Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is a state at the southern tip of India. Tamil Nadu is bordered by Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.Tamil Nadu has had continuous human habitation since pre-historic times. Its long history and cultural traditions are among the oldest in the world. The Tamil kingdoms of Chera, Chola, Pallava and Pandya are of very ancient origins. They patronised a mature culture which produced some of the oldest surviving literature in India.
Colonised by the East India Company, Tamil Nadu was eventually incorporated into the Madras Presidency. After the independence of India, the Madras State was created in 1956 based on linguistic boundaries. The name of the Madras State was changed to Tamil Nadu in the year 1969. The politics of Tamil Nadu has been dominated by DMK and AIADMK, who are of the Dravidian movement which agitated demanding equality for the 'Dravidian' population of Tamil Nadu.
Lying on a low plain along the southeastern coast of the Indian peninsula, Tamil Nadu is bounded by the Eastern Ghats in the north and Nilgiri, Annamalai Hills, and Palakkad on the west. The state has large fertile areas along the Coromandel coast, the Palk strait, and the Gulf of Mannar. The fertile plains of Tamil Nadu are fed by rivers such as Kaveri, Palar, and Vaigai, and by the northeast monsoon. Traditionally a manufacturing state, Tamil Nadu is also a leading producer of agricultural products.
The sixth most populous state in the Indian Union, Tamil Nadu has the largest urban agglomeration nationwide. Increases in literacy have caused Tamil Nadu to report the second lowest growth in population in India for the last decade. Globalisation brought increased export opportunities, making Tamil Nadu the third largest economy among the states of India. The growing demands for skilled labour have caused the increased number of educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. It has the highest number of vocational training institutions in India. Chennai, which was known until 1996 as Madras, is the fourth largest city of India and the state capital. Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirapalli, Salem and Tirunelveli are other large cities (Corporations) of Tamil Nadu.
The art and culture of Tamils are among the oldest in the world. Great literature, music, dance and architecture have evolved from Tamil Nadu over the past two millennia. Tamil Nadu provided the cradle in which the rich musical tradition of Carnatic music evolved. Many of the great composers such as Tyagaraja lived and flourished in Tamil Nadu.
History
Tamil Nadu's history dates back pre-historic times and archaeological evidence points to this area being one of the longest continuous habitations in India. From early pre-history Tamil Nadu was the home of the four powerful Tamil kingdoms of the Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallavas. The oldest extant literature, dated between 500 BCE and 200 CE mentions the exploits of the kings and the princes, and of the poets who extolled them. The early Cholas reigned between 1st and 4th centuries CE. An unknown dynasty called Kalabhras invaded and displaced the three Tamil kingdoms between the fourth and the seventh centuries CE. This is referred to as the Dark Age in Tamil history. They were eventually expelled by the Pandyas and the Pallavas. Around 580 CE, the Pallavas, great temple builders, emerged into prominence and dominated the south for another 150 years. They ruled a large portion of Tamil Nadu with Kanchipuram as their base. They subjugated the Cholas and reigned as far as the Kaveri River. Among the greatest Pallava rulers were Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I. Dravidian architecture reached its epitome during Pallava rule.The Sea Shore temple in Mahabalipuram built by the Pallavas during 7th to 8th century ADThe Cholas again rose to power by the 9th century. Under Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola, the Cholas rose as a notable power in Asia. The Chola Empire stretched as far as Bengal. Rajaraja Chola conquered peninsular South India, and annexed parts of Sri Lanka. Rajendra Chola's navies went beyond, occupying coastal Burma, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Sumatra, Java, Malaya in South East Asia and Pegu islands. He defeated Mahipala, the king of the Bengal, and to commemorate his victory he built a new capital named it Gangaikonda Cholapuram.
The Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur, built by Raja Raja CholaThe Cholas revelled in building magnificent temples. Brihadeshwara Temple in Thanjavur is a classical example of the magnificent architecture of the Chola kingdom. Another example is the Chidambaram Temple in the heart of the temple town of Chidambaram. The power of the Cholas declined around the 13th century. With the decline of the Cholas, the Pandyas rose to prominence once again in the early 14th century. This was short lived; they were soon subdued by Muslim Khilji invaders from the north in 1316. Madurai was sacked. The invasion led to the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate. These Muslim invasions caused the establishment of Vijayanagara Empire in the Deccan. It eventually conquered the entire Tamil country (c. 1370 CE). As the Vijayanagara Empire went into decline after mid-16th century, the Nayak governors, who were appointed by the Vijayanagar kingdom to administer various territories of the empire, declared their independence. The Nayaks of Madurai and Nayaks of Thanjavur were most prominent of them all. They reconstructed some of the oldest temples in the country.
