India lies on the Indian Plate, the northern part of the Indo-Australian Plate, whose continental crust forms the Indian subcontinent. The country is situated north of the equator between 8°4' north to 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' east to 97°25' east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of 3,287,263 square kilometres (1,269,219 sq mi). India measures 3,214 km (1,997 mi) from north to south and 2,933 km (1,822 mi) from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15,200 km (9,445 mi) and a coastline of 7,516.6 km (4,671 mi).
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar or simply Tamils, are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who trace their ancestry to the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Union territory of Puducherry or to Sri Lanka. Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India, 15% in Sri Lanka, 10% in Mauritius, 7% in Malaysia and 5% in Singapore. Tamils, with a population of around 76 million and with a documented history stretching back over 2,000 years, are one of the largest and oldest extant ethnolinguistic groups in the world.
The Palk Strait is a strait between the Tamil Nadu state of India and the Jaffna District of the Northern Province of the island nation of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with Palk Bay in the southwest. With a minimum depth of less than 9.1m, it is 40 to 85 miles wide and 85 miles long. Several rivers flow into it, including the Vaigai River of Tamil Nadu. The strait is named after Robert Palk, who was a governor of Madras (1755–1763) during the Company Raj period.
A sari is a women's garment from the Indian subcontinent that consists of an unstitched drape varying from 4.5 to 9 metres in length and 600 to 1,200 millimetres in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, partly baring the midriff. It is traditionally worn in the countries of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. There are various styles of sari manufacture and draping, the most common being the Nivi style The sari is worn with a fitted bodice commonly called a choli and a petticoat called ghagra, parkar, or ul-pavadai. In the modern Indian subcontinent, the sari is considered a cultural icon.
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Indus-Ganga Plain and the North Indian River Plain, is a 2.5-million km2 (630-million-acre) fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, the eastern parts of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangladesh and southern plains of Nepal. The region is named after the Indus and the Ganges rivers and encompasses a number of large urban areas. The plain is bound on the north by the Himalayas, which feed its numerous rivers and are the source of the fertile alluvium deposited across the region by the two river systems. The southern edge of the plain is marked by the Chota Nagpur Plateau. On the west rises the Iranian Plateau.
The spot-billed pelican or grey pelican, is a member of the pelican family. It breeds in southern Asia from southern Pakistan across India east to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes. At a distance they are difficult to differentiate from other pelicans in the region although it is smaller but at close range the spots on the upper mandible, the lack of bright colours and the greyer plumage are distinctive. In some areas these birds nest in large colonies close to human habitations.
Puthandu, also known as Puthuvarudam or Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar and traditionally celebrated as a festival. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu calendar, as the first day of the Tamil month Chithirai. It therefore falls on or about 14 April every year on the Gregorian calendar. The same day is observed by Hindus elsewhere as the traditional new year, but is known by other names such as Vishu in Kerala, and Vaisakhi or Baisakhi in central and northern India.
The grizzled giant squirrel is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa found in the highlands of the Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka, and in patches of riparian forest along the Kaveri River and in the hill forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala states of southern India. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the species as near threatened due to habitat loss and hunting.
Hinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions, with temples dating back over 2,000 years. As of 2011, Hindus made up 12.6 percent of the Sri Lankan population. They are almost exclusively Tamils, except for small immigrant communities from India and Pakistan. Hinduism has also taken a major influence on Buddhism, which is practiced by the majority Sinhalese.
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, North America, and Western Europe.
The rain quail or black-breasted quail is a species of quail found in the Indian subcontinent, its range including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam.
The Sangam period or age, or the third Sangam period, is the period of history of ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Sri Lanka spanning from c. 6th century BCE to c. 3rd century CE. It was named after the famous Sangam academies of poets and scholars centered in the city of Madurai.
Tamilakam refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Traditional accounts and Tolkāppiyam referred these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and culture of all people. The ancient Tamil country was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. During the Sangam period, Tamil culture began to spread outside Tamilakam. Ancient Tamil settlements were also found in Sri Lanka and the Maldives (Giravarus).
South Asian ethnic groups are ethnolinguistic composition of the diverse population of South Asia, including the nations of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Afghans, however, are generally not included among South Asian ethnic groups
Nainativu, is a small but notable island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The name of the island alludes to the folklore inhabitants, the Naga people. It is home to the Hindu shrine of Nagapooshani Amman Temple; one of the prominent 64 Shakti Peethas, and the Buddhist shrine Nagadeepa Purana Viharaya.
The Naga people were believed to be an ancient tribe who once inhabited Sri Lanka and various parts of Southern India. There are references to them in several ancient texts such as Mahavamsa, Manimekalai and also in other Sanskrit and Pali literature. They are generally being represented as a class of superhumans taking the form of serpents who inhabit a subterranean world.
There is a small community of Tamils in Pakistan. Some Muslim Tamils migrated from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and settled in Karachi after the independence in 1947. These Muslim Tamils have integrated with the Urdu speaking Muhajir community. Although there also some Tamils that have been since early 20th century when Karachi was developed during the British Raj. There are also Sri Lankan Tamils that arrived during the Sri Lankan Civil War and these Tamils are mostly Hindus. The Madrasi Para area behind the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre is home to 100 Tamil Hindu families. The Shri Rama Pir Mandir Temple was located in this neighborhood demolished by a builder. The temple was the biggest Tamil Hindu temple in Karachi. In addition, Drigh Road and Korangi also have a Tamil population. There are also a small number of Tamil Christians in Karachi. Till August 2019, Pakistan receives 30 post office mails from Tamil Nadu every month.
The peacock dance or peafowl dance is a traditional Asian folk dance that describes the beauty and the movement of peacocks. There are several peacock dance traditions developed in Asia, among others are peacock dances of Myanmar, and in the western and northern parts of Cambodia, West Java in Indonesia, also peacock dances of Indian subcontinent in Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
The traditional New Year in many South and Southeast Asian cultures is based on the sun's entry into the constellation Aries. In modern times, it is usually reckoned around the 14th of April.
