Culture of Madurai

Madurai, one of the populated cities in Tamil Nadu holds strong mythological history and great cultural heritage over the past years. Located on the river Vaigai bank, the temple town is famous for high quality textiles and harvests of jasmine flowers. Madurai has been ruled by many powerful leaders such as Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Madurai Sultanate, Madurai Nayaks and the British Empire. It is important to know that the rulers of the Madurai have left an indelible mark on the culture of the city.

Moreover, the city is considered as an example of cultural diversity in which the richness of the culture can be found in everything. The culture of the heritage city is reflected in the form of customs & traditions, architectural majesty, eminent art work, folk dances, ballets, songs, festivals and much more. With the use of advanced technology, the city has become one of the major commercial and industrial centres in South India. Also known as Thoonga Nagaram, Madurai attracts a large number of tourists during the summer vacation. Some of the popular building that holds rich heritage value includes Thirumalai Nayak Palace, Gandhi Memorial Museum, Gandhi Museum, Rajaji Children Park and so on.

The Madurai arts and crafts ensure to reflect the rich cultural tradition of the city and they are famous all over the world. The crafts in Madurai attract a large number of tourists from different parts of the world. Moreover, the major crafts practised in the Madurai district include weaving and spinning. Textile industry has established a great place in the city which utilizes the ancient techniques of weaving. Further, the cotton textile industry in Madurai helps to offer great employment to unemployed people and inhabitants. It is estimated that the textiles produced in this region are exported to all the countries of the world.

Many trade exhibitions and art fairs are conducted in the city which displays a wide range of traditional and ethnic goods. Few reports have estimated that the arts and crafts of the city have helped the tourism industry to reach great heights. Madurai is specialized in producing fine gold-bordered veshtis, medium weight cotton sarees with fabric painting, woolen goods, silk cloth and much more.

The festivals in Madurai play an important part in the society and they hold rich cultural heritage. Generally, people from all around the world gather in the city to watch the traditional festivals held in Madurai. Each of these festivals celebrated in Madurai has a story behind them. Pongal is one of the major festivals in Madurai that extends to three days and it is celebrated to thank the Sun for giving food from nature.

Pongal is also known as Harvest Festival. Another festival which attracts and surprisingly mirrors the festival of Cowboy culture is Jallikattu festival. In this, the groups of bulls are left around the public and interested candidates show the courage to tame the bulls. Chithirai Festival is also known as wedding festival of Minaxi Goddess. Chithirai Festival is most influence festival in Madurai. Other festivals like Cradle, Avanimoolam Festival, Float Festival, and Dance Festival are also popular attraction to the tourists to Madurai. Float Festival is considered to be a major festival that takes place on the full moon night between the mid January and February.

The traditional culture of Madurai city is reflected on the lifestyle of the people in Madurai. Moreover, the people living in the city are highly religious and they are known for their warn hospitality. They are ardent worshippers of Lord Shiva and they trust believe in hardwork and spirituality. According to census report of 2001, the total Madurai population extends to 10,16,885 which includes 509,313 men and 507,512 women in total. At present, the Madurai people have started to slowly adapt the modern lifestyle and standard way of living.

People in Madurai follow a simple lifestyle where they ensure to respect the traditions of other religious strongly. Most of the people in Madurai are very hard working, cultured and sportive in nature. They also entertain themselves by performing arts such as dance, music and drama in the stage. Here, the people have a great sense of togetherness and they try to support their people at all times. Sari and Dhavani are termed to be traditional clothes worn by the people in Madurai. People from different parts of the country visit the commercial city and explore the essence of ancient culture deeply. The main occupation carried out by the people in Madurai includes agriculture, making of pottery & clay utensils, kolam and more.

The language spoken by the majority of the population in Madurai is Tamil. Generally, the Tamil language in Madurai is pure and it doesn’t influence any other languages of the nation. English, Saurashtra, Urdu, Hindi and Telugu are some of the other languages spoken by the people in Madurai. Out of these, Saurashtra is a popular language that is spoken by a large section of Madurai population. It is essential to know that this community holds a significant presence in the city during the ancient times. Urdu is spoken by the Muslim community residing in the Madurai city.