Tamil culture has flourished for over 2,000 years through various ruling dynasties that gave patronage to art and culture. Under dynasties like the Pallavas, Cholas, and Pandyas in the early centuries AD, Tamil art, architecture, and literature reached great heights. Tamil language's history can be traced to around 500 BC with texts like Tolkapiyam and Sangam literature.

1. TAMIL CULTURE
by
ARISE ROBY
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2. Tamilnadu has a great tradition of heritage and culture that developed over
2,000 years ago and still continues to flourish. This great cultural heritage of
the state of Tamilnadu evolved through the rule of dynasties that ruled the
state during various phases of history.
Many of the ruling dynasties gave patronage to art and culture that resulted into
the development and evolution of a unique Dravidian culture that Tamilnadu
today symbolizes with.
Under the rule of the Pallavas, Cholas and the Pandya kings, there were
tremendous growth and development in the field of art, architecture and
literature, which reached great heights. The history of Tamil language can be
traced back to the age of the Tolkapiyam, the Tamil Grammar text, ascribed
to around 500 B.C. Similarly, the Sangam literature dates back to 500 B.C.
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3. PEOPLE OF TAMIL NADU
Tamil Nadu is one of the most
urbanized states of India but most
of the people still live in villages. In
Tamil Nadu, there is an established
caste system with traditional
differentiations a lot more
pronounced than in many other
parts of India.
A large part of population is confined
to the Chennai (covering industrial
areas, townships and the
surrounding villages) and those
around Madurai, Tiruchchirappall
and Coimbatore. About 80 percent
of the people in Tamil Nadu follow
Hinduism. A substantial percentage
of population in Tamil Nadu follows
Christianity and Islam.
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4. LANGUAGES SPOKEN
Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu state and one
of the 18 languages mentioned in the eighth schedule of
the Indian constitution. Tamil is one of the classical
languages of the world, with a rich heritage of
literature. It is the most widely spoken language in
Tamil Nadu. Besides Tamil Nadu, Tamil is also spoken
by a number of people in Sri Lanka, Singapore,
Mauritius and Malaysia. The antiquity of Tamil is
comparable to Sanskrit. Tamil is written in a derivative
of the southern 'Brahmi' script. The alphabet of Tamil is
unique (phonetic). That is, in Tamil language letters
represent sounds, rather than ideas, as is the case in the
'Mandarin' language of China.
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5. RELIGIONS
The history and culture of
Tamilnadu goes back to
thousands years back. For
centuries, people of various
religions have been residing
in the state. The main
religions in Tamilnadu are
Hinduism, Islam,
Christianity and Jainism.
Hinduism, along with its
various sects, is the oldest
religion in the state. Hindus
are followers of number of
sectarian monastic
institutions (called mathas).
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6. TAMIL NADU CUISINES
Like all other South Indian states,
Tamil Nadu is also known for a
wide variety of delicious food both
for the vegetarians as well as the
non-vegetarians. Grains, lentils,
rice and vegetables are the main
ingredients of the traditional foods
of Tamil Nadu. Spices add flavor
and give a distinctive taste to the
Tamil cuisines. Some of the most
common and popular dishes of the
region are idly, dosai, vada, pongal
and Uppuma. Coconut chutney and
sambhar invariably form a part of
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most of the Tamil dishes. TRAINING & RESEARCH CENTER