pull up alongside the stall. If that wasn’t frightening enough, when we left he continued to travel on the wrong side, taking us round a roundabout where we narrowly missed being hit head on, by first a bus, then a large lorry. It was, I feel sure, only be incredible good fortune that we made it to the station at all. I have often wondered how much longer my rickshaw man managed to survive." - MH