Aarushhh/wikipedia-simple-splitted huggingface dataset:
The two chimpanzee species are separated by the huge Congo River. Its formation 1.5–2 million years ago may have led to the speciation of the bonobo. Their population is between 29,000 and 50,000 individuals. The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is threatened by habitat destruction, human population growth and commercial poaching. The bonobo lives for about 40 years in captivity, though its lifespan in the wild is unknown.

References

Hominins
Mammals of Africa
Genoa (, Ligurian: Zena, Zêna) is a city and capital of the Liguria region in Italy. The population of Genoa in 2006 was 620,316. It is the most important seaport in Italy. Before Italy was united into one country in the 1800s, Genoa was a republic that also included the island of Corsica. Genoa was famous for its merchants, or traders, who traded everywhere from England to Istanbul. Famous Genoese people include, Andrea Doria, Niccolò Paganini, and Christopher Columbus.

References

Other websites 
 Comune di Genova
Liguria (/lɪˈɡ(j)ʊəriə/, Italian: [liˈɡuːrja]; Ligurian: Ligûria [liˈɡyːɾja]) is a region of Northern Italy. The capital is Genoa.
The population was about 1,610,134 in 2005.

Provinces 
 Province of Genoa (Genova) (capital)
 Province of La Spezia
 Province of Savona
 Province of Imperia

Sources

Other websites 
 Official Site (IT)
The Royal Opera House is a famous opera house  in London. Sometimes it is called  "Covent Garden" because it is in the area of London called Covent Garden.  The Royal Opera House is the home of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet.  There is an orchestra which plays there for all the operas and ballets.

The building that is now the Royal Opera House is the third building in that place.  The first theatre to be built there in 1732 was burnt down in 1808.  The second theatre opened in 1809 but was burnt down in 1856.  Today's building was built in 1858, although a lot of it was rebuilt between 1996 and 2000.  The auditorium (the main part where the audience sits) is nearly the same, but all the backstage rooms are new: the dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, office space etc.  There is an extra small theatre called the Linbury Theatre which is used for smaller performances.  Together with the new restaurant areas it has helped to get more young people to come.
The Royal Opera House seats 2,268 people.  There are seats downstairs (the stalls), four tiers of boxes, a balcony and a gallery.

The conductor ("Musical Director") of the Royal Opera House Orchestra is Antonio Pappano who is a young British conductor.

Other websites 
 Royal Opera House
Opera houses
Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster
Kalahasti is a place in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. In Kalhasti, there is a famous and ancient temple of Shiva, a god of Hindus. The temple is one of the five such temples of Shiva in south India collectively known as Pancha Bootha Sthalams. The other four such temples are at Kanchipuram, Thiruvanaikaval, Tiruvannamalai, and Chidambaram.

In this temple, people worship Shiva in the form of a linga. There are many mythological stories about this linga. One of the stories tell that an elephant, a snake, and a spider used to worship this linga. The god Shiva blessed them with moksha (liberation).

Another story tells about a saint named Kannappa. He took out his eyes and offered the same to the linga. At this supreme sacrifice, Shiva became very happy. He appeared in the form of a human being, and restored the eyesight of Kannappa. Kannappa is worshipped as one of the 63 saiva saints in Tamil Nadu.
Sri Kalahasti temple, 36 km away is famous for its Vayudeva temple, which is the only shrine of the god of wind in India. Constructed in the 12th century by the Chola king, Rajarajendra, Vayu is incarnated as Lord Shiva and worshipped as Kalahasteeswara.

This is an important temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple has one of the elemental lingas, the vayu (air) linga. There is a lamp inside the inner sanctum that is constantly flickering despite the lack of air movement inside. The air-linga can be observed to move even when the pujaris close off the entrance to the main Deity room, which does not have any windows. You can see the flames on several ghee lamps flicker as if blown by moving air. The linga is white and is considered Swayambhu, or self-manifested.
Kalahasti is surrounded by two sacred hills. The Durgamba temple is on the northern hill. On the south hill there is the shrine of Kannabeswara, in memory of the Sage Kannappa, who offered an eye to the Lord. When he tried to offer his other eye as well, the Lord mercifully stopped him. There is also a temple dedicated to Subramanya on one of the surrounding hills.

