History of Madurai is the very history of its lakhs of inhabitants – who came from far and wide throughout the ages in search of a better life, found the city worthwhile and began to call it home.
The majority Tamil speaking populace has inadvertently classified the rest of the city's residents into Sourashtras, Marwaris (saettu), Muslims (Bhai), Naidus, Malayalees, Anglo-Indians (dorais) etc. The so called Marwari could, in fact, be a Gujarati-speaking Patel, Sindhi-speaking Raheja or even a Kutchi-speaking Memon.
Vibrant culture
And the ‘bhai' would either be speaking Urdu or wearing ankle-high lungi and skull cap and speaking chaste Ramnad Tamil. As for the ‘Naidu,' it is anybody who speaks Telugu, whether he is a Reddiar or Arya Vysya or sundry others. In the ‘dorais' case, there were instances of blonde-haired Anglo-Indians walking down Town Hall Road having been mistaken as easy-to-fleece foreigners visiting Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.
However, except for the Sourashtras who are concentrated in the eastern parts of Madurai, and Muslims in a small way in Khaji Mar Street area, Mahaboobpalayam, Goripalayam, Nelpettai and Ismailpuram, other areas in the old city have not been ghettoised. This has resulted in people speaking many languages, practicing different faiths and celebrating their own festivals mingle within the confines of the densely-populated areas south of Vaigai. Later, the working class moved into Sellur on the other side of the river, and much later the nouveau-riche into Anna Nagar and KK Nagar.
Through the Madurai Mosaic column in the past one year, one could only scratch the surface of this magnificent city. But still, out came into the open a bewildering assortment of customs and traditions, ambitions and ideas of these colourful communities, the diversity of which could even rival that of many metropolitan cities.
Misconceptions
In the process, many popular perceptions about the different communities turned out to be mere misconceptions. Some were thought to be unethical businessmen who are the sorts that flee the city after amassing wealth by hook or by crook, others were suspected to be treacherous while yet others were likened to sitting ducks.
On the contrary, but for the language and distinct traits, the migrants -- both who came after 1900 and others who settled down centuries earlier – take pride in calling themselves natives of Madurai and its great temples.
The distinct ‘Madurai accent' in all of them is unmistakable, revealing the long years of bond with the city and its people. And these people are crazy about Tamil films and songs. In fact, many do not even have a faintest idea about films or songs in the language they speak at home everyday. It was a pleasant surprise to come across some who were either seriously into Tamil literature or interested in it.
Many like G.R. Mahadevan, C.R. Patel, Harisingh, Abdul Karim Zaveri, Mahesh Chhabria, Shantilal Sangoye, P C Thomas, Ramakrishna Rao, Marcus Cleure … the list is long… were more than glad to share the traits of their respective communities to make the world get a better understanding of them. Their hospitality was overwhelming. Quite a few others perceived this column to be an affront to compartmentalise people of a homogenous nature and acted rude, affirming involuntarily that it takes all sorts of people with different views and temperaments to make a vibrant city.
Madurai, it seems, remains a successful trading centre since ancient times only through the combined efforts and pooled talents of its people from diverse backgrounds.
Instead of mixing and diluting the distinct features of its communities in a melting pot to churn out urban stereotypes as in the United States of America, this city of unpretentious people has preserved the individualistic traits of its communities even while creating a colourful pattern of mosaic, dissimilar yet harmonious.
Source - The Hindu MetroPlus
The majority Tamil speaking populace has inadvertently classified the rest of the city's residents into Sourashtras, Marwaris (saettu), Muslims (Bhai), Naidus, Malayalees, Anglo-Indians (dorais) etc. The so called Marwari could, in fact, be a Gujarati-speaking Patel, Sindhi-speaking Raheja or even a Kutchi-speaking Memon.
Vibrant culture
And the ‘bhai' would either be speaking Urdu or wearing ankle-high lungi and skull cap and speaking chaste Ramnad Tamil. As for the ‘Naidu,' it is anybody who speaks Telugu, whether he is a Reddiar or Arya Vysya or sundry others. In the ‘dorais' case, there were instances of blonde-haired Anglo-Indians walking down Town Hall Road having been mistaken as easy-to-fleece foreigners visiting Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple.
However, except for the Sourashtras who are concentrated in the eastern parts of Madurai, and Muslims in a small way in Khaji Mar Street area, Mahaboobpalayam, Goripalayam, Nelpettai and Ismailpuram, other areas in the old city have not been ghettoised. This has resulted in people speaking many languages, practicing different faiths and celebrating their own festivals mingle within the confines of the densely-populated areas south of Vaigai. Later, the working class moved into Sellur on the other side of the river, and much later the nouveau-riche into Anna Nagar and KK Nagar.
Through the Madurai Mosaic column in the past one year, one could only scratch the surface of this magnificent city. But still, out came into the open a bewildering assortment of customs and traditions, ambitions and ideas of these colourful communities, the diversity of which could even rival that of many metropolitan cities.
Misconceptions
In the process, many popular perceptions about the different communities turned out to be mere misconceptions. Some were thought to be unethical businessmen who are the sorts that flee the city after amassing wealth by hook or by crook, others were suspected to be treacherous while yet others were likened to sitting ducks.
On the contrary, but for the language and distinct traits, the migrants -- both who came after 1900 and others who settled down centuries earlier – take pride in calling themselves natives of Madurai and its great temples.
The distinct ‘Madurai accent' in all of them is unmistakable, revealing the long years of bond with the city and its people. And these people are crazy about Tamil films and songs. In fact, many do not even have a faintest idea about films or songs in the language they speak at home everyday. It was a pleasant surprise to come across some who were either seriously into Tamil literature or interested in it.
Many like G.R. Mahadevan, C.R. Patel, Harisingh, Abdul Karim Zaveri, Mahesh Chhabria, Shantilal Sangoye, P C Thomas, Ramakrishna Rao, Marcus Cleure … the list is long… were more than glad to share the traits of their respective communities to make the world get a better understanding of them. Their hospitality was overwhelming. Quite a few others perceived this column to be an affront to compartmentalise people of a homogenous nature and acted rude, affirming involuntarily that it takes all sorts of people with different views and temperaments to make a vibrant city.
Madurai, it seems, remains a successful trading centre since ancient times only through the combined efforts and pooled talents of its people from diverse backgrounds.
Instead of mixing and diluting the distinct features of its communities in a melting pot to churn out urban stereotypes as in the United States of America, this city of unpretentious people has preserved the individualistic traits of its communities even while creating a colourful pattern of mosaic, dissimilar yet harmonious.
Source - The Hindu MetroPlus
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