Mannargudi (Tamil: மன்னார்குடி) is a town in the Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India. Situated at a distance of 20 kilometres from the district capital Tiruvarur and 310 kilometres from the city of Chennai, Mannargudi is the largest town in the district. Apart from being a rice-production centre, Mannargudi is known for the Rajagopalaswamy Temple, which is an important Hindu pilgrimage site.

Mannargudi was founded as an agraharam village by the Medieval Cholas. Mannargudi was a part of Tanjore district till 1991, when it was transferred to the newly formed Tiruvarur district. The town is located on a elevated highland and is drained by the rivers . The town is known for metal working and weaving. The region around Mannargudi also has considerable mineral deposits (lacking valid ref.).

Mannargudi is administered by the Mannargudi municipality which was established in 1866. Mannargudi is a part of the Mannargudi Tamil Nadu assembly constituency which is a part of the Thanjavur( Lok Sabha constituency. The town is well-connected by road and rail with other towns and cities in Tamil Nadu. The nearest seaport is at Nagapattinam while the nearest airport is at Tiruchirappalli.

Mannargudi Easwaran (Tamil: மன்னார்குடி ஈஸ்வரன்) (born April 1, 1947) is a leading contemporary mridangam player and Carnatic musician. He is a staff artiste of All India Radio and has received several awards, including Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2003 (for the year 2001) and the Palghat Mani Iyer Award in 2006.

Easwaran has played the Mridangam alongside many notable carnatic musicians, including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M. S. Subbulakshmi, M. L. Vasanthakumari, Maharajapuram Santhanam, M. Balamuralikrishna, Veena S Balachander, T. N. Krishnan, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Madurai T. N. Seshagopalan, Flute Mali, Dr N. Ramani. Among the contemporary artists he has played alongside T. V. Sankaranarayanan, O. S. Thyagarajan, N. Ravikiran, Maharajapuram S Ramachandran, Sudha Raghunathan, Unni Krishnan, Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Vijay Siva, Ganesh and Kumaresh and T.M. Krishna.

Guruvayur Dorai (born July 2, 1935) is one of India's senior-most exponents of the South Indian classical percussion instrument, the mridangam. He had his initial training under Palghat Subba Iyer and E.P. Narayana Pisharody, and later from the legendary master Palani Subramaniam Pillai. Initiating his concert performances at the age of eight, Guruvayur Dorai has performed on the concert platform for the past 60 years. His wide range of efforts in the field of mridangam and music have helped propagate the art around the globe.

An exponent of the Pudukottai style of mridangam, Guruvayur Dorai (his real name being Vaidynathan) was born in Guruvayur, Kerala, to G.S. Krishna Iyer and Meenakshi. His father was a priest and mother, a housewife. He has two brothers and three sisters. His sister Guruvayur Ponnammal was a highly reputed singer at the time. His other sister is a reputed music teacher in Madras, while his brother, G.K.Rajamani is a notable violinist living in Palghat (Kerala).

Young Dorai had a penchant for percussion and was frequently seen drumming on his body with his fingers even while in sleep. Struck by polio at the age of five, his father thought it would be difficult for Dorai to go outside of Guruvayur for higher studies and a job.