The main linga is untouched by human hands, even by the priest. Abhisheka (bathing) is done by pouring a mixture of water, milk, camphor, and panchamrita. Sandal paste, flowers and the sacred thread are offered to the utsava-murti, not the main linga. 

This temple is one of the most impressive Siva temples in India. It features an enormous, ancient gopuram (tower) over the main gate. The tower is 36.5m (120 feet) high. The entire temple is carved out of the side of a huge stone hill. It was built in1516 by King Krishnadeva Raya.

The temple is run by neatly dressed Saivite Brahmins.

Related pages
Linga

Hindu mythology
Guru Ravidas, also spelt as Raidas, was an Indian saint and poet of 15th century. He belonged to a family of leather workers, he even claimed to be an achhoot or untouchable. Some of his verses found place in Guru Granth Sahib, the main text of Sikhism.

Mirabai, a Rajput lady of a royal family of Rajasthan, was one of the followers of Guru Ravidas. They follow his teachings and consider him their Guru, the teacher. 

Guru Raidas wrote poems in Braj Bhasha. A few of his poems are "ab kaise chutey ram nam", "aasi Lal tujh binu".

Guru Raidas refuted the prevalent Caste System of the time and stated that all people were equally cared upon by god. He also, like many contemporary Bhakti saints, refuted complex Brahminical Rituals and Sacrifices, in favour of true and complete devotion to god by means of song, dance, or japa (simple chanting of god's name).

Related pages 
BR Ambedkar

Buddhism
Indian poets
15th-century people
Rishis used to live in deep forests. Many young men from villages and towns also lived with them as their students and disciples. Rishis taught them in schools called Gurukuls. After education, these young men returned to live with their families. However, some of them shall always remain with the rishis as their disciples. Sometimes, even kings and other members of the ruling families would go to them to seek advice and blessings. Sometimes these rishis and their disciples would go to the royal courts and participate in discussions there. 

Seven such rishis were the most famous. Hindu scriptures have named them as saptarishis, that is, the seven sages. The seven sages were Kashyapa, Atri, Vashitha, Vishvamitra, Gautam, Jamdagni, and Bharadvaja. According to Hindu mythology, these seven sages had become like divine beings. Ancient astrology of Hindus identified these seven sages with the stars of the sky, the Great Bear. Their wives formed the Pleiades.

Related pages
 Atri
 Vishvamitra
 Gautam

References
References

Hindu mythology
Tiruvannamalai is a place in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus. In Tiruvannamalai, there is a famous and ancient temple of Shiva, a god of Hindus. The temple is one of the five such temples of Shiva in south India. 

In this temple, people worship Shiva in the form of a linga. Many Hindus go to this place all around the year. In the months of November and December, a festival lasting for ten days takes place. During this festival, people light up an entire hill near Tiruvannamalai.

Related pages
Linga

Other websites
Tiruvannamalai 

Hinduism
Hindu mythology
Tiruvannamalai district
Vishvamitra is the name of a rishi (sage) of ancient India. This is a Sanskrit word, and its translation is: "universal friend, that is, a friend of everybody". Vishvamitra wrote many verses of the Vedas, especially the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda. 

The Hindu scriptures have many stories about Vishvamitra. One of them tell about the competition between another rishi named Vashistha. Both wanted to become priests of big royal families of ancient India.