Around 1609, the Dutch established a settlement in Pulicat. In 1639, the British, under the British East India Company, established a settlement further south, in present day Chennai. The British used petty quarrels among the provincial rulers (divide and rule) to expand their sphere of influence. The British fought and reduced the French dominions in India to Pondicherry. They consolidated southern India into the Madras Presidency. Some notable chieftains or Poligars who fought the British East India Company as it was expanding were Veerapandya Kattabomman, Maruthu Pandiyar, Pulithevan and Dheeran Chinnamalai. Pudukkottai remained as a princely state under British suzerainty.
When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State, comprising of present day Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, northern Karnataka, and parts of Kerala. The state was subsequently split up along linguistic lines. In 1968, Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu, meaning Land of Tamil.
Geography
Tamil Nadu covers an area of 130,058 km˛ (50,215 mi˛),and is the eleventh largest state in India. West and North of the state has lofty hills while the East and South are coastal plains. The bordering states are Kerala to the west, Karnataka to the northwest and Andhra Pradesh to the north. To the east is the Bay of Bengal.The southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula is located in Tamil Nadu. At this point is the town of Kanyakumari which is the meeting point of the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.
Tamil Nadu has a wide variety of minerals with the most reserves in India lignite (almost 90% of India's reserves), magnesite (45%) and garnet (over 40%) among others.
Forest cover over 17% of the state's geographical area with several Protected areas of Tamil Nadu including wild life and bird sanctuaries.
Religion
About 90% of the population of Tamil Nadu are Hindu. Christians and Muslims account for 5% each. Most of the Christians are Roman Catholics. About one-third of the Muslim population speak Urdu and two-thirds speak Tamil. Other minor religions in Tamil Nadu are Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist.Culture and arts
Drawing the kolam figures is an important part of the Tamil Nadu culture and landscapeTamil Nadu has a long tradition of venerable culture. Unique cultural features like Bharatanatyam, Tanjore painting, and Tamil architecture were developed and practised in Tamil Nadu. Chola kings conquered lands as far north as the Ganges, and as far east as Malaysia and Indonesia resulting in dissemination of Tamil culture.Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu and is one of the two classical languages of India, the other being Sanskrit.(as well as being one of the national languages of India). Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, music and dance which continue to flourish today.
Literature
Tamil is a vibrant language with a long and rich literary tradition. Most of the older works are in verse form, and prose gained popularity later. All through history, Tamil literature has sought to inform and inspire, educate and entertain. Tamil poetry has universal appeal as evinced by many examples.Tirukkural which was written nearly two millennia ago portrays a universal outlook. This is evident by the author, Thiruvalluvar who had not mentioned his religion, land, and the audience of his work. He is portrayed as holy saint of Tamil Nadu today and even for the generations to come. There is an evidential history that the kings of olden days rolled out Tamil Sangam (Tamil organisation) to develop literature works in Tamil. The Sangam headquartered in Madurai generated lot a notable literary works. First Tamil printing press was established at Tarangambadi by the Danish missionaries.
The 133 ft high statue of Thiruvalluvar located inside sea in KanyakumariIn 20th century during the freedom struggle, many Tamil poets and writers provoked national spirit, social equity, secularist thoughts among the common man, notably, Subramanya Bharathy. Even today, Tamil Nadu hosts creative writers like Jayakanthan, Jayamohan, Sujatha, Indira Parthasarathy, etc.
