Study of city evolution- temple town Madurai

STUDY OF CITY EVOLUTION

MADURAI ATHENS OF THE EAST.

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INTRODUCTION• MADURAI , popularly known as the Temple

city, also called as ATHENS OF THE EAST, City of Junction, City of Jasmine, CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS and City of four junctions. Madurai is third major economic, industrial, commercial, political centre and a major transportation hub for the southern Tamilnadu. The city is renowned for tourism, festivals and vibrant cultural life in general and is considered to be the states cultural capital.

• The rich and vibrant natural and cultural landscape with different linguistic and cultural groups coexisting together in its UNIQUE CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS, AND ART FORMS make it a classical example of an urban environment wherein diversity becomes the source of strength rather than conflicts.

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Madurai is administrative headquarters of Madurai District. The capital of the Pandyan kingdom was initially Korkai, around 600 BCE and was later moved to Koodal ie, Madurai during the reign of Nedunj Cheliyan. The district is bounded on the north by Dindigul district on the east by Sivaganga on the west by Theni district and on the south by Virthunagar District.

LOCATION

STUDY OF CITY EVOLUTION - MADURAI 4ARIAL VIEW OF SREE MEENAKSHI AMMAN TEMPLE ALONG WITH THE SKYLINE OF MADURAI.

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HISTORY Madurai has a long and well recorded history. As early as the 3rd century BC, Megasthenes visited, the city being referred to as "Methora". Madurai has been described as the seat of the Pandyan Dynasty. The capital of the Pandyan kingdom was initially Korkai, around 600 BCE and was later moved to Koodal ie, Madurai during the reign of Nedunj Cheliyan. The city was home to the third and last Tamil Sangam between 300 BCE and 200 CE. After the Sangam age, most of present day Tamil Nadu, including Madurai, came under the rule of the Kalabhras dynasty, which were ousted by the Pandyas around 550 CE. The Pandyas were in their turn removed from power by the Chola dynasty during the early 9th century.

PLAN depicting the Entire premises of Sree meenakshi amman temple

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The city remained under control of the Cholas until the early 13th century, when the second Pandyan empire was established with Madurai as its capital. After the death of the last Pandyan ruler, Kulasekara Pandian,

Madurai came under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate. The Madurai Sultanate then seceded from Delhi and functioned as an independent kingdom till its destruction by the Vijayanagar Empire in 1378.

Madurai became independent from Vijayanagar in 1559 and came under the Nayaks.

Nayak rule ended in 1736 and Madurai changed hands several times between Chanda Sahib, Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan in the middle of the 18th century.

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In 1801 the British East India Company took direct control of Madurai and brought it under the Madras Presidency. In 1837, the city was expanded to accommodate the growing population by demolishing the fortifications around the temple. This was done on the orders of the then collector John Blackburn. The moat was drained and the debris was used to construct the new streets - Veli, Marat and Perumaal Mesthiri streets. The city was constituted as a municipality in 1866.

Map indicates the Evolution of Historic City Source: Department of History, M.K University, Madurai.

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TRADITIONAL PLANNING STRATEGIES

The old city of Madurai is considered to be designed according to the Rajdhani plan, described in Manasara, one of the Shilpasastra, and has the fivefold concentric rectangular formation with Meenakshi- Sundareshwara Temple at a very centre point. The city was a well planned one with bazaars and many broad streets with high and luxurious mansions on both sides.The city was built around the temple complex as the focal point with a combination of a concentric street pattern.

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The streets concentric to the temple complex formed the major streets viz., Chithirai Streets, Avani Moola Streets and Masi Streets. The next order of streets is perpendicular to the above streets and lead to the temple entrances.The developments within and beyond these streets are on an irregular pattern. A definite hierarchy of street pattern was adopted with the width of the Streets decreasing as they branched out, ending up in stone paved streets and lanes - the width of some being just 0.60 m. The entire city was enclosed within the fort walls and surrounded by a moat. The fort walls have been razed down and the moat filled up to form the present day Veli Streets.

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SETTLEMENT PATTERN

The settlement pattern of Madurai is planned according to the ancient system of town planning which is based on caste and occupational hierarchies. The map shows the present settelemnt pattern and its relavance with the ancient town planning system. Ancient south indian temple towns are designed by placing the temple complex at the centre with concentric rectangle pattern of streets around. This can be seen in another southern temple town srirangam also.

Map showing Settlement Pattern of Madurai city with ancient town planning system.Source: City as diagram Prof.Rutul Joshi

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In Madurai, Meenakshi Amman Temple is at the center. Royal Palaces, Brahmins and Priests at the first concentric rectangle.Traders, Kishatriyas and Vaishnavaites on the second rectangle. The lower caste Sudras and immigrants zoarashitrains in the third rectangle.

Map showing Settlement Pattern of Madurai city with ancient town planning system. Source: City as diagram Prof.Rutul Joshi

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THE END