Celebrities from Madurai

M.S.S,T.M.S,Madurai Somu,Madurai N.Krishnan,Mani Iyer,Seshagoplan,Ramanar,Rukmani

M.S.Subbulakshmi was born in Madurai on September 16,1916.Her mother Shanmugavadivu was a Veena vidwan in Madurai.MS was a child prodigy.Her first record was released when she was just 10 years old.She has acted in few Tamil films also in her younger days.She was married to Kalki Sadasivam who died in 1977.After her husband's death she stopped giving performances.Her famous renditions include Venkateswara suprabatham and Meera Bhajan.She was awarded Padma bushan,Padma Vibushan and later Bharat Ratna by the Indian government.AP governement has installed a bronze statue of MS in Tirupathi.She has also won the Ramson Magsay award.She died on December 11,2004


T.M.Soundararajan was born in Madurai on March 24,1923.He was ruling the Tamil film industry for over 40 years.He belongs to the Sourashtra community from Madurai.His devotional songs on Lord Muruga are popular.He has acted in few Tamil films also.He was awarded Padmshri by Indian Govenrment in 2003.In his formative years he imitated another star singer of yester years M.K.Thiagaraja Bagavathar.But later he developed a style of his own and many of the songs rendered by him are immortal and the favourites of many Tamil film goers.


Madurai Somu was was born in Madurai in 1919.He is the desciple of another famous carnatic musician Chittoor Subramanya pillai.Somu had an inimitable style of his own.He would render songs on Lord Muruga so emotionally and the audience would be spellbound on most of the occasions.His music career was started in 1934 at Tiruchendur.Hence he always had an emotional bonding with Lord Muruga.He was awarded Padmashri by the Indian government in 1976.Annamalai university conferred doctorate on him He died in the year 1989.


Madurai N.Krishnan was a desciple of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.He has composed many dance dramas for Tiruppavai and Divyaprabhandam.He got UNESCO award in 1970,Padmashri in 1992 and Padmabhushan in 2003.Indian Fine Arts Society also honoured him .He died in the year 2005 at Chennai.


Madurai Mani Iyer, carnatic Vocalist was born in 1925 at Madurai.He was a child prodigy.He had a unique style of singing.There was a huge fan following for his unque style of carnatic rendering.He died in the year 1968.


Madurai T. N. Sheshagopalan is a carnatic musician and a composer. He was born in 1948. He is also an Harikatha exponent.He is a science graduate.He has also acted in a music based Tamil film called 'Thodi Ragam' directed by another great musician Kunnakudi Vaithyanathan.He has travelled widely world over and has given concerts. His bhajans and abhangs are most popular among music fans.He is also good at playing veena and keyboard.He was a music professor in Madurai university for some time.


Bagawan Ramana Mahirishi was born in a village called Tiruchuzhi near Madurai in 1845. He and his brother moved to Madurai for school education.When he started feeling the 'Awakening' , he started visiting the nearby Meenakshi temple regularly. He was then living in an house in the lane just opposite to the South Tower of Meenakshi temple. In 1896 Ramanar left Madurai for Tiruvannamalai and the rest his history.


Rukmanidevi Arundale was born in Madurai in the year 1904.She was a Bhartanatyam dancer and choreographer.She was also a theosophist.She was awarded Padmabhushan in 1956.The magazine 'India Today' named her among the '100 people who shaped India'.She was a follower of Dr.Anne Besant.At Theosophical Society,she met British theosophist Dr.Arundale.Later She maried Arundale and travelled all over world on theosophical activities.She also established the dance school Kalakshetra at Adayar.She was also a Rajys Sabha member for one term.She died in the year 1986.

T.V.S,P.T.Rajan,De Morgan,Karumuthu,Jana Krishna,S.Pappiah,Indra Soundar,M.KAlagiri

T.V.Sundaram Iyengar started the big business conglomerate TVS at Madurai in 1923.He made an humble begining with a fleet of lorries and buses in the name of Southern Roadways at Madurai.He later diversified and started rubber retreading and Sundaram Motors Limited.A host of ancillary automobile industries were also started by TVS later on.Today the TVS group includes the following companies.Lucas TVS,Sundram Claytons,Sundaram Finance,Axles India,Wheels India,Brakes India,Sundaram Fasteners,Turbo energy Limited,TVS Motor Company,Sundaram Brake Linings TVS logistics and TVS Electronics.These companies are now managed by his sons and grandsons.He died in the year 1955.

P.T.Rajan was born in 1892 in Madurai.He was educated at Cambridge and Oxford.He became a legislative council member as a Justice Party candidate.He held various portfolios and finally became the Chief Minister in 1933 of the then Madras Presidency.Later he became an MLA in 1952.He died in 1974.The present Panchaloga idol of LordI Iyyappan at Sabarimala in Kerala was installed by him in early 1950's.His son PTR Palanaivel Rajan was also a minister and speaker in the Tamilnadu government.

