Madurai, a city that bombards the senses with a never-ceasing stream of unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells, is the base for SITA classes and other activities. Courses are structured to allow students to explore the community and its people, with lectures and discussions that provide a basis for formulating questions to be investigated outside the classroom. Most issues discussed in class are pertinent to the daily lives of Tamil people, thus also to SITA students' experiences. Drawing insights from the surroundings and expressing them in discussion and papers is a central element of the program.

An ancient temple city and center of traditional culture, Madurai is a small town of more than 1 million people in Tamil Nadu, India's southernmost state. Once capital of an ancient kingdom, Madurai was built around the Meenakshi Temple, whose richly decorated gates tower over the city. This temple plays an integral part in Madurai life, and attracts Hindu pilgrims from all over India.

In the heart of the city, tangled lanes encircling the Meenakshi Temple are jammed with people, bicycles, rickshaws and meandering cows. The city is also filled with thousands of neighborhood Hindu shrines, as well as numerous Muslim mosques and Christian churches, all blaring calls to prayer from loudspeakers mounted high above the streets.

Living in Madurai immerses SITA students in the fascinating complexity of South Indian society. Celebrations for a local deity, wedding, or some other significant event are daily occurrences in Madurai. Most months also include major religious or secular festivals calling for city-wide celebration. Meenakshi Temple buzzes with activity from dawn to dark as local worshippers and pilgrims vie for space with musicians, temple elephants, and processions of various deities.

Many things about Madurai seem unfamiliar to most Westerners, from sights, smells, and sounds to customs and social practices. Women regularly wear saris or other traditional attire, though urban men and school children are increasingly adopting Western dress.

The food is spicy and totally different from the Indian food most Americans have experienced in restaurants. The climate can also be challenging—monsoon rain may arrive with a vengeance, or the region might be parched from heat and drought. Though SITA participants have over the years stayed remarkably healthy despite testing conditions, prospective students should consider the challenges carefully.

Overall, the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are in many ways distinct from the rest of India. Their state languages are unrelated to languages of the north, and southerners are generally of a darker complexion with distinctive features. Climate, major crops, diet, rituals, and dress styles all serve as markers that distinguish Southern from Northern India.

Tamils in particular are extremely proud of their linguistic and historical heritage, which continues to flourish in the traditional setting of Madurai and throughout the state of Tamil Nadu. Centuries-old temples and palaces built by Tamil kings dominate the landscape in many cities and towns. Literary works produced by a Tamil poets' academy are among the oldest extant manuscripts in the world, and remain vibrant objects of research and debate. Traditional music and dance forms continue to be taught and practiced. These unique and sophisticated cultural forms are proudly pointed out by Tamils as evidence of the historical depth and sophistication of Tamil culture.