Related pages
Hindu mythology
Vashistha

Hindu mythology
Rabindranath Tagore (), who is popularly called "Kabiguru", was born on 7 May 1861. His name is written as Rabindranath Tagore in many languages of India. He was a poet, philosopher, and artist. He wrote many stories, novels, poems, and dramas. He is also very well known for composing music. He wrote the national anthems of both India and Bangladesh. His writings greatly influenced Bengali culture during the late 19th century and early 20th century. In 1913, he became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His major works include Gitanjali (Song Offerings), a world-famous poetry book; Gora (Fair-Faced); Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World); and many other works of literature and art. Tagore was also a cultural reformer and modernized Bengali art. He made it possible to make art using different forms and styles.

Tagore died on August 7, 1941 ("Baishey Shrabon" in Bengali, 22nd Shrabon).
Tagore was born on 7th May in 1861,at Jorasanko in Calcutta. He was the youngest son of his parents. His father was Debendranath Tagore. His mother was Sharada Devi.

Rabindra nath Tagore was admitted to school. But he did not like the still education. So he was educated at home He wrote his first poem when he was eight years old. In 1877, at the age of 16, Tagore published his first large poetry collection and wrote his first short story and dramas.

In February 1873, at age 11, Tagore went on a tour of India with his father. They visited many places like Amritsar in Punjab, and Dalhousie in the Himalayas. Tagore also visited his father's estate at Shantiniketan. There he read biographies and studied history, astronomy, modern science, and Sanskrit. He also read works of Kalidas.

During this time, Tagore also composed many literary works. Tagore wrote a poem in the style of Vidyapati, a famous poet who wrote in Maithili.
In 1878, Tagore went to London. Because wanted to become a barrister. Later he studied at University College London. But in 1880, after Tagore did not do well in school, his father called him back from London. His father arranged a marriage for him with Mrinalini Devi, a girl of ten years. Child marriage was common during that time. They got married on December 9, 1883. Together they had five children.

Shantiniketan  
In 1901, Tagore left Sheildah. He went to Shantiniketan (West Bengal) to build an ashram (which is like a monastery in Indian religions). In English, "Shantiniketan" means "an abode [place] of peace". He built a prayer hall, a school, and a library. He planted many trees and built a garden.

Tagore's wife and two of his children died in Shantiniketan. On January 19, 1905, Tagore's father also died.
By this time, Tagore had started receiving monthly income as part of his inheritance. He also started receiving some royalties for his literary works. He was very popular among readers of the Bengali language, as well as other people who knew his works through translations and reviews. Rabindranath's father bought a large parcel of land in Santiniketan, intending to establish a preparatory school.

On November 13, 1913, Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy had selected him based on a small number of his translated works, and his 1912 work of poems named Gitanjali: Song Offerings.

The British Crown gave Tagore a knighthood in 1915. However, he gave back the title in 1919 to protest the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar. During this massacre, troops of the British Raj killed people who had no weapons.
In 1921, Tagore and an agricultural economist named Leonard K. Elmhirst set up the Institute for Rural Reconstruction in a village named Surul, near Tagore's ashram at Shantiniketan. Tagore recruited many scholars and officials from many countries to help the institute. Its goal was to use schooling to "free village[s] from ... helplessness and ignorance".

In the early 1930s, Tagore also grew more concerned about India's "abnormal caste consciousness" and differences based on castes. He lectured on the evils of such practices and also wrote many poems and dramas on these themes. He also became an activist.

He also founded a school named "Sriniketan" for teaching agriculture and crafts at Surul at a distance of about three kilometers from Shantiniketan.
Last years (1932–1941) 
Even during the last decade of his life, Tagore continued his activism. He criticized Mohandas Gandhi, one of India's leaders, for his comments about an earthquake on January 15, 1934 in Bihar. Gandhi had said the earthquake had happened because God wanted to punish people for practicing casteism.

Tagore also wrote a hundred-line poem about the poverty in Kolkata. Later on, Satyajit Ray based one of his movies on this poem.

