The
Tamil people , also known as
Tamilar (
Tamil :
தமிழர் ,
romanized: Tamiḻar ,
pronounced [t̪amiɻaɾ] in the singular or
தமிழர்கள் ,
Tamiḻarkaḷ ,
[t̪amiɻaɾɡaɭ] in the plural),
Tamilians , or simply
Tamils (
TAM -ilz, TAHM -), are a
Dravidian ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the
Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to
India 's
southern state of
Tamil Nadu , to the
union territory of
Puducherry , and to
Sri Lanka . The
Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving
classical languages , with over 2000 years of
Tamil literature , including the
Sangam poems , which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue and are born in are considered Tamils.
Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Eelam Moors ), 7% in Malaysia , and 5% in Singapore .
From the 4th century BCE, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of Tamilakam -- what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu -- led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras , Cholas , Pandyas , Pallavas , and velirs and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst themselves for dominance. The Jaffna Kingdom , and vanni chieftaincies inhabited by Eelam Tamils , was once one of the strongest kingdoms of Sri Lanka and controlled much of the north of the island. (Full article...
The months of the Tamil calendar The Tamil calendar sidereal solar calendar used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent . It is also used in Puducherry , and by the Tamil population in Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Singapore , Myanmar and Mauritius .
It is used in contemporary times for cultural, religious and agricultural events, with the Gregorian calendar largely used for official purposes both within and outside India. The Tamil calendar is based on the classical Hindu solar calendar also used in Assam , West Bengal , Kerala , Manipur , Nepal , Odisha , Rajasthan , and Punjab,India
. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
Image 1 Tamil people in
Medan , Indonesia (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 2 Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 3 Grey pottery with engravings,
Arikamedu , 1st century CE (from
Tamils )
Image 5 Distribution of
Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from
Tamils )
Image 6 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 7 Tamiḻakam during
Sangam Period (from
Tamils )
Image 8 A 400 years old
hero stone in
Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from
Tamils )
Image 9 The
Om symbol in Tamil script (from
Tamils )
Image 10 Sage
Agathiyar , one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from
Tamils )
Image 12 The Mahishasuramardhini cave
bas relief at
Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from
Tamils )
Image 13 Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from
Tamils )
Image 14 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 15 Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from
Tamils )
Image 16 Two Tamil girls who follow
Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from
Tamils )
Image 17 Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 18 Celebrations of
Murugan by the
Sri Lankan Tamil community in
Paris ,
France (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 19 The golden Vimana over the sanctum at
Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from
Tamils )
Image 20 Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in
c. 1880s. (from
Tamils )
Image 21 Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from
Tamils )
Image 22 The Tamil
Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from
Tamils )
Image 23 Bharatanatyam dancers (from
Tamils )
Image 24 One of the most popular overseas branches of
Chennai -based
Saravanaa Bhavan , the world's largest Indian
vegetarian restaurant chain, is located in
Edison ,
New Jersey , U.S. (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 25 Katar , Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from
Tamils )
Image 26 Tamil girls in Malaysia (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 27 Krishna with his consorts
Rukmini and
Satyabhama and his mount
Garuda ,
Tamil Nadu , India, late 12th-13th
century (from
Tamils )
Image 28 Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in
Toronto, Ontario , Canada (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 29 A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 30 Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from
Tamils )
Image 31 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of
Tamilakam (from
Tamils )
Image 32 Murugan Temple,
Sydney (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 33 Aiyanar , guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 35 A Megalithic burial jar from north-western Sri Lanka, 5th-2nd century BCE, similar to
South Indian and
Deccan jars of the time. (from
Tamils )
Image 36 The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine,
Srirangam , where
Kambar is said to have recited his works on
Kamba Ramayanam (from
Tamils )
Image 37 The Brihadeshswar Temple at
Thanjavur , also known as the Great Temple, built by
Rajaraja Chola I (from
Tamils )
D. Jayakanthan JK , was an Indian writer, journalist, orator, filmmaker, critic and activist. Born in Cuddalore , he dropped out of school at the age of 9 and went to Madras , where he joined the Communist Party of India . In a career spanning six decades, he authored around 40 novels, 200 short stories, apart from two autobiographies. Outside literature, he made two films. In addition, four of his other novels were adapted into films by others.
Jayakanthan's literary honours include
Jnanpith and
Sahitya Akademi awards. He was also a recipient of
Padma Bhushan (2009), India's third-highest civilian honour, the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1978), and the
Russian government's Order of Friendship (2011). (
Full article... )
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