Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2013
Capstone Advisor
Sherri Taylor
Honors Reader
Ann G. Gold
Capstone Major
Graphic Design
Capstone College
Public Communications
Audio/Visual Component
yes
Audio/Visual Location
Honors Library
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
yes
Honors Categories
Creative
Subject Categories
Art and Design | Book and Paper | Graphic Design
Abstract
When I first walked around downtown Madurai, down its narrow and dusty streets that led into more lanes and alleys, I noticed a trend of small street temples that were usually built outside stores and apartment houses. When I asked an older man who sat next to a one of these temples that was modest in size and consisted of a Ganesha, Hindu elephant god statue, he told me that as a Western woman, I shouldn’t waste my time studying these small insignificant temples. He insisted that I focus on the grand and large Meenakshi Temple, which Madurai is famous for in India. This dismissive answer inspired me to find the reason why these temples exist because it was clear that no one else was studying them but due to their popularity in the streets, I understood they had a function of some importance.
Based on my studies abroad in Madurai, I completed research on these temples because they combined my interest in religious studies but also allowed me to explore the daily life of residents of downtown Madurai. Also by focusing my creative eye on the visually engaging small street temples, my research allowed me to incorporate photography into my project. My final Capstone project is a book that I designed that consists of my research and photographs of street temples in Madurai, India.
By turning my ethnographic study about Madurai’s small street temples into a book, my expectation is that my research is both visually engaging but more importantly educational for those interested in how popular Hinduism is practiced in Madurai, India.
Recommended Citation
Berzins, Elina, "The Small Overlooked Hindu Street Temples of Madurai" (2013). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 10.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/10
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
