Portal:Tamils

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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...)

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Chandralekha (also spelt Chandraleka) is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.

Development began during the early 1940s when, after two successive box-office hits, Vasan announced that his next film would be entitled Chandralekha. However, when he launched an advertising campaign for the film he only had the name of the heroine from a storyline he had rejected. Veppathur Kittoo (one of Vasan's storyboard artists) developed a story based on a chapter of George W. M. Reynolds' novel, Robert Macaire: or, The French bandit in England. Original director T. G. Raghavachari left the film more than halfway through because of disagreements with Vasan, who took over in his directorial debut. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 2Krishna with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama and his mount Garuda, Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century (from Tamils)
Image 3Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from Tamils)
Image 4 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 5Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from Tamils)
Image 6Murugan Temple, Sydney (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 7Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s. (from Tamils)
Image 8The Om symbol in Tamil script (from Tamils)
Image 9Two Tamil girls who follow Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from Tamils)
Image 10Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period (from Tamils)
Image 11 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 12Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 13The golden Vimana over the sanctum at Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from Tamils)
Image 14Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from Tamils)
Image 15Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from Tamils)
Image 16The Mahishasuramardhini cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from Tamils)
Image 17The Brihadeshswar Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I (from Tamils)
Image 18Tamil girls in Malaysia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 19 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam (from Tamils)
Image 20Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 21Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from Tamils)
Image 22Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE (from Tamils)
Image 23Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Brickfields, Malaysia. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 24The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine, Srirangam, where Kambar is said to have recited his works on Kamba Ramayanam (from Tamils)
Image 25Bharatanatyam dancers (from Tamils)
Image 26The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from Tamils)
Image 27Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 28A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from Tamils)
Image 29Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 30Tamil people in Medan, Indonesia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 31Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 32Celebrations of Murugan by the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 33A 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 34Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from Tamils)
Image 35One 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 36Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from Tamils)
Image 37The New York City Metropolitan Area, including Central New Jersey, as well as Long Island and Staten Island in New York, is home to the largest Tamil American population. (from Tamil diaspora)

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Subramania Bharati

C. Subramania Bharati(IPA: /ˌsuˈbrəˌmənˈjʌ ˈbɑːˌrʌθi/; born C. Subramaniyan 11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot. He was bestowed the title Bharati for his excellence in poetry. He was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time. He is popularly known by his title Bharati or Bharathiyaar and also by the other title "Mahakavi Bharati" ("the great poet Bharati"). His numerous works included patriotic songs composed during the Indian Independence movement. He fought for the emancipation of women, against child marriage, vehemently opposed the caste system, and stood for reforming society and religion.

Born in Ettayapuram of Tirunelveli district (present-day Thoothukudi) in 1882, Bharati had his early education in Tirunelveli. He later lived in Varanasi for sometime when he was exposed to Hindu theology and new languages. He worked as a journalist with many newspapers, including Swadesamitran, The Hindu, Bala Bharata, Vijaya, Chakravarthini and India. He considered Sister Nivedita, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, as his guru. (Full article...)

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Tamil People

Tamil 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

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