A Week In karadi Maligai

Before i went to Chennai on June 14, i spent a week in a place called Aruppukkottai, some 60 Kms from Madurai. It was a strange experience. From Madurai, it takes a 90 minute bus ride through wind mills and barren land to reach this place; a dusty, hot and incredibly overcrowded piece of land. There are no decent hotels. The only lodge with decent enough rooms is called 'Karadi Maligai' (Bunglow of Bears). Strange name to put for a Lodge, it seems. But to the people here, there is nothing strange about it.
The main industry is textile and they have a number of textile mills in and around Aruppukkottai. Almost all the main banks, except the new gen banks, have branches in here and lending it is big business.
There is nothing much to see here. Outside its hot and dusty. Water is salty and there are constant power cuts. In short, i have no idea how all these people are coping with life here.