Language and Literature

The 133 ft (41 m) high Thiruvalluvar Statue, off the coast of Kanyakumari Tamil is the official language of Tamil Nadu and is one of the two classical languages of India, the other being Sanskrit. Tamil is also one of the official languages of India. Tamil Nadu is known for its rich tradition of literature, music and dance which continue to flourish today.

Tamil is one of the Classical Languages of India. It 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 as the author, Thiruvalluvar, does not mention his religion, land, or the audience for his work. He is portrayed as a holy saint of Tamil Nadu today. 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 a large amount of notable literary works. The first Tamil printing press was established at Tarangambadi by the Danish missionaries.

During the Indian freedom struggle, many Tamil poets and writers provoked national spirit, social equity and secularist thoughts among the common man, notably Subramanya Bharathy. Even today, Tamil Nadu is home to creative writers like Jayakanthan, Jayamohan, Sujatha, Indira Parthasarathy.

Religion

Hindu saints of Tamil Nadu come from all castes. For example, Thiruvalluvar and Atipattar and were Harijans, Sant Tirumangai and Sant Kannappa were Adivasi, Nammalvar and Nandanar were Shudras, Viralminda and Satti were Vaish, Ramananda and Ramana Maharishi were Brahmins. Tiru Panazhwar was a member of the Panan caste that was considered an avatar from Vishnu's chest. The Alwar and Nayanar movements greatly united members of all castes to worship God together.