Portal:Tamils

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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 an 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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Kalidas (transl. The Servant of Kali, pronounced [kaːɭidaːs]) is a 1931 Indian biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a language from South India. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.

Kalidas, principally in Tamil, contained additional dialogue in Telugu and Hindi. While Rajalakshmi spoke Tamil, Venkatesan spoke only Telugu due to his lack of fluency in Tamil, and Prasad spoke only Hindi. Despite its mythological theme, the film featured songs from much later time periods, such as the compositions of Carnatic musician Tyagaraja, publicity songs of the Indian National Congress, and songs about Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian independence movement. The sound was recorded using German-made technology. Kalidas was shot in Bombay on the sets of India's first sound film Alam Ara (1931) and was completed in eight days. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

General images

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

Selected biography - show another

Ilaiyaraaja in 2017

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...)

List of selected biographies

Topics

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

Tamil Nadu

Related portals

WikiProjects

Things to do

Add {{portal|Tamil People}} to the See also section of Tamil People-related articles.
Tag the talk pages of Tamil People-related articles with {{WikiProject Tamil civilization/Welcome}}
Join WikiProject Tamil civilization and list yourself as a Participant in the project.