Short answers, pulled from the story.
Madurai is a tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the banks of the Vaigai River. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai district and is regarded as the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu.
Madurai has a documented history of more than 2,500 years and has been a major settlement for two millennia. Its recorded history goes back to the 3rd century BCE, when it was mentioned by the Greek ambassador Megasthenes and by Kautilya, a minister of Chandragupta Maurya.
Madurai is often referred to as "Thoongaa Nagaram", which means "the city that never sleeps", on account of its active night life. The name reflects the city's long-standing reputation as a busy cultural and commercial centre.
The Meenakshi Amman Temple is a historic Hindu temple on the south side of the Vaigai River dedicated to Parvati as Meenakshi and Shiva as Sundareswarar. Its present structure was built between 1623 and 1655 CE, it has 14 gopurams up to 51.9 metres tall, and it holds an estimated 33,000 sculptures.
In 1921, Mahatma Gandhi first adopted the loin cloth as his mode of dress in Madurai, after seeing agricultural labourers wearing it. The city is also home to a Gandhi Memorial Museum holding part of the blood-stained garment he wore when he was assassinated by Nathuram Godse.
Madurai had a population of 1,470,755 in 2011 and covers an area of 147.97 square kilometres. According to the 2011 census it is the third largest metropolis in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore.
Madurai was ruled at different times by the Pandyan Kingdom, the Chola Empire, the Madurai Sultanate, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Madurai Nayaks, the Carnatic kingdom, and the British East India Company's British Raj. It came under direct British control in 1801 and was annexed to the Madras Presidency.