In the ancient times, Tamil Nadu has seen rise of three dynasties - Chola, Chera and Pandya.
Several invasions by the Kalabhras kings overtook power from these three dynasties in the 3rd century. The Pandyas and the Pallavas, together restored power in this region.
The Cholas who re-emerged in the 9th century by defeating the Pallavas and the Pandyas rose to great power and extended their empire over the entire southern peninsula.
The strong Chola Navy held control over the water of Bay of Bengal till the Sri Vijaya kingdom in Southeast Asia.
The temples sculpted on the rock of Mahabalipuram are the specimens of Pallava Architecture.
There are halls in Mahabalipuram with sculptured and excavated columns and monolithic pagodas known as Rathat of Mahabalipuram. The Vimana and mandapa are some features of the early Pandyan temples.
The architectural style in Vijaynagar can be broadly classified into religious, courtly, and civic in nature. Its style is a representation of simplicity and serenity drawn from a harmonious combination of the Chalukya, Hoysala, Pandya and Chola styles.
The Dravidian Architectural style has been the laying stone to build numerous temples in the state.
Most of the man made structures seen across the Chennai city were designed by English architects Robert Fellowes Chisholm and Henry Irwin.
Traditional houses in Tamil Nadu are roof laid with red clay tiles arranged in two levels. One layer meant for the porch and the other layer for the rest of the house. The roof is supported by terracotta pillars with intricate carvings and reliefs.
The entrance to a traditional Tamil Nadu home is flanked by terracotta pillars or an ornamental archway. Today, you can buy traditional wooden carved pillars from stores and get them installed in your home for a traditional look.
Athangudi tiles are cemented tiles handmade over glass surfaces used in the houses for flooring in the state. These tiles have advantage of cooling in summer and warm in winter.
The houses have large spacious verandahs where wooden swings are installed for the families to relax and discuss with a cup of coffee.
Demographic Location
Tamil Nadu is the southern most state of Indian subcontinent. The state has an elongated beach line with the Bay of Bengal on the East side and Indian Ocean in the South side.
Karnataka lies on the North Western side, Andhra Pradesh is on the North side and Kerala is on the Western side of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu is divided between the flat country on the eastern coast and the hilly regions on the north and west.
The broadest part of the eastern plains is the most fertile Cauvery river delta and arid flatland in the south of Ramanathapuram and Madurai.
Anai Peak in the Annamalai Hills on the western ghats is the highest mountain in south peninsular India.
The lower peaks of the Eastern Ghats locally called the Kalrayan, Shevaroy and Javadi hills lies in the centre of the region.
Some major rivers systems in Tamil Nadu are The Cauvery, The Ponnaiyar, The Palar, The Vaigai and The Tambraparni flowing eastward from hills in higher region of mainland.
Chennai is the beach capital city of Tamil Nadu. located in the northeastern portion of the state.
Tamil Nadu is watered by several river basins like Krishna and Cauvery. Cauvery river known as "Ponni" in the state is one of important river system that flows into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka.
There are numerous lakes in Tamil Nadu. Veeranam Lake is the biggest lake found in the state.
Tamil Nadu has diverse landscape. The state has more than 1300 peaks and mountains that rise from the western and eastern ghats.
The highest peak of the state is Doddabetta which lies between the Western and Eastern Ghats amidst the splendor of Nilgiri Hills range near Ooty.
There are highlands and several hill station in Tamil Nadu. Some of the hill stations in the state are as follows:
Ooty (Queen of Hill Stations)
Coonoor
Yelagiri
Kodaikanal
Kotagiri
Yercaud
Topslip
Kolli Hills
Kanyakumari is the southern most tip of the Indian subcontinent leading the water route to the nearby island country of Sri Lanka.
Season and Climate
Tamil Nadu has a Tropical climate where the summers are hot, turns into hot and humid in the monsoon season. Tamil Nadu coast receives winter rainfall through NW Monsoon.
Tamil Nadu gets rain during monsoons by southwest monsoon trade winds that blows towards the northern hemisphere.
Several low-pressure systems develop in the Bay of Bengal during early winters and moist trade winds move towards the east coast of Tamil Nadu causing heavy rainfall. This rain is particularly good for cultivation of coffee and rice.
The capital city of the state, Chennai enjoys Tropical wet and dry climate. Chennai lies on the thermal equator zone and on the coast, due to which extreme variation in seasonal temperature is rare. The weather is hot and humid in most part of the year.
Ooty is the coolest place in Tamil Nadu which is well known hill station in the state with lakes and several species of vegetation and thick forest surrounding the valley.
Tamil Nadu has seven classified agro-climatic zones:
North-East climate zone
North-West Climate zone
West Climate zone
Southern Climate zone
High Rainfall Climate zone
High Altitude Hilly Climate zone
Cauvery Delta Climate zone
The state has three different periods of rainfall:
Advanced rainfall
Rainfall from the tropical cyclones emerging near Andaman Islands during the Retreat of Monsoons
The North-East monsoon with dominant northeast monsoon winds from the western disturbances emerging over the Bay of Bengal
The rare dry season is from February to early June.
