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

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Kartik bowling for Somerset in 2010.

Murali Kartik (pronunciation, born 11 September 1976) is an Indian cricket commentator and former cricketer who sporadically represented the national team from 2000 to 2007. He was a specialist slow left-arm orthodox bowler known for his loopy trajectory and ability to spin and bounce. Still, he was not selected for international matches during his prime years due to the presence of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. He was also a left-handed batsman, and although he has had some success with the bat at first-class level with 21 half-centuries, he was not able to repeat this at international level.

After starting out in the Delhi junior system, Murali moved through the age group ranks at Railways and was selected for the Indian Under-19 team. He made his first-class debut in 1996–97 and after a few productive seasons at the domestic level, made his Test debut in early 2000 as Kumble's bowling partner. However, he ran into disciplinary problems and was expelled from the National Cricket Academy in the same year. At the same time, new national captain Sourav Ganguly was reluctant to entrust him with responsibility. Ganguly called for off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to be recalled in 2001 and was rewarded with a series-winning performance against Australia. This entrenched the off-spinner in the team and left Kartik on the outer. (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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