34 Facts About Madurai

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Madurai is an important industrial and educational hub in South Tamil Nadu.

Madurai city is administered by a municipal corporation established in 1971 as per the Municipal Corporation Act.

Madurai is one of the many temple towns in the state which is named after the groves, clusters or forests dominated by a particular variety of a tree or shrub and the same variety of tree or shrub sheltering the presiding deity.

Madurai has been inhabited since at least the 3rd century BCE.

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Madurai became independent from Vijayanagar in 1559 CE under the Nayaks.

Nayak rule ended in 1736 CE and Madurai was repeatedly captured several times by Chanda Sahib, Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan in the middle of the 18th century.

In 1801, Madurai came under the direct control of the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency.

In 2011 the Madurai Corporation expanded the area of its jurisdiction from seventy-two wards to one hundred wards, an increase in area from 51.

Madurai is built around the Meenakshi Amman Temple, which acted as the geographic and ritual centre of the ancient city of Madurai.

The land in and around Madurai is utilised largely for agricultural activity, which is fostered by the Periyar Dam.

The soil type in central Madurai is predominantly clay loam, while red loam and black cotton types are widely prevalent in the outer fringes of the city.

Municipality of Madurai was constituted on 1 November 1866 as per the Town Improvement Act of 1865.

Madurai was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 1 May 1971 as per the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971.

Madurai is one of the seven circles of the Tamil Nadu State Highway network.

Madurai is the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation and provides local and inter-city bus transport across the districts of Madurai, Dindigul, Sivagangai, Theni, Virudhunagar.

Madurai Junction is the major railway station serving the city.

The state government announced a monorail project for Madurai called as Madurai Monorail in 2011, which is in planning stages.

Madurai airfield was first used by the Royal Air Force in World War II in 1942.

Madurai has been an academic centre of learning for Tamil culture, literature, art, music and dance for centuries.

American College is the oldest college in Madurai, and was established in 1881 by American Christian missionaries.

Madurai Kamaraj University, established in 1966, is a state-run university which has 109 affiliated arts and science colleges in Madurai and neighbouring districts.

The agricultural college and research institute in Madurai, started in 1965 by the state government, provides agricultural education to aspirants in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu.

Madurai was traditionally an agrarian society, with rice paddies as the main crop.

Cotton crop cultivation in the regions with black soil in Madurai district was introduced during the Nayaka rule during the 16th century to increase the revenue from agriculture.

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Madurai is one of the few rubber growing areas in South India, and there are rubber-based industries in Madurai.

Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the south side of the Vaigai River in Madurai and is one of the most prominent landmarks of the city.

Tirupparankunram Dargah is located at the top of the Thiruparankundram hill where the cemetery of Sultan Sikandhar Badushah the then ruler of Jeddah and Madurai who travelled to India along with Sulthan Syed Ibrahim Shaheed of Ervadi during the 12th century is located.

Madurai is popularly called Thoonga Nagaram meaning the city that never sleeps, on account of the active night life.

Madurai has Theme Park, Athisayam which is situated in Paravai, Madurai – Dindugal main road.

People of Madurai celebrate numerous festivals, including Meenakshi Tirukkalyanam, the Chittirai Festival and the Car Festival.

Legend has it that the Hindu god Vishnu, as Alagar, rode on a golden horse to Madurai to attend the celestial wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareswarar .

Santhanakoodu festivals in Madurai are celebrated on various days during the Islamic calendar year to commemorate Islamic saints.

Madurai comes under the Madurai telecom district of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider.