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 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...)

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Mayabazar (transl. Market of Illusions) is a 1957 Indian epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Productions. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, with a few differences in the cast. The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, which is based on the characters of the epic Mahabharata. It revolves around the roles of Krishna (N. T. Rama Rao) and Ghatotkacha (S. V. Ranga Rao), as they try to reunite Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Telugu: Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Tamil: Gemini Ganesan) with his love, Balarama's daughter Sasirekha (Savitri). The Telugu version features Gummadi, Mukkamala, Ramana Reddy, and Relangi in supporting roles, with D. Balasubramaniam, R. Balasubramaniam, V. M. Ezhumalai, and K. A. Thangavelu playing those parts in the Tamil version.

The first mythological film produced by their studio, Mayabazar marked a milestone for Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani. In addition to the technical crew, 400 studio workers – including light men, carpenters, and painters – participated in the development of the film. Director Reddy was meticulous with the pre-production and casting phases, which took nearly a year to complete. Though Rama Rao was initially reluctant to play the lead role, his portrayal of Krishna received acclaim and yielded more offers to reprise the same role in several unrelated films. The soundtrack features twelve songs, with most of the musical score composed by Ghantasala. Telugu lyrics were written by Pingali Nagendrarao and Tamil lyrics were written by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass. One of those songs, Lahiri Lahiri, was accompanied by the first illusion of moonlight in Indian cinema, shot by cinematographer Marcus Bartley. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1Grey pottery with engravings, Arikamedu, 1st century CE (from Tamils)
Image 2 Map of ancient oceanic trade, and ports of Tamilakam (from Tamils)
Image 3Bharatanatyam dancers (from Tamils)
Image 4Aiyanar, guardian folk deity of Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 5Two Tamil girls who follow Vaishnavaite Hinduism (from Tamils)
Image 6 Virampatnam jewelry from funerary burial, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 7Tamil people in Medan, Indonesia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 8Krishna with his consorts Rukmini and Satyabhama and his mount Garuda, Tamil Nadu, India, late 12th-13th century (from Tamils)
Image 9The Tamil Chola Empire at its height, 1030 CE (from Tamils)
Image 10Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu (from Tamils)
Image 11Distribution of Tamil speakers in South India and Sri Lanka (1981). (from Tamils)
Image 12 Souttoukeny jewelry, 2nd century BCE, Tamil Nadu (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 14Expatriate Sri Lankan Tamil children in traditional clothes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 15The Brihadeshswar Temple at Thanjavur, also known as the Great Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I (from Tamils)
Image 16Tamil girls dressed in traditional attire, ca. 1870, Tamil Nadu, India. (from Tamils)
Image 17Katar, Tamil dagger which was popular throughout South Asia (from Tamils)
Image 18The Mahishasuramardhini cave bas relief at Mahabalipuram from 7th century CE (from Tamils)
Image 19A 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 20Batu Caves temple built by Tamil Malaysians in c. 1880s. (from Tamils)
Image 21Celebrations of Murugan by the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Paris, France (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 22Sri Kandaswamy Temple, Brickfields, Malaysia. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 23Murugan Temple, Sydney (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 24A 400 years old hero stone in Salem depicting bull-taming sport Jallikattu. (from Tamils)
Image 25Tamiḻakam during Sangam Period (from Tamils)
Image 26The golden Vimana over the sanctum at Srirangam midst its gopurams, its gable with Paravasudeva image. (from Tamils)
Image 27One 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 28Meenakshi Amman temple, dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi, tutelary deity of Madurai city (from Tamils)
Image 29A Malbar temple in Réunion. (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 30The Om symbol in Tamil script (from Tamils)
Image 31Tamil woman in traditional attire, c. 1880, Sri Lanka. (from Tamils)
Image 32Sri Kamakshi Ambaal temple in Hamm, Germany (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 33Erwadi durgah in Ramanathapuram district is a major pilgrimage shrine of the Tamil Muslims. (from Tamils)
Image 34Sage Agathiyar, one of the contributors of Old Tamil literature. (from Tamils)
Image 35Tamil girls in Malaysia (from Tamil diaspora)
Image 36Megalithic sarcophagus burial from Tamil Nadu (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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Anton Balasingham Stanislaus (Tamil: அன்ரன் பாலசிங்கம் சிடானிசுலாசு, romanized: Āṇṭaṉ Pālaciṅkam Ciṭāṉisulās; 4 March 1938 – 14 December 2006) was a Sri Lankan Tamil journalist, rebel and chief political strategist and chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka. (Full article...)

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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

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