State of India - Tamilnadu

Area: 1,30,058 sq km

Population: 5,58,58,946

Capital Of City: Chennai

Languages: Tamil

Crops:

How You Know: The Tamil grammar book Thlkaapiyam is the first grammar book written for any language in the world.Bharata Natyam, along with the other classical art forms in India, has its origins in the manuscript called the Natya Shastra which was written by Sage Bharata around 4000 B.C. It is believed that a long time ago when the world was facing endless conflicts, Brahma pooled all the resources from the four vedas to create a fifth veda called the Natya Veda. The Natya Veda has all the learning of the Vedas but it is expressed in dance form.

History: Tamil Nadu or 'The land of Tamil' is the southern-most state of India. Tamil, the language of the people of Tamil Nadu is among the 4 oldest languages in the world and is spoken by more than 5 crore people in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and Mauritius. Carnatic music, a part of the Indian classical music tradition is one of Tamil Nadu's famous cultural exports. A unique festival of Carnatic music, the Thyagaraja festival is held annually in January at Thiruvariyar, the birth place of famous singer-poet Thyagaraja. The other famous cultural gift of Tamil Nadu is Bharatha Natyam, the dance form often accompanied by Carnatic music. Bharata Natyam has three distinct elements to it: - Nritta (pleasing rhythmic movements), Nritya (movements in which expression or abhinaya is emphasized), and Natya (dance with a dramatic aspect). The dance was restricted to performances inside the temple till Rukmani Devi Arundale started a movement to bring it to the general public. The people of Tamil Nadu celebrate many festivals, the most well known of which is Pongal. The word Pongal literally means "boiling over" and the festival celebrates the rice harvest which is ceremoniously cooked as a part of the festivities. Think bull fights are restricted to Spain? Well, a dangerous form of bull fight called the 'Jallikattu' is held in parts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on Pongal. In the fight, unarmed men try to untie bundles containing money from the horns of wild bulls. And no, they don't try to ensnare the bulls with pieces of red cloth unlike their Spanish counterparts! Fundu Fact The silk sarees of Kanchipuram are famous all over India. Around 75% of the local population of this town is involved with the industry. Kanchipuram does not manufacture silk or any other raw material that goes into silk sarees. It is only the weaving and selling of silk that is practiced in the area. The Kanchipuram silk saree is hand-woven with dyed silk, on top of which designs made with 'Jari' (a silk thread twisted with a thin silver wire and then gilded with pure gold) which comes specially from Gujarat are woven. Chidambaram, also known as Thillai, is an important pilgrim centre and home to the famous Nataraja Temple. This temple is one of the rare temples where Shiva is represented by an idol rather than the usual lingam. The idol which tries to capture the movement from the Bharatnatyam dance is famous all over the world and its replicas can be seen in houses around India. Kaniyakumari or Cape Comorin is one of the most popular tourist spots in Tamil Nadu. The place is famous for being located right at the tip of the Indian Peninsula. It is also the meeting place of three great water bodies - the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Geographical location apart, the place is renowned for its beautiful sunrise and sunsets. On Chitra Pournami ( the full moon day in April), you can see the sun and moon face to face in the same horizon!