Electric Cycles in Madurai

Take the old core first. Chithirai, Avani Moola and Masi Streets form concentric rings around the Meenakshi temple, each named for a Tamil month. Textile counters, wholesale lanes and small shops cram into maybe two km of the gopurams. These streets were laid out centuries before anyone owned a car. Try finding parking near the temple in a four-wheeler and you'll see why a bicycle wins.

Now the river. South of the Vaigai you've got Periyar bus stand, Simmakkal and Arapalayam; north of it, Goripalayam, Tallakulam, KK Nagar and Anna Nagar fan out towards the Mattuthavani bus terminus. Most days that means one river crossing and a few km on each side, so 4 to 8 km, all on ground that hovers around 134 metres. The only bumps are rock hills out at the margins, Thiruparankundram and Yanaimalai among them.

Longer runs point outward. People commute to the ELCOT IT park, where HCLTech and Honeywell have campuses, and to Kappalur in the south-west, base for auto-component and engineering firms. Students aim for the American College by Goripalayam, Lady Doak, Madurai Kamaraj University, or Thiagarajar College of Engineering at Thiruparankundram. KK Nagar to Kappalur is about 14 km. That's where a big battery starts to matter.

Don't wait for a metro. A roughly 31 km Thirumangalam to Othakadai line has been on paper for years and still hasn't won Union approval, with the Centre pushing the state towards better bus services instead. For short hops across town, an e-cycle beats standing at Periyar or Mattuthavani waiting for a bus.

It's warm year-round, and May is the worst. About 670 mm falls annually, mostly during the north-east monsoon from October to December, arriving in short, heavy bursts. Low streets near the river can sit under water for a few hours afterwards. Ride early or late in summer. When it pours, keep out of any puddle deep enough to touch the motor.