Melur (Tamil: மேலூர்) is a town and a municipality in the Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Melur is called Thaikramam ('Mother of Villages'). It is the biggest taluk within the Madurai District.

Melur is a manufacturer and exporter of ploughs. Granite production is an important industry; granite from Melur is exported around the world. Situated within a largely agricultural area, most of the people living around Melur are employed in agriculture, chiefly in the cultivation of rice.

Melur has an average elevation of 149 metres (489 ft).

According to the 2001 India census, Melur had a population of 33,743. Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Melur has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 76%. In Melur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The local religion involves the Lord Shiva temple and the goddess Draupathi, who was wife of the Pandavas. Two important events are Biman–Keesakan fight and the Pookkuli Festival. In the first event, one person will be acting as Bima and another as Keesakan. Keesakan tries to run away from Bima, and the latter will chase him and kill him. The Pookkuli (walking on ignited coals) festival is celebrated every year by the Draupathi Amman Temple. On the Pookkuli day, devotees who have offered prayers to the goddess will perform fire walking.

Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr. P. Ramlee, (March 22, 1929 – May 29, 1973) was a Malaysian film actor, director, singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. Due to his contributions to the movie and music industry and his literary work, he is often considered the icon of Malay entertainment in Malaysia, Singapore, and Sumatra (especially in Aceh due to his ancestry).

P. Ramlee was born Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh, on the first day of the Eid festival, which fell on 22 March 1929. His father, Teuku Nyak Puteh, was a sailor from Aceh, who later married Che Mah Hussain.

He attended Sekolah Melayu Kampung Jawa (Kampung Jawa Malay School) and Sekolah Francis Light primary schools. Next he went to the famous Penang Free School secondary school until the second World War broke out. During the Japanese occupation years in Malaysia, he continued his studies at the Japanese Navy Academy. When the war ended, he resumed his studies in Penang Free School,and was very active in sports.

In 1947, he won the first place in a song competition organized by Penang Radio. Seven years after his acting career started, P. Ramlee directed his first film, Penarek Becha. In 1957, he appeared in the first of his Bujang Lapok comedic films, in which he acted along with Aziz Sattar and S. Shamsuddin, and which are still popular among modern Malay film watchers. During his career he directed and acted in 66 films, and had more than 360 songs to his credit.