Music
The Kings of the olden days created sangams for Iyal Isai Nadagam (Literature, Music and Drama) to express the spiritual feels and to quench the entertainment. Music plays a major role in sangams. Music in Tamil Nadu had different forms across the people. In villages where farming was a major work, the ladies who work in the fields used to sing kulavai songs. Odhuvars, Sthanikars, or Kattalaiyars offer short musical programmes in the temples by singing the devotional Thevaram songs. In sharp contrast with the restrained and intellectual nature of carnatic music, Tamil folk music tends to be much more exuberant. Popular forms of Tamil folk music include the Villuppa??u, a form of music performed with a bow, and the Na??uppur_appa??u, ballads that convey folklore and folk history. Some of the leading Tamil folk artists in the early 21st century are Pushpuvanam Kuppuswamy, Dr Navaneethakrishnan, Chinnaponnu, Paravai muniammal etc.A Carnatic music concert during the annual Music Season.Carnatic music is the classical music of Southern India. The basic form is a monophonic song with improvised variations. There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and a rich variety of melodic motion. Both melodic and rhythmic structures are varied and compelling. This is one of the world's oldest & richest musical traditions. Carnatic music abounds in structured compositions in the different ragas. These are songs composed by great artists and handed down through generations of disciples. Three saint composers of the nineteenth century, Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar and Shyama Shastri, have composed thousands of songs that remain favourites among musicians and audiences. The composers belonging to the Tamil Trinity of Muthu Thandavar (?1560 - ?1640 CE), Arunachala Kavi (1712-1779) and Marimutthu Pillai (1717-1787) composed hundreds of devotional songs in Tamil and helped in the evolution of Carnatic music. Today, Tamil Nadu has hundreds of notable carnatic singers who spread this music all over the world. M. S. Subbulakshmi, a renowned carnatic singer, had the honour of singing a song in the UN Security Council.
In terms of modern music (light, film, pop, etc.), the music of Tamil Nadu is praised very highly. Ilaiyaraaja was the most prominent composer of film music in Tamil cinema during the late 1970s and 1980s. His work highlighted Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities to the South Indian musical mainstream. Tamil Nadu is also the home of A.R. Rahman, one of the greatest Indian musicians and composers, who is recognised worldwide.
Dance
Tamils have a large number of folk dances. These are performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, a wedding and festivals. Tamil dance is closely intertwined with the Tamil theatrical tradition. The most celebrated of these is karaka??am. In its religious form, the dance is performed in front of an image of the goddess Mariamma. The dancer bears on his or her head a brass pot filled with uncooked rice, decorated with flowers and surrounded by a bamboo frame, and tumbles and leaps to the rhythm of a song without spilling a grain. Karaka??am is usually performed to a special type of song known as temmanguppa??u or thevar pa??u, a folk song in the mode of a lover speaking to his beloved, to the accompaniment of a nadaswaram and melam. Other Tamil folk dances include mayila??am, where the dancers tie a string of peacock feathers around their waist; oyilattam, danced in a circle while waving small pieces of cloth of various colours; poykkal kuthiraiyaa??am, where the dancers use dummy horses; man_a??am, where the dancers imitate the graceful leaping of deer, a dance to the sound of rhythmical drumbeats, and thippanda??am, a dance involving playing with burning wooden torches.11th Centuray Statue of Nataraja (The GOD of Dance)Bharatanatyam is a classical dance form originating from Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam is thought to have been created by Bharata Muni, a Hindu sage, who wrote the Natya Shastra, the most important ancient treatise on classical Indian dance. In ancient times it was performed as dasiattam by mandir (Hindu temple) Devadasis. In this form, it as also been called "sadir" or "chinna meLam". Many of the ancient sculptures in Hindu temples are based on Bharata Natyam dance postures. Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance-form known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. Today, it is one of the most popular and widely performed dance styles and is practised by male and female dancers all over India. Therukootu is a folk tradition of dance-drama. Therukootu literally means 'street dance'
Tamil festivals
Pongal potPongal, also called as Tamizhar Thirunaal (festival of Tamils) is a four-day harvest festival and is the most celebrated festival of Tamil Nadu. The Tamil language saying Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum -- literally meaning, the birth of the month of Thai will pave way for new opportunities -- is often quoted with reference to the Pongal festival. The first day, Bhogi Pongal, is celebrated by throwing away and destroying old clothes and materials by setting them on fire to mark the end of the old and emergence of the new. The second day, Surya Pongal, is the main day which falls on the first day of the Tamil month Thai (January 14 or January 15 in western calendar). The third day, Maattu Pongal, is meant to offer thanks to the cattle, as they provide milk and are used to plough the lands. Jallikattu, a violent taming the wild bull contest, marks the main event of this day. During this final day, Kaanum Pongal — the word "kanum", literally meaning 'to view' — youths used to gather at river banks to view and select their future life partners, but that practice has declined.The first month in the Tamil calendar is Chittirai and the first day of this month is celebrated as Tamil New Year, which generally falls on the April 14 or 13 of the Gregorian calendar. Aadi Perukku is celebrated on the 18th day of the Tamil month 'aadi', which is basically intended to celebrate the raising of water level in river Cauvery. Apart from these major festivals, in every village and town of Tamil Nadu people celebrate festivals for the local gods once in a year and the time differs from place to place. Most of these festivals are related to the goddess Maariyamman, the mother goddess of rain.