During this period, Tagore wrote fifteen volumes of prose-poems. They covered many parts of human life. In his last years, Tagore took an interest in science and wrote a collection of essays. These essays explored biology, physics, and astronomy.
Tagore spent the last four years of his life in poor health. In late 1937, he lost consciousness. He was in a coma for a long time. Eventually, he woke up, but three years later, he went back into a coma. During these years, whenever he was conscious and felt well enough, he wrote poems. These poems talk about how he came close to death. Tagore died on August 7, 1941 at the age of 80 in his childhood home in Kolkata.

Travels 
Between 1878 and 1932, Tagore visited thirty countries on five continents. His goal was to make his literary works known to people who did not speak Bengali. He also spread his thoughts and ideas, including his political ideas.

In 1912, Tagore went to England. The Anglo-Irish poet William Butler Yeats wrote the preface to the English translation of Tagore's famous book Gitanjali (Song Offerings). Tagore also met Ezra Pound, Robert Bridges, Ernest Rhys, Thomas Sturge Moore, and many others.
From May 1916 until April 1917, Tagore gave many lectures in Japan. Shortly after returning to India, the 63-year-old Tagore visited Peru at the invitation of the Peruvian government. At the same time, he also visited Mexico. Both governments pledged donations of $100,000 to Tagore's school at Shantiniketan.

On May 30, 1926, Tagore reached Naples, Italy. The next day, he met fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Rome. On 20 July 1926, Tagore criticized and spoke out against Mussolini.

In July 1927, Tagore and two friends went on a four-month tour of Southeast Asia. They visited Bali, Java (island), Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Penang, Siam, and Singapore. Later on, Tagore wrote a book named Jatri (The Traveler) about his experiences during these trips.

In early 1930, Tagore left Bengal for a nearly year-long tour of Europe and the United States. In Paris and London, there were displays of his paintings. During this period, Tagore wrote his Hibbert Lectures for the University of Oxford. He also met Aga Khan III.
From June to mid-September 1930, Tagore toured Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany. Next, he toured the Soviet Union.

Tagore's travels gave him the opportunity to talk with many notable persons of his time. They included Henri Bergson, Albert Einstein, Robert Frost, Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Mann, George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Romain Rolland.

Tagore's last trips abroad were his visits to Iran and Iraq in 1932, and to Ceylon in 1933. He visited Iran as a personal guest of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Works 
Tagore was mainly a poet, but his other writing includes essays, short stories, travelogues, dramas, and thousands of songs. He was also an expert painter.

Many movies also have soundtracks featuring selections from Tagore's songs, the Rabindra Sangeet.

Tagore also wrote many non-fiction books. These covered many subjects, including the history of India, linguistics, essays and lectures, details of his travels, and other autobiographical things.
One of his famous dramas is 2 plays by Tagore and Dipashri
In 1917, Tagore published a book called My Reminiscences. In this book, Tagore gives credit to his friend and mentor, Akshay Chowdhury, for influencing him in literature since he was a child. Akshay was the youngest son of Mihir Chandra Chowdhury, whose ancestry was linked with the Dutta Chowdhury (Chowdhuries) family of Andul. Rabindranath used to call Akshay Akshay Babu.

Akshay Chowdhury, Romesh Chandra Dutt, and Jyotiridranath Tagore were classmates at Hindu School in Kolkata. Because of this, Akshay developed a strong, friendly relationship with the Tagore family.

Rabindranath wrote that he loved to discuss high-level literature in detail with "Akshay Babu". At times, Akshay and his wife, Sarat Kumari Chaudhurani, used to participate in long talks about literature in a garden at Thakur Bari.
Music and artwork 
Tagore was also a musician and painter. He wrote around 2,230 songs. People call these songs "Rabindra Sangeet" (which means "Tagore Song" in English). These songs are now a part of modern Bengali culture. Tagore's many poems and songs are parts of his novels and stories.

