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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Enthiran (transl. Robot) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first installment in the Enthiran film series. The film stars Rajinikanth, who plays a dual role as a scientist and the robot alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead roles with Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam and Karunas in supporting roles. The soundtrack album and background score were composed by A. R. Rahman while the dialogues, cinematography, editing and art direction were handled by Madhan Karky, R. Rathnavelu, Anthony and Sabu Cyril respectively. The story revolves around the struggle of a scientist to control his android robot named Chitti, after Chitti's software is upgraded to give it the ability to comprehend and exhibit human emotions. The project backfires when Chitti falls in love with the scientist's girlfriend, and is manipulated by another scientist into becoming homicidal.

After being stalled in the development phase for nearly a decade, the film's principal photography began in 2008 and lasted two years. The film marked the debut of Legacy Effects studio (which was responsible for the film's prosthetic make-up and animatronics) in Indian cinema. Enthiran was released worldwide on 1 October 2010. Produced by Kalanithi Maran, it was India's most expensive film up to that point. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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Anand in 2016

Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster, a former five-time World Chess Champion and a record two-time Chess World Cup Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and he has the eighth-highest peak FIDE rating of all time. In 2022, he was elected the deputy president of FIDE.

Anand defeated Alexei Shirov in a six-game match to win the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship, a title he held until 2002. He became the undisputed world champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010, and Boris Gelfand in 2012. In 2013, he lost the title to challenger Magnus Carlsen, and he lost a rematch to Carlsen in 2014 after winning the 2014 Candidates Tournament. (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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