GLIMPSES OF
BHARAT...
BHARAT KI
...JHALAK
TAMILNADU- Gateway of South India
The history of Tamil Nadu begins with the establishment of a trinity of Tamil powers in the region—namely, the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kingdoms—all of which are of unknown antiquity. These kingdoms enjoyed diplomatic and trade relations with distant lands. The Pandyas were mentioned in Greek literature dating to the 4th century BCE, and in the 4th century CE, the Roman emperor Julian welcomed a Pandyan embassy. Meanwhile, the Chera dynasty cultivated a flourishing trade with western Asia.
In 1640 the East India Company of England opened a trading post at the fishing village of Madraspatnam (now Chennai) with the permission of the local ruler. The history of Tamil Nadu from the mid-17th century to 1946 is the story of the British-controlled Madras Presidency in relationship to the rise and fall of British power in India. After Indian independence in 1947, the Madras Presidency became Madras state. The state’s Telugu-speaking areas were separated to form part of the new state of Andhra Pradesh in 1953. In 1956 Madras was divided further, with some areas going to the new state of Kerala and other areas becoming part of Mysore (now Karnataka). What remained of Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968.
* TOURIST PLACES-
BEACHES
Besant Nagar Beach (Chennai)
Dhanushkodi Beach (Ramanathapuram)
Mahabalipuram Beach (Chengalpattu)
Ariyaman Beach (Ramanathapuram)
Kanyakumari Beach (Kanyakumari)
WATERFALLS
Monkey Falls (Coimbatore)
Catherine Falls (Nilgiris)
Hogenakkal Falls ( Dharmapuri )
Coutrallam Falls (Tenkasi)
MUSEUMS
Gandhi Memorial Museum (Madurai)
Click Art Museum (Chennai)
Dakshina Chitra Museum (Chennai)
B. M. Birla Planetarium (Chennai)
Fort St. George (Chennai)
HILL STATIONS
Kodaikanal- Princess of Hill Stations
Ooty- Queen of Hill Stations
GARDENS
Semmozhi Poonga (Chennai)
Government Botanical Garden (Ooty)
Heritage Garden (Chennai)
Rose Garden Kodaikanal (Dindigul)
AMUSEMENT PARK-
Black Thunder (Coimbatore)
Vgp Universal Kingdom (Chennai)
Kovai Kondattam Theme Park (Coimbatore)
CAVES
Mahabalipuram Cave Temple (Chengalpattu)
Mandagapattu Cave Temple (Viluppuram)
Pillayarpatti Cave Temple (Sivaganga)
Thiruchirapalli Cave Temple (Thiruchirapalli)
Jain Cave Temple ( Pudukkottai)
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
Vallanadu Wildlife Sanctuary (Thoothukudi)
Kalakkad Mundanthurai Sanctuary (Kalakadu)
Srivilliputhur Sanctuary (Virudhunagar and Madurai)
Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Kancheepuram)
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode)
RELIGIOUS PLACES
Meenakshi Temple (Madurai)
NATIONAL PARKS
Mukurthi National Park (Nilgiris)
Guindy National Park (Chennai)
Mannar Marine National Park
Mudumalai National Park (Nilgiris)
Indira Gandhi National Park (Coimbatore )
VALLEYS
FORTS
Vijaynagar Fort (Thanjavur)
Udaygiri Fort (Kanyakumari)
Thirumayam Fort ( Pudukkottai )
* LANGUAGES SPOKEN-
1) Tamil
2)Telugu
3) Kannada
4) Urdu
5) Malayalam
*TRADITIONAL ATTIRE-
1) The men of Tamil Nadu wear traditional attires like Lungi or Dhoti, with Angavastra and a shirt.
2) Saree is the traditional dress of Tamil nadu women.Different types of sarees available in this state are Coimbatore saree, Rasipuram silk saree, kanchipuram saree, Madurai cotton and Chettinadu saree.
* CUISINE-
* FAMOUS FESTIVAL-
Natyanjali Dance Festival
Natyanjali is an annual dance festival commemorating Hindu deity Shiva. It originated around 1981, and started off as a relatively obscure event. It is currently organized by collaborative efforts of the Department of Tourism of Tamil Nadu and the Natyanjali Trust. Although celebrations are most prominent at its original venue, the 12th-century Chidambaram temple, they also occur in a wider spectrum across Tamil Nadu and Murugan temples. Mumbai also organize their own versions of the festival under the same banner. The current version lasts around 13 days, and various classical dance forms of all styles offer their art up to the god Nataraja. Senior gurus have been performing on Shivarathri night year after year.
Natyanjali Dance Festival
* TRADITIONAL SPORT-
Silambattam
Silambam is a weapon-based Indian martial art originating in South India in the Indian subcontinent which is being played as a traditional sport even in this modern days. This style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature [1] The World Silambam Association is the official international body of Silambam. It is the most important traditional sport of Tamil nadu which is involved with the lives of people since sangam age. It is a sport as well as self defending and attacking techniques. It is the most oldest form of martial art originated from South India.
* FOLK DANCE-
Bharatnatyam
Bha- Bhavam (means expression), Ra- Ragam (means music), Ta- Talam (means beat or rhythm) and Natyam (means dance) in Tamil. Bharatnatyam was performed by certain families of Tanjore district and these inheritors were known as ‘Nattuvans’.
Bharatanatyam, is the oldest Indian classical dance form originated in the Tanjore district of tamil Nadu and regarded as the mother of many other classical dance forms of India. Firstly, it was initiated in the Hindu temples of Tamil Nadu and eventually flourished in South India. It was performed with excellent footwork and impressive gestures and it includes nrita, nritya and natya.