His songs and music cover many aspects of human emotion, devotional hymns, and love songs. In most Bengali-speaking families, people sing Rabindra Sangeet'''.
Music critic Arther Strangeways of The Observer first introduced Tagore's songs to non-Bengalis through his book The Music of Hindustan. The book describes Tagore Song as a "vehicle of a personality ... [that goes] behind this or that system of music to that beauty of sound which all systems put out their hands to seize." Rabindra Sangeet has two great works, which are now national anthems of two countries: India and Bangladesh. This makes Tagore the only person in the world to have written the national anthems of two nations. They are Bangladesh's Amar Sonaar Baanglaa and India's Jana Gana Mana. Rabindrasangit. They are also influenced by musicians like Vilayat Khan, Buddhadev Dasgupta, and composer Amjad Ali Khan.
At age 60, Tagore took an interest in drawing and painting. He used many styles from different parts of the world. His styles included craftwork by the Malanggan people of northern New Ireland, Haida carvings from the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and woodcuts by Max Pechstein. Sometimes, Tagore used his handwriting in artistic styles on his manuscripts. His drawings and paintings were displayed in France and London.

 Theatrical pieces 
When he was 16 years old, he performed in a drama organized by his brother, Jyotirindranath Tagore. When Tagore was 20 years old, he wrote a drama named Valmiki Pratibha (The Genius of Valmiki). This described the life of Valmiki, a man who stopped being a robber and became a learned person, his blessing from the goddess Saraswati, and his writing of the Ramayana.
Another notable play by him is Dak Ghar (The Post Office), which describes how a child tries to escape from his confinement and falls asleep. This sleeping is suggestive of death. This play received reviews in many parts of Europe. In 1890, he wrote Visarjan (Sacrifice). Many scholars believe this to be his finest drama. The Bangla-language original versions included intricate sub-plots and extended monologues. He wrote many other dramas on a variety of themes. In Tagore's own words, he wrote them as "the play of feeling and not of action". Rabindra Nritya Natya means dance dramas based on Tagore's plays.

 Short stories 
Tagore wrote many stories. Galpaguchchha (Bunch of Stories) is a three-volume collection of eighty-four of his stories. Tagore wrote about half of these stories during the period from 1891 to 1895. This collection continues to be very popular work of Bangla literature. These stories have been used for many movies and theatrical plays.
Tagore drew inspiration and ideas for writing his stories from his surroundings, from the village life of India. He saw the poor people very closely during travels to manage his family's large landholdings. Sometimes he used different themes to test the depth of his intellect.

 Poetry 
Tagore's poetry is very varied and covers many styles. He drew inspiration from 15th and 16th century poets and from ancient writers like Vasa. Bengal's Baul folk singers were also influenced by his style of poetry. He wrote many poems when he was at Shelidah managing his family's estates. Many of his poems have a lyrical quality. These poems tell about the "man within the heart" and the "living God within". Over the next 70 years, he repeatedly revised his style of writing poetry. In 1930s, he wrote many experimental works of poetry, and also used modernism and realism in his works.
One of his poems reads "all I had achieved was carried off on the golden boat; only I was left behind". Tagore is known around the world for his Gitanjali ("Song Offerings"), his best-known collection, which won him his Nobel Prize. A freeverse translation by Tagore of a verse of Gitanjali reads as follows:

"My song has put off her adornments. She has no pride of dress and decoration. Ornaments would mar our union; they would come between thee and me; their jingling would drown thy whispers."

"My poet's vanity dies in shame before thy sight. O master poet, I have sat down at the feet. Only let me make my life simple and straight, like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music."

Anthems

Tagore is the only person to have written anthems for three countries.
 Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem of India