Some of the memorable Cyclones in the region are :
Cyclone Ockhi
Cyclone Thane
Cyclone Jal
Cyclone Laila
Cyclone Vardah
Cyclone Nadah
Cyclone Gaja
Cyclone Nilam
Cyclone Nivar
Rich Alluvial soil of the river deltas are deposits of clay, loams, sand, and red laterites with high content of iron oxides and aluminum hydroxide.
Culture and Education
People of Tamil Nadu represent the Dravidian race settled in India since long time. They lead a very simple culture and lifestyle and love to eat spicy food with coconut products.
People enjoy dancing, painting, art, playing sports, sculpturing and carving.
Tamil is the language spoken widely in Tamil Nadu. Tamil is one of the 18 languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution.
With the rich literature in Tamil, it is also spoken by people in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Singapore and Malaysia. Tamil is as old as Sanskrit.
Tamil is written in a derivative of the southern 'Brahmi' script. The alphabet of Tamil is unique (phonetic) while speaking. Tamil language letters represent sounds, rather than ideas, as is the case in the 'Mandarin' language of China.
Most accepted and followed religions in Tamil Nadu are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Jainism.
Hinduism, along with its various sects, is the oldest religion in the state. Hindus are followers of number of sectarian monastic institutions (called mathas).
Tamil Nadu eat both vegetarian and non vegetarian food. Their food include grains, lentils, rice and vegetables. Spices are used in most of the delicacies in the state.
Popular dishes of the people are idly, dosai, vada, pongal and Uppuma with Coconut chutney and sambhar.
People of Tamil Nadu are mostly learned. The state provides free education to the school students and college and medical students under the government schemes.
Kanyakumari district tops the literacy rate in the state.
There have been many scholars and writers from the state with great contribution to literature and science.
Men wear lungi and kurtas. They take a rectangular cloth on the shoulder.
Women mostly wear Sari. Some women wear lehenga and cholis with dupatta. Women like to take ornaments to look pretty.
Most of the clothes are made of cotton and silk.
People are fond of celebrating festivals. Some of the most celebrated festivals are as follows:
PONGAL FESTIVAL: Pongal is a four-day festival that celebrates the new harvest and prayers offered to Sun Lord for bestowing the land with prosperity.
NATYANJALI DANCE FESTIVAL : A five day cultural festival devoted to Lord Nataraja the God of Dance in the land of Tamil Nadu.
KARTHIGAI DEEPAM : Holy symbol of light to relish and ward off the evil, the Karthigai Deepam celebrated in Kartik month where people pay their respect to Lord Shiva.
JALLIKATTU BULL FESTIVAL : Celebrated on Mattu Pongal day, this popular festival is celebrated around the idea of mastering a bull.
VINAYAKA CHATHURTHI : Vinayaka Chaturthi is celebrated for 10 days to worship and pray for new beginnings.
NAVRATRI : People celebrate Navratri by chanting vedic mantras and performing classical dance forms, Mohiniattam and Bharatanatyam to Devi Durga, Laxmi and Saraswati.
DEEPAVALI : Deepavali is a festival of vibrant lights, firecrackers and positivity.
SARASWATHI POOJA : Goddess Saraswati is worshipped to get blessing for good knowledge and education.
CHITRI RAI FESTIVAL : A two-week long festival to celebrate the wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar in Meenakshi Temple.
MAHAMAHAM FESTIVAL : Ritual to take a dip into blessed water of Mahamaham tank in the Kumbakonam town of Tamil Nadu in every 12 years.
Aqualife, Flora and Fauna
The forest cover in the eastern side of the Western Ghats and in the hills of the northern and central districts have plants of evergreen and deciduous species.
Some of the wild life protected areas are:
The Mudlumbai Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in the Nilgiri Hills
Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park at the southern tip of the Western Ghats
Vedantangal sanctuary in the south-central part of the state.
These sanctuaries are a natural selection of habitat for elephants, gaurs (wild cattle), Nilgiri Tahrs (goatlike mammals), wild boars, Tigers, Sloth Bear, Leopards, Macaques, langurs, and several species of deer.
Great venom spitting King Cobras are found in Tamil Nadu. Woodpeckers and flycatchers are some woodland birds.
The principal crops are rice, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), pulses (such as chickpeas), sugarcane, cotton, cashews and chilies are important cash crops.
Many farmers in Tamil Nadu raise livestock like cows, goats, poultry and sheep.
The state has a treasure of bulk of trees of pulpwood, babul, firewood, bamboo, and teak. Rubber, tea and coffee is grown largely in plantations in the hilly region of the state.
Cat Fish, Murrels and Tilapia are some of the fish catch in the waters of the state.
