Chithirai Exhibition at Madurai

Was lucky enough to catch up with the annual chithirai exhibition that’s conducted on the tamukkam grounds of madurai.

Madurai doesn’t have much of recreation. So chithirai exhibition usually attracts large crowds. This years exhibition was no exception.

The crowd was crawling slowly towards the ticket counter. One great advantage of such exhibition is that u can witness homely girls of madurai in full makeup(“which would usually include thavani, liitle ornaments on the neck, malligai flowers adorning their neatly combed hair and a kumkum in their foreheads a little above the middle of their eyebrows forming a imaginary equilateral triangle if connected to their eyebrows! … perfect beauty I would call them(equivalent tamil transcription: semma kattai machi!”));

As I entered the grounds I could hear the monotonous voice of the infamous roja paaku ad tearing the loudspeakers placed through out the grounds. The catchy one among the Ad was

10th faila ….kavalapadthinga
kings catering institiute join panungaaaaaaaa
velinatuku pongaaaaaaa
lifeaaaaaa enjoyyyyyyy panunga

(Actual Public Reaction: intha natheri paya lifeaa enjoy panathunala thaan 10th la kuthivutanunga…inimey kingsla vera senthu gummi adikanumoooo)

appalam, molagai bajji are part and parcel of chithirai exhibition. People never leave the place without munching the gigantic appalams and molagai bajji’s.

But I decided to get myself occupied up with a Butter Bun. When I think of ButterBun it reminds me the guy who used to make ButterBuns near my friends home. He was body builder. He usually stood first in the districts body building competitions. We were his ardent fans. He told us that he used to eat lots of ButterBuns that’s why he is so much healthier. Eventually I and my friend used to eat his ButterBuns during school days. But after joining college we were not able to do so. We went to the same place after a year and asked for the person(body builder) who used to make butterbuns. We got a stunning reply “ he died of heart attack while excercising in gym”. That’s the last day I ate Butterbuns and that’s the day I decided never to go to gym.

So after a long long time I tasted the Butter Buns this chithirai exhibition. After munching out the entire bun I read the packet holding the buns.it read “Pandian SWEAT Buns”. Curse the gods it happens only in india!