Augustus De Morgan ,the great Mathematician known for Morgan Algebra,Relation algebra and Universal Algebra was born in Madurai in 1806.He was born to Col.De Morgan of East India company.De Morgan is the grandson of Dodson who computed the anti logarothm tables.As a two month old baby Morgan lost vision in one eye and the family moved from Madurai to to London.His father and grand father were also born in India.He died in the year 1871.The headquarters of London Mathematical society is named after him as Morgan House.

Karumutu Thiagarajan Chettiar was born on 1893.He took active part in the freedom struggle.He was the founder of the Bank of Madura.He also owned 14 textile mills in Tamilnadu and Kerala.About 19 educational institutions were started by him.Thiagarajar Enginering College and Thiagarajar Arts and science College are among the premier educational institutions of Madurai.His son is the Madurai Industrialist and Meenakshi Temple Trustee Karumuthu T.Kannan.Mr.M.Thiagarajan MD,of Paramount Airways is the grandson of Karumuthu Thiagrajan Chettiar.He is the world's youngest Airline CEO.

Jana Krishnamurthy was born in Madurai in 1928.He was a successful practising lawyer in Madurai until 1965.In 1993 he moved to Delhi.He later became the National president of the BJP for a term during 2001-2002.He was also Union Law Miinister during the BJP rule.

Solmon Pappiah the famous 'Patti mandram Naduvar' (Debate Moderator) lives in Madurai.He himself is a well known debator,orator and was the former Professor and Head of the Department of Tamil in American College,Madurai.He was awarded Kalaimamani award by the Tamilnadu government.

Indira Soundararajan the famous Tamil Author was born in Madurai.He lives in Madurai.He is the author of many short stories,novels TV Serials and screenplays.His ghost Stories and supernatural thrillers are most popular amont Tamil readers.The popular TV serials Marmadesam and Rudraveenai were based on his stories.

M.K.Alagiri was born in 1950.He is the son of Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi.He was elected from Madurai to the Loksabha in the 2009 election.A first time member to the Parliament,Alagiri was inducted to the Union cabinet as Cabinet Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers.He is the first MP from Madurai to become a Central Minister.

TKS Brothers,Maniratnam,Vijayakanth,Vivek,Vadivelu,Bala,Ameer

The famous TKS brothers theater company was started in Madurai in 1925.TKS brothers were Sankaran,Muthuswamy,Shanmugam and Bagavathy.In 1950 they renamed their theater company as TKS Nataka Sabha.Those days male actors played female roles.TKS brothers introduced for the first time actresses for female roles.Many famed theater and film artists started their carrer in the TKS group.Veterans like NSK S.V.Sahasranamam S.V.Subbiah K.R.Ramaswamy A.P.Nagarajan S.S.Rajendran M.S.Draupati M.N.Rajam and Kamalahasan have all acted in TKS theatre group one time or other in the begining of their careers.

Director Maniratnam was born in Madurai in 1956.He shortened his full name Gopalaratrnam Subramaniam as Maniratnam after coming to films.He did his MBA in Jamanlal Bajaj Insittute.The management consultant turned Film director has many hit films to his credit.He married actress Suhasini in 1988.Healso runs a film production company called Madras Talkies.His films Roja and Bombay were nationally acclaimed.The Oscar winner A.R.Rehman made his debut to the film industry in Maniratnams film Roja.

Vijayakanth Tamil actor was born in Madurai in 1952.He has acted in over 150 Tamil films.He was also the Secretary of the 'Nadigar sangam' .He floated the political party DMDK in 2005 at Madurai.He was elected to TN Assembly from Virudaachalam constitiuency.He has huge fan following and in the political arena also he is considered as a force to reckon with.

Vivek the Tamil film actor and Comedian was born in Madurai in 1961.He is a commerce graduate from American college Madurai.He was awarded Padmashri by the government of India for the year 2008 for his contribution to arts.

Comedian Vadivelu was born in Madurai in 1960.Post 2000 he is one among the most popular Comedians in Tamil films and has made a niche for himself in Kollywood.

Director Bala is a Tamil graduate from Madurai American College.Though he has directed just 4 films so far, he has created a niche for himself among Tamil film goers.Out of the 4 films two of his films have won critical acclaims and awards.He was an understudy to reputed Director Balu Mahendra in his earlier days in film industry.

Tamil film Director Ameer was born in Madurai in 1966.His name is Ameer Sultan.For his film career he shortened his name as Ameer.He is also a producer,screen play writer and actor.He is a Tamil activist and was arrested for his protest against Sri Lankan genocide.

NMR subburaman was a renowned freedom fighter from Madurai.He is from the Madurai Sourashtra community.He is popularly known as Madurai Gandhi.He was the Madurai Municipal Chairman and also was elected to Loksabha from Madurai.He was instrumental in establishing Gandhi Museum in Madurai.Union government issued a commemorative stamp in his honour during the centenary year of NMR subburaman.