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A vessel-buyer’s walk around the Masi streets
Brass lamps, bronze, iron and steel: what to look for in the streets around the Meenakshi temple, and when to go.
Madurai’s old city is built in squares around the Meenakshi temple, and the Masi streets, North, South, East and West, form the outer ring. For as long as anyone remembers, they have been where people come to buy vessels, from a single steel tumbler to a full set of wedding brass.
South Masi Street, where our shop is, has the most vessel shops in one stretch. Look for heavy brass urulis and kuthuvilakku lamps, bell-metal plates and bowls, and iron tawas stacked outside the smaller shops. Buying brass by weight is common here, so ask for the weight and the price per kilo, and compare between two or three shops before deciding.
The lanes between South Masi and the temple are worth a slow walk for smaller items: wooden ladles, coconut scrapers, stone grinders and the small brass pooja items that families buy for a new home. Early morning, between nine and eleven, is the calmest time. After four the streets fill with shoppers, and during the Chithirai festival in April and May, the crowds are enormous and many families plan their shopping around it.
If you have time for a short drive, Manamadurai, about 50 km east, is where our clay pots are made. Families of potters there have worked the same red clay for generations, and some will let you watch at the wheel if you ask politely. Come back to us afterwards, and we will help you carry or ship everything home.