National festivals like Saraswathi Poojai (Dasara) and Vinayaka Chathurthi and the most famous Diwali are celebrated widely. The Ayyavazhi Festival, Ayya Vaikunda Avataram is celebrated grandly in the southern districts, especially in Swamithope pathi, the religious head quarters. In addition the Velankanni Church and the Nagore mosque stand testimony to the multi-religious nature of the state.
Industry
Cars on the production line at the Hyundai car factory in ChennaiTamil Nadu is one of the most industrialised states in India. Many heavy engineering and manufacturing-based companies are centred in and around the suburbs of Chennai (nicknamed, "The Detroit of Asia"). Chennai boasts the presence of global vehicle manufacturing giants like Ford, Renault, Nissan, Caterpillar, Hyundai, Komatsu, BMW and Mitsubishi as well as domestic heavyweights like MRF, TI cycles of India, Ashok Leyland, Royal Enfield, Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE Tractors and TVS. In a recent development, Mahindra & Mahindra on February 2007 formed a consortium with global majors Renault and Nissan to set up a USD 1 Billion greenfield automobile plant at city's suburban Oragadam, with a capacity to manufacture 4,00,000 units by 2009. This project would give a fillip to the manufacturing sector in Tamil Nadu, especially in the area of automobiles and auto components and help consolidate Chennai's position as 'Detroit of South Asia'. Everything from automobiles, railway coaches, battle-tanks, tractors, motorbikes and heavy vehicles are manufactured in Tamil Nadu. Sterlite Industries have their Copper smelter(Tuticorin) and Aluminium (Mettur) factories here. A large number of textile mills and engineering industries are present around Coimbatore City. Karur is known for its bus body building industries where most of the buses used in south India are manufactured, and in Namakkal truck bodies are built. Over 11.2% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Tamil Nadu.The Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Ennore Thermal Plant, Neyveli Lignite Power Plant, many hydroelectric plants including mettur and the Narimanam Natural Gas Plants are major sources of Tamil Nadu's electricity. It is presently adding the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to its energy grid. Tamil Nadu sources a significant proportion of its power needs from renewable sources with Wind Power contributing over 2000 MW or over 20% of the needs. As of 2005, Tamil Nadu is one of the few Indian states with surplus power electricity, enabling the electrical authority to sell it to neighbouring states of Andra Pradesh & Karnataka. Tamil Nadu ranks first nationwide in diesel-based thermal electricity generation with national market share of over 34%.
Wind-mill generators at Muppandal in Kanyakumari DistrictThe textile industry plays a significant role in the Indian economy by providing direct employment to an estimated 35 million people, and thereby contributing 4% of GDP and 35% of Gross Export Earnings. The textile sector contributes to 14% of the manufacturing sector. The city of Tirupur (Coimbatore district), in Tamil Nadu is the largest garment exporter in India and sometimes referred to as Textile valley of India. In 2004, the export turnover from the town was more than Rs.50,000 million ($1,100 million). Some 7,000 garment units in the town provides employment opportunity to 1 million people. 56% of India's total knitwear exports come from Tirupur. The Export Import Policy of 2002-2007 acknowledges Tirupur for its contribution to the export efforts. Next to Tirupur, the town of Karur generates around $300 million a year in foreign exchange through home textile exports such as bed linens, kitchen linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall hangings. Madurai and Kanchipuram is very famous for handloom saris.
