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...
Anbe Sivam transl. Love Is God ) is a 2003 Indian Tamil -language slice-of-life drama film directed by Sundar C. and produced by K. Muralitharan, V. Swaminathan and G. Venugopal under the banner of Lakshmi Movie Makers . The film was written by Kamal Haasan , and Madhan provided the dialogues. Anbe Sivam stars Haasan, Madhavan and Kiran Rathod , with Nassar , Santhana Bharathi , Seema and Uma Riyaz Khan playing supporting characters. The film tells the story of Nallasivam and Anbarasu, two men of contrasting personalities who undertake an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai .
Produced on a budget of
₹ 120 million,
Anbe Sivam takes on themes such as
communism ,
atheism , and
altruism and depicts Haasan's
humanist views. The music was composed by
Vidyasagar .
Arthur A. Wilson served as the cinematographer and
M. Prabhaharan served as the art director. (
Full article... )
List of selected articles
Image 1 The Mahishasuramardhini cave
bas relief at
Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from
Tamils )
Image 2 Sage
Agathiyar , one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from
Tamils )
Image 3 Distribution of
Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from
Tamils )
Image 4 Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from
Tamils )
Image 5 Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 6 The
Om symbol in Tamil script (from
Tamils )
Image 7 Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from
Tamils )
Image 8 Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from
Tamils )
Image 9 Murugan Temple,
Sydney (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 10 Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in
c. 1880s. (from
Tamils )
Image 11 Grey pottery with engravings,
Arikamedu , 1st century CE (from
Tamils )
Image 12 Krishna with his consorts
Rukmini and
Satyabhama and his mount
Garuda ,
Tamil Nadu , India, late 12th-13th
century (from
Tamils )
Image 13 A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 14 Tamil girls in Malaysia (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 15 Celebrations of
Murugan by the
Sri Lankan Tamil community in
Paris ,
France (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 16 Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in
Toronto, Ontario , Canada (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 17 Bharatanatyam dancers (from
Tamils )
Image 18 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 19 Katar , Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from
Tamils )
Image 20 The golden Vimana over the sanctum at
Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from
Tamils )
Image 21 Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from
Tamils )
Image 22 Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 24 Tamil people in
Medan , Indonesia (from
Tamil diaspora )
Image 25 The hall in front of Ranganayaki's shrine,
Srirangam , where
Kambar is said to have recited his works on
Kamba Ramayanam (from
Tamils )
Image 26 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of
Tamilakam (from
Tamils )
Image 28 The Brihadeshswar Temple at
Thanjavur , also known as the Great Temple, built by
Rajaraja Chola I (from
Tamils )
Image 29 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 30 Aiyanar , guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 32 A 400 years old
hero stone in
Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from
Tamils )
Image 33 The Tamil
Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from
Tamils )
Image 34 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 35 Two Tamil girls who follow
Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from
Tamils )
Image 36 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from
Tamils )
Image 37 Tamiḻakam during
Sangam Period (from
Tamils )
Ellalan Tamil : எல்லாளன் , romanized: Ellāḷaṉ Sinhala : එළාර , romanized: Eḷāra Elara the Pious , and by the honorific epithet Manu Needhi Cholan Chola dynasty in Southern India , who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom , in present-day Sri Lanka , from 205 BCE to 161 BCE.
Ellalan is traditionally presented as being a just king even by the "'Sinhalese'". The
Mahavamsa states that he ruled 'with even justice toward friend and foe, on occasions of disputes at law, and elaborates how he even ordered the execution of his son for killing a calf under his chariot wheels. (
Full article... )
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