Tamil Nadu finds a prime position on the cultural map of the country. The state’s contribution to literature, music, arts of Indian classical culture is praiseworthy. Dance, music, art and crafts and celebration of various festivals form important parts of Tamil culture. The various fairs and festivals are celebrated with great enthusiasm. Tamil people have their own living style which is reflected in their food, costumes, language and folk art and culture. Let’s find more about the cultural heritages of the state.

Tamil Literature

Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition that is more than 2000 years old. The documents recovered from various places, have revealed the existence of this language even before this period. The main contribution has been made by Tamil people from Tamil Nadu but the name of some European authors can not be neglected while describing the development of Tamil literary history.

Tamil literature saw a significant progress during late nineteenth century when works of religious and philosophical nature were written in a style that made it easier for the common people to enjoy. The contemporary Tamil literature is very rich with the development of prose, poetry, short stories and novels. The popularity of Tamil Cinema has also provided opportunities for modern Tamil poets to emerge.

Tamil – Important Festivals

Pongal

In Tamil Nadu Makar Sankranti becomes Pongal. It is a celebration of the harvest, which is observed for three days in January. Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal and Mattu Pongal, are the three days of Pongal festivities on successive days. In certain parts cattle races still enliven the village festivities. Pongal is a colourful and traditional festival with many a ceremony devoted to various deities.

Chithirai

This is celebrated in the month of April as Tamil New Year. The festival starts in the month of April-May and ends on the tenth day. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm at Meenakshi temple, Madurai (500 kms from Chennai). The festival witnesses the marriage of Meenakshi (Parvati) and Sundareshwara (Lord Shiva) that attracts large crowds from all over the state and also from the whole country.

Adi Perukku

This is a unique festival that is celebrated all over the state by offering sweets and different kinds of rice preparations to different rivers to mark the onset of the monsoon.

Navaratri Gollu

The festival of Navratri Gollu in Tamil Nadu lasts for nine nights. According to the Hindu calendar Navratri celebration begins from the first day of the bright fortnight of Ashwin. This festival is fully dedicated to Goddess Durga and her nine forms. These nine days are celebrated in all over the state with an ardent zeal and enthusiasm.

Karthigai

In the month of Nov/Dec people decorate their homes with lights to celebrate the birth of Murugan, son of Lord Shiva. This festival is particularly celebrated in Thiruvannamalai, one of the pancha bootha kshetras and also an Agni (fire) Kheshtra. On Karthigai Deepam day, a huge vessel is filled with oil and gigantic wicks are lit on top of the hill.

Deepavali / Diwali

Diwali Celebration in Tamil Nadu

First Day: Asweyuja Bahula Thrayodasi, Dhanatrayodashi, Yamadeepdaan

Second Day: Narkachaturdashi

Third Day: Kaumudi Mahostavam, Balindra Pooja, Karthigai Deepam, Thalai Deepavali

Fourth Day: Bali Padyam / Bali Pratipada

Fifth Day: Yamadwitheya , Bhatri Ditya

Diwali in the Tamil Nadu is celebrated in the month of aipasi (thula month) ‘naraka chaturdasi’ thithi, preceding amavasai. The preparations for the Diwali Festival begin the day before, when the oven is cleaned, smeared with lime, four or five kumkum dots are applied, and then it is filled with water for the next day’s oil bath. The house is washed and decorated with kolam (rangoli) patterns with kavi (red oxide). For Diwali Festival, in the traditional pooja room, betel leaves, betel nuts, plaintain fruits, flowers, sandal paste, kumkum, gingelly oil, turmeric powder, scented powder is kept. Crackers and new dresses are placed in a plate after smearing a little kumkum or sandal paste.

The Diwali day begins with everyone in the family taking an oil bath before sunrise, a custom arising from a belief that having an oil bath in the morning on the day of diwali is equivalent to taking bath in the Ganges. Before the bath, elders in the house apply gingelly oil on the heads of the younger members. For those hailing from Tanjore, the custom is to first take a small quantity of deepavali lehiyam (medicinal, ayurvedic paste) after the oil bath and then have breakfast. Often sweets are eaten after wearing new clothes. In almost all houses, items like ukkarai, velli appam, idly, chutney, sambhar, omapudi, boondhi are prepared. For lunch, jangri, pathir peni, or one variety of the poli are made.