Electronics manufacturing is a growing industry in Tamil Nadu. Companies like Nokia, Flextronics, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Foxconn, Samsung, Cisco and Dell have chosen Chennai as their South Asian manufacturing hub. Products manufactured include circuit boards and cellular phone handsets. Ericsson also has a Research and Development facility in Chennai. Big EPC companies have set up their Engineering centres which include Saipem I Project Services ltd, Technip, Foster Wheeler, Mott Mecdonald, Petrofac and Technimont, Austrian company "Austrian Energy and Environment" have also a design office here besides local giant ECC {Larsen & Toubro}.
One of the global electrical equipment manufacturing public sector company BHEL has manufacturing plants at Tiruchirapalli and Ranipet. The Tamil Nadu state government owns the Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers (TNPL), the world's biggest bagasse based Paper mills in Karur as well as the world's sixth largest manufacturer of watches together with TATA, under the brand name of "Titan". 55% of all wind-generated electricity in India is created by windmills in Tamil Nadu. Renowned Danish wind power company NEG Micon has established its manufacturing unit in Chennai. Tamil Nadu is leading producer of Cement in India, it is the home for leading cement brands in the country such as Chettinad Cements(Karur), Dalmia Cements Ariyalur, Ramco cements (Madras Cement Ltd), India cements (Sankari, Ariyalur), Grasim etc.,There is a ACC cement factory located in madukarai outskirts of Coimbatore. Big companies like MICO, Cognizant solutions have set up their design offices here. Engineering magor L&T are setting up big manufacturing units with an investment of 500 crores. Even temple city Madurai has attracted Honeywell to set up their centre here.
The town of Sivakasi is a leader in the areas of printing, fireworks, and safety matches. It was fondly called as Kutty Japan or "little Japan" by Jawaharlal Nehru. It contributes to 80% of India's production of safety matches as well as 90% of India's total fireworks production. Sivakasi provides over 60% of India's total offset printing solutions and ranks as one of the highest taxpaying towns in India. Sivakasi also is a 100% employed town, putting it in the company of very few towns in India.
The Tidel Park in Chennai is the largest software park in IndiaTamil Nadu has a significant amount of mineral reserves such as lignite (87%), vermiculite (66%), garnet (42%), zircon (38%), graphite (33%), ilmenite (28%), rutile (27%), monazite (25%), and magnesite (17%). (The numbers in the brackets indicate the percentage contribution to the national share.) India's leading steel producer SAIL has a steel plant in Salem.
Tamil Nadu is a leading contributor in the IT and BPO sector. Chennai is the second leading software exporter in India, after Bangalore. India's largest IT park is in Chennai. Software exports from Tamil Nadu rose from Rs.76,000 million ($1,600 million) in 2003-04 to Rs.110,000 million ($2,400 million) in 2004-5. Chennai is a hub for e-publishing, as there are 47 e-publishing units registered with the STPI in Chennai and 25 in Bangalore. Companies such as Virtusa, HCL, Wipro, TCS, Satyam, Infosys,Polaris Software Lab,Cognizant Technology Solutions, Acme Technology Pvt Ltd, Covansys, Ford Information Technology, Xansa, Verizon, iSoft, iNautix, Electronic Data Systems, Bally and many others have offices in Chennai. Infosys Technologies has set up India's largest software development centre to house 25,000 software professionals at an estimated investment of Rs.12,500 million ($270 million) in Chennai. Chennai is also the preferred destination for companies outsourcing their high-end knowledge intensive operations. Testimony to this is the presence of major market research companies such as Frost & Sullivan and equity research companies such as Irevna in Chennai. This is the next high growth area that Chennai is witnessing.
Tourism
Kodaikanal, a hill station and popular tourist attraction in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu is a land of varied beauty. It is mostly famous for its numerous Hindu temples based on the Dravidian architecture. The temples are of a distinct style which is famous for its towering Gopuram. Popular temple towns include Madurai, Trichy, Tanjore, Kanchipuram, Swamithoppe, Palani, Tiruvallur and Mahabalipuram. Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of peninsular India, is famous for its distinct and beautiful sunrise, Vivekananda Rock Memorial on the mid-sea, Thiruvalluvar statue and has some very green hilly landscape and beautiful scenery and tourist attractions around the district.Hill stations like Kodaikanal, Nilgiris and Yercaud boast some of the stunning landscapes in India. The Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary located in Gudalur near the border of Karnataka known for its elephants, tigers and deer and the Pitchavaram Mangrove forests located in Chidambaram are two of the many eco-tourism spots of importance.
