Portal:Tamils
The Tamils portal
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 (/ˈtæmɪlz, ˈtɑː-/ 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...) Selected article -Tamil Nadu (/ˌtæmɪl ˈnɑːduː/; Tamil: [ˈtamiɻ ˈnaːɽɯ] ⓘ, abbr. TN) is the southernmost state of India. The tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population, Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, who speak the Tamil language, one of the longest surviving classical languages and serves as its official language. The capital and largest city is Chennai. Located on the south-eastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is straddled by the Western Ghats and Deccan Plateau in the west, the Eastern Ghats in the north, the Eastern Coastal Plains lining the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait to the south-east, the Laccadive Sea at the southern cape of the peninsula, with the river Kaveri bisecting the state. Politically, Tamil Nadu is bound by the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, and the union territory of Puducherry and shares an international maritime border with the Northern Province of Sri Lanka at Pamban Island. (Full article...)General imagesSelected biography -Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of the most prolific composers in a career spanning over forty-seven years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. He is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical sage) and often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Ilaiyaraaja was also one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music, and the first South Asian to compose a full symphony. In 1986, he became the first Indian composer to record a soundtrack with computer for the film Vikram. He also composed Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), the first Indian oratorio. (Full article...)CategoriesSelect [►] to view subcategories
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TopicsTamil People Countrywide: India • Sri Lanka • Canada • Malaysia • Singapore • South Africa • England Related Ethnic Groups: Brahui • Gond • Kannadiga • Khonds • Kodava • Oraon • Malayali • Telugus • Tuluvas Related indigenous Groups: Badagas • Toda • Kuruba
See also: List of Tamil people, Tamil script, Tamil Script Code for Information Interchange Related portalsWikiProjectsThings to do
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