We had gone to bed early on our only night at Cardamom House and early the next morning we were awakened by the sound of a symphony of birds in song outside our room. We relocated to our terrace dining table to see what we could see and before too long, the beautiful sunbird in this photo landed on a tree beside the porch. Before long we were served coffee and then breakfast and could have sat there forever just being part of nature but all too soon our driver for the day arrived. The day before had been our last day with Mohan but the new driver was also very nice.

It was really kind of odd given that we had been at Cardamom House for a grand total of about 16-hours but the setting was so peaceful and idyllic and the staff had been so beyond-the-call-of-duty kind to us that we actually felt a little sad at having to leave there that morning. And as if we needed one more reason to endear the place to us; as we walked to the car and looked up we saw an eagle soaring overhead.

We made the short drive into Dindigul and parked on the main road at the end of a long drive at the entrance to the Gandhigram Trust, a Khadi spinning and weaving center set up by Mahatma Gandhi. It was part of his Khadi movement promoting rural self-employment by encouraging the use of fabrics created locally rather than using cloth manufactured in Great Britain as mandated by the British under colonial rule.

This campus included not only a university but also different work sections devoted to the different steps in the production of fabrics. To a significant degree the economy of the small town of Dindigul still benefits from the work and revenue generated by these Khadi artisans.

As we walked across the campus from building to building watching the workers perform their role in the process, a guide from the facility explained that each work station had a specific function. One station was responsible for spinning the cotton yarn. Another was only involved in dyeing the yarn. Another station set up the giant warps like the one in this photo being stretched out in the yard. And then and only then the warps were handed off to another set of workers who actually wove the fabric.

But even that wasn’t the end of the story. While some of the fabric is sold as yardage, some others were then manufactured at the facility into clothing, bed spreads, napkins, table clothes and any other product that can be made from fabric.

And the final step was the small shop selling all of the above plus some additional food and household products. All of those items are also sold wholesale to other venders but it was nice to be able to buy them at the source.

After spending several hours at Gandhigram Trust we drove back towards Madurai, the location of the airport for our flight back to Delhi and the beginning of our return back home. But the flight was scheduled for late afternoon so we had plenty of time for one last foray on the food of southern Tamil Nadu.

Our new driver suggested a stop at the Bell Jumbo Restaurant and it was a good choice for high quality at a very reasonable price.

As I sit writing this report I have the receipt from the meal in front of me. In reviewing our check we find out lunch included: Drinking water (2 bottles), Vegetarian Biryani, Mutton Biryani, Chappathy Set (same as Roti), Garlic Naan, Butter Chicken Boneless, Parotta Single (flakey flat bread that in this case was sweet). The total bill including tax was ₹ 662 Indian Rupee or the equivalent of less than $9.50 US Dollars. So we had enjoyed 2 beverages, 3 entrees, 2 breads and a shared dessert for less than $10 USD.

Everything was really quite good and we especially enjoyed the Veg and non-Veg Biryanis.

It was a relatively short ride from the restaurant to the Madurai airport. Our first flight of the day on Indigo Air to Bangalore was uneventful but we experienced a significant delay and some passenger histrionics before we boarded our 2nd flight to Delhi.

Upon landing, we were reminded of the intense air pollution that Delhi suffers from and the sharp contrast of that element to what we enjoyed in Dindigul.