Crackers are usually burst only after the bath. Meanwhile, kuthu vilaku (oil lamp) is lit in the pooja room. Mats or wooden planks are placed facing east. After naivedhya (offering to the Gods) of the items, a plaintain fruit is given to each member of the family followed by betel leaves and betel nuts. Those who have to perform ‘pithru tharpanam’ will have a second bath perform the tharpanam and don’t eat rice at night.

Tamil – Dance & Music

Tamil Nadu has three modes of entertainment viz. Iyal (Literature), Isai (Music) and Nadagam (Drama) had their roots in the rural folk theatre like Therukoothu. Several forms of individual and group dances exist in the state from ancient time. These dances have classical and sheer entertainment value. The celebrated forms of village classical dances include Karagaattam, Kummi, Mayil Attam, Kolaattam, Oyil Kummi, Kavadi Aattam, Poikkal Kudirai Aattam, Kai Silambu Attam, Kazhai Kothu, Bagavatha Nadanam, Devaraattam, and Snake Dance etc.

Music in Tamil Nadu can be broadly classified into three categories :

Contemporary/Modern Songs
Folk Songs
Carnatic Music

The first category refers to filmy songs or the sound tracks which are extracted from movies or albums. These music forms are based on modern track and lyric. All Tamil people are fond of films, also their songs.

The second is the folk songs which is a reflection of the rich tradition of Tamil Nadu. Tamil folk music has a special attraction owing to its vivacious presentation. Most of the folk music and songs are associated with the rural milieu. Folk music remains a major source of inspiration for the more popular film music. Popular contemporary folk-musicologists like Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan and Pushpavanam Kuppuswamy are reviving this traditional music to their best form.

Carnatic music referred to as “classical music” in South India. This traditional music form includes Hindu devotional songs which are enjoyed by people of all ages and sections of the society. One of the greatest composers of South Indian Carnatic music was Thyagaraja, who is regarded by many as a saint. Muthuswami Deekshithar and Shyama Sastri are other two composers who constitute the three pillars of Carnatic music in Tamil Nadu. The popular classical dance amongst Tamils is Bharat Natyam. The dance is performed individually or in group on a stage with orchestra and song.

Tamil – Arts and Crafts

Painting

Tanjore is famous for its paintings made on different objects. Artisans use wood, glass, mica, ivory and walls to paint using attractive colours. Jewels, drapery and architectural elements like finely executed pillars, rich canopies, garlands of ropes and chandeliers are slightly raised by the use of special plaster, covered with pure gold leaf and embedded with semi-precious stone of different colors. Painting on ivory, mica, and the more difficult genre of glass paintings, were all introduced in the 18th century. Religious paintings are highly decorative and flat while paintings of portraits are conventionalized with an element of reality. Thanks to the artists for their lively and beautiful creation.

Metal-ware

In India, Brass and Copper are used for making various usable objects since ancient time. Tamil Nadu is no exception to this. It has a rich tradition of making metal objects which are used for both religious and secular purposes. A wide variety of objects include standing lamps, aarathi (votive lamps), deepalakshmis, hand lamps and chain lamps. Shallow dishes in circular, hexagonal, octagonal and oval shapes are widely used in Tamil Nadu and are made out of bronze or sheet brass. The popular Thanjavur plates are characterized by designs of deities, birds, flowers, and geometric patterns beaten out from the back of copper and silver sheets and subsequently encrusted on a brass tray, kudam or panchpaathra. Metal toys are also popular and are sold at various gift outlets in various towns and cities of the state.

Woodworks

Tamil Nadu is famous for its artistically created baskets and fiber products which are of great demand both in India and abroad. While palm has become a major source of raw material for basketry and related products, bamboo, cane, grasses, reeds and fibres are also used in making baskets, ropes, mats and many other items. The places famous for these arts are Dharampuri, Salem, Coimbatore, South Arcot and Tiruchirapalli districts.

Stone Carving

Stone carving is a popular form of art continued to exist over centuries. The craftsmen apply their creativity in making sculptors of various forms and structures. Granite and marble carving are confined to the areas around Mamallapuram and Chingleput. The famous sculptors here belong to the Vishwakarma or Kammaalar community. A subsidiary form of carving is soapstone or maakal carving, found in the region between Pondicherry and Cuddalore and around Salem. These sculptors are sold at high prices in national and international markets.

Pottery

Pottery is an important craft of Tamil Nadu. The state is famous for its manufacture of the famous Ayyannar horses. The horses are said to protect each village from evil. The large terracotta horses of Salem and Pudukottai are very much popular and are of great demand.