Tamil Nadu

The history of the Tamils presents an exciting pageant of a powerful civilization whose origin dates hack to ancient times. It is clear that the Tamils, who belong to the Dravidian race, were the first major occupants of the country and settled in the north western part of India long before the coming of the Indo-Aryans Excavations have revealed that the features of the people of the Indus Valley Civilization bore a strong resemblance to this race. However, with the advent of the Aryans, the Dravidians were pushed back into the Deep South where they ultimately settled. As is the case with most of the early history of the state, it is impossible to pin-point the exact period, when the great ‘Tamil Sangam (Academy) flourished, though it can he said with some certainty that two Sangams were held well before the Christian era and the third between 100 and 250 AD. The Tamil Sangam, which marks the Golden Age of Tamil literature, is the one major source of knowledge about the administration, art, architecture and economic conditions that existed then. Among some of the greatest compositions of the four centuries of Sangam age are Tiruvalluvar’s Thirukkural which consists of 1330 couplets about morality in private and public life combined with some of life’s greatest truths, compositions of the saint—poetess Avvaiyar. Pathupatu or ten Idyls which is a compilation of the work of several authors on philosophy intermingled with descriptions of the natural world arid Ettuthogai or the eight anthologies. Of these, the last is historically the most important as it contains a description of the daily life of the people. This collection of poems is the earliest record of its kind as far as the history of the Tamils is concerned. Even after the end of the Sangam age, Tamil writers, under the patronage of Royal Dynasties, continued to produce excellent literatures.

Tamil Nadu Information