What are the intersting Fact about Madurai

What are the interesting Fact About Madurai

Madurai the etymology itself is alluring!! There are many sayings on the reason behind the name “Madurai”. I will share two of them which I found interesting.

Madurai - Mathuram (மதுரம்) meaning divine nectar. The sweet nectar bestowed from Lord Shiva’s hair which got the city purified and blessed the city against many threats.

Maruthathurai (மருதத்துறை) got tuned to Madurai. Those days, along the banks of Vaigai river of Madurai, Marutha trees (Terminalia arjuna) grew manifold.

What comes to your mind if someone inquiries you about Madurai? Ummm..the Temple City? The Sleepless City ?? (Thoonga Nagaram) or Jasmine flowers (Madurai Malli)? Okay, if you are a foodie, then for sure Konar Kadai Karidosai and our evergreen Jil Jil Jigarthanda would have crossed your mind at least for a thousand times.

Apart from all these, my hometown carries a huge history. Be it Her architecture, the temples and its sculptures, the streets and the reason behind their naming, the secret tunnels, and a lot more mysteries!

The streets of Madurai were named after the occupation of people living in those particular streets and those lanes still bear the same name. For instance,

• ValayalKaara Theru (street of Bangle sellers)
• Chitrakaarar Theru (street of artists)
• Chinnakadai veedhi ( street of petty shops)
• Mettukaara theru (street of Musicians)
• Nagaikadai Theru (street of gold merchants)
• Nelpettai (street of rice wholesalers)
• Vethilai pettai (street of betel leaf traders)

Also streets like Gandhi pottal ( the place where Gandhiji stopped to deliver his speech in his classic attire) Tamil Sangam Road ( the street where Tamil Sangam is situated), Vilakku Thoon (one of the important landmarks in Madurai where one can notice a Light Tower) are noteworthy.

Madurai is the home to people of various creeds and communities. Apart from Tamilians, one can find Jains, Sourashtrians in particular! The Samanar Hills display a beautiful hill rock complex where the Tamil monks once lived!

Madurai is surrounded by three small but prominent hills namely Pasumalai, Yanaimalai, Nagamalai representing Cow, Elephant, Snake respectively. These three hills stand as a border to the city.
Mahatma Gandhi’s bloodstained cloth on the day of his assassination is found in the Gandhi Museum, Madurai. Also, the museum holds a hundred plus artifacts used by him.

The Meenakshi Amman temple of Madurai keeps a firm hold on a myriad of surprises.

• It is said that Goddess Meenakshi ( Goddess Parvathi) as an infant was born with three breasts and the third one would disappear when she met Lord Sundhareswarar (Lord Shiva).
• The Hall of Thousand Pillars ( Aayiram Kaal Mandapam) gives an architectural feast to one’s eyes and these pillars are believed to be built out of a single rock.
• There are over 33,000 sculptures,4500 pillars,14 towers out of which 4 prominent towers facing the four directions.

The Temple was is in the list of 30 nominees of “New seven wonders of the world” and recently it has been honored with the second-best Swachh Iconic Place award.

The secret tunnel linking Nayakar Palace and Meenakshi Temple is yet another thing to explore. Since childhood, my parents show me a deep tank like a drain and tell me that the path connected the Nayakar palace and the temple. Over a span of years, the entrance to this tank is blocked. Some say this is just a false story but there are a handful of people who believes the tunnel link. Even if I visit the temple now, I always peep through that particular dark tunnel/

The Kadamba tree

 (Neolamarckia cadamba) The bark of this tree is preserved inside the temple premises. The Kadamba trees once filled the entire Madurai with its elegance. But now, only around 20 trees are left in Madurai. Each temple has its “sthala vriksham” marking the religious significance of the temple with a tree. For Meenakshi Temple, it is Kadamba tree and it is still preserved inside the temple.

The Rotating Linga

 The mural of rotating linga on the ceiling near the big Ganapati Shrine in Meenakshi temple, you can find this painting of rotating linga. This painting is done in such a way that from whatever angle and at whatever position you stare at the painting, the spout the base of linga always is pointed toward you.

Almost all my answers regarding Madurai hold this statement - Madurai is a perfect combo of urban and rural touch which makes the place super interesting. We can find uzhavar sandhai ( common market place) and Commercial Mals on the ends of the same road. Highly elevated commercial buildings on one side vs agricultural fields on the other side. I find this a perfect blend to credit my hometown.

Ultimately, I am proud that I share my place of birth with famous celebrities — Sundhar Pichai - CEO of Google; Present Finance Minister of India Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman; legend Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu; MS Subbulakshmi -Carnatic Singer; Solomon Paapaiyah & Raja - scholars and debate talk icons; S. Abdul Rahman Tamil poet, TM SoundarRajan-Carnatic musician, Political leader Captain Vijayakanth and playback singer and many film personalities like ManiRatnam, Ilayaraja etc

The fallacy that Madurai and Her people are arrogant, always wander with Aruvaa and pose with big mustache will be eventually disproved once you mingle here with the commoners. We are whiter than white by heart!!