Tamil Nadu has been spoilt for choice when it comes to determining a cultural epicentre. However, there is no doubt that Madurai will easily vie for the top spot. After all, it is the home of the centuries’-old Sangam literature, the culturally evolved reign of the Pandyas, the religiously significant Meenakshi temple and its grandeur, and the steady development of music and dance. The heritage town, a land of the jasmine flower, boasts legendary composers and performers, given the active encouragement and patronage of everything creative.
Madurai can be called the cradle of culture. It is considered to be one of the few cities in the modern world with continuous inhabitation of people for about 2,500 years. It’s also one of the few places whose name has never been changed.
Madurai Mani Iyer, a revered performer from the heritage town
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
With every passing century, the banks of the Vaigai have welcomed culture, religion and myriad arts. Though music was routinely performed in the Pandya court, accounts of music creation, propagation and performance go back, perhaps, about three centuries.
The effect of the Cauvery on music has always been spoken about. But the virtues of the Vaigai are not far behind. Take, for example, the several compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar, Syama Sastry, Muthiah Bhagavathar and others who pay obeisance to Goddess Meenakshi. Superimpose that with the array of revered teachers and performers — Pushpavanam Iyer, his son Madurai Mani Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Madurai Somu, Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan and others. The depth and salience of their music is even more striking when you realise that each of them is a bani-pioneer.
T.N. Seshagopalan, another Carnatic stalwarts also traces his roots to Madurai
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
The emergence of some star performers over the decades has been helped by stalwart gurus — C.S. Sankarasivam, Karaikudi Rajamani Iyengar, Veena Shanmugavadivu and Lalgudi Alamelu (no relation, but a product of the famed school). Besides this, there are principals of colleges such as Satguru Sangitha Samajam — T.M. Thiagarajan, S. Ramanathan and T.N. Seshagopalan. This ensured a free flow of remarkable talent, who achieved fame of varying degrees.
The city also has had a rich nadaswaram heritage with M.P.N. Sethuraman and M.P.N. Ponnuchamy scaling grand heights, including in the movie Thillana Mohanambaal. Violinist Kandadevi Alagiriswamy, dance music composer Madurai Srinivasan, and mridangists Madurai Srinivasan and Venkatakrishnan have been worthy torchbearers of the city’s music tradition.
Music has also flowed in the form of devotional stacks, including the immortal Tiruppugazh, while Adi Sankaracharya’s Meenakshi Pancharatnam has been performed as viruttam in concerts. The peerless T.M. Soundararajan (TMS), a film music legend, was a Madurai musician who began his life in classical music. And, nationalist poet Subramania Bharati also taught at a school for a couple of months in 1904.
Padma Subrahmanyam’s popular production ‘Meenakshi Kalayanam’ is an ode to the goddess
| Photo Credit:
The Hindu Archives
Goddess Meenakshi is the subject of many kriti gems that are popular till this day. Dikshitar’s ‘Meenakshi memudam’ (Purvi Kalyani) and ‘Mamava Meenakshi’ (Varali), Syama Sastry’s ‘Saroja dalanetri (Sankarabharanam), ‘Meena lochana’ (Dhanyasi) and ‘Mayamma’ (Ahiri), and Papanasam Sivan’s ‘Devi neeye thunai’ (Kiravani) are an important part of contemporary concert lists.
Meenakshi is vividly described as a princess, traveller warrior (digvijaya), victor (vijaya), the wearer of the ruby (manikka) nose-ring, and musician (maduravani, veni, ganavinodini, veena gana vinodini, sama gana lola).
Meenakshi now rules over an area of 17 acres, with stunning architectural marvels, and surrounded by the fine arts — a logical pedestal for the fish-eyed goddess.
The annual Music Season in Chennai could also be moved to places such as Madurai on occasions – as a long overdue reverence to where it all began.
Published – November 29, 2025 04:22 pm IST