 Amar Shonar Bangla, the national anthem of Bangladesh
 Sri Lanka Matha, the national anthem of Sri Lanka; Tagore wrote the Bengali version and Ananda Samarakoon, his student, translated it into Sinhala
Tagore's political views were complicated. He criticized European colonialism and supported Indian nationalists. But he also criticized the Swadeshi movement that many nationalist leaders in India liked. He liked self-help and learning. He asked Indians to accept "there can be no question of blind revolution, but of steady and purposeful education". Many people did not like his thinking. In late 1916, some Indians plotted to kill him when he was staying in a hotel in San Francisco, USA. When they saw him face-to-face, however, they instead started arguing with Tagore and changed their minds about killing him. Tagore also wrote many songs praising the Indian independence movement. He also returned the British honor of Knighthood as a protest against the 1919 Amritsar massacre. In Amritsar, troops of the British Raj had opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing many. Despite his unfriendly relations with Gandhi, Tagore played a key role in resolving a Gandhi-B. R
. R. Ambedkar dispute which was about separate electorates for untouchables. Untouchables were people considered lowest in the social order. Rabindranath Tagore helped the freedom of India. He was first to identify the theme of "Globalization".
Educational views

Tagore was also critical about the traditional style of education. While on a visit to Santa Barbara, California on October 11, 1917, he thought of a new type of education: a new type of university which he wanted to set up at Shantiniketan. On December 22, 1918, work for building the new university began. It opened on December 22, 1921. He named the university Visva-Bharati University. Tagore worked hard to raise funds for the university, and he toured many parts of Europe and the United States for this purpose. He gave all his Nobel Prize money to this university. The university gave personal guidance to all students. Students lived close to nature, and the teacher-student relationship followed a pattern of the gurukul system of ancient India. In his own words, he wanted this university to become "a world center for the study of humanity ... somewhere beyond the limits of nation and geography".
He also had a dream for the future India. He wanted India's freedom from the British rule. He dreamt of an India "where the mind is without fear it is ".

 Legacy 
Even many decades after his death, people hold festivals in his honor in many parts of the world. Examples include the following:
 The annual Bengali festival/celebration of Kabipranam - Tagore's birthday anniversary - held in Urbana, Illinois in the United States.
 The Rabindra Path Parikrama'' is held in Shantinketan and many places in Kolkata and West Bengal. Even cultural institutions and families in private households organise programmes to celebrate his birthday.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who is also a Bengali, once noted that even for modern Bengalis, Tagore was a "towering figure", being a "deeply relevant and many-sided contemporary thinker".
Tagore's collected 1939 Bangla-language writings (Rabīndra Rachanāvalī) are one of Bengal's greatest cultural treasures, and Tagore himself has been proclaimed "the greatest poet India has produced".

He was also famous in much of Europe, North America, and East Asia. Translations of his works are available in many languages, including Russian, English, Dutch, German, and Spanish. In the United States, Tagore gave many lectures during 1916 and 1917. Many people attended those lectures.

Between 1914 and 1922, the Jiménez-Camprubí spouses translated at least twenty-two of Tagore's books from English into Spanish. These Spanish translations influenced many leading figures of Spanish literature, including Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral of Chile; Octavio Paz of Mexico; and José Ortega y Gasset, Zenobia Camprubí, and Juan Ramón Jiménez of Spain

Various composers, including classical composer Arthur Shepherd’s, have set Tagore's poetry to music.

Related pages
 List of Nobel Prize winners by country
Notes and references

Other websites

 Rabindranath Tagore poetry 

1861 births
1941 deaths
Indian poets
Alumni of University College London
Writers from Kolkata
National symbols of India
Indian Nobel Prize winners
The Tamil people are an ethnic group from South Asia. Traditionally, they have been living in the southern parts of India, and the northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.

The Tamil people number around 74 million in the world. Of that, there are about 63,000,000 in India; about 3,600,000 live in Sri Lanka; about 2,900,000 live in Malaysia; and about 430,000 live in Singapore. The remaining Tamil people live in many other places. Other peoples are related to the Tamil people by language, culture, and ancestry. Some of them are Brahui people, Kannadigas, Malayalis, Telugu people and Tuluvas. Tamil people, are not closely related to people in the Middle East and Europe, except the Romani people.

Tamil people identify themselves with their language, Tamil and their rich culture and literature.  In recent times, they have broadened the definition of Tamil people.  They now also include descendants of Tamil speaking people even when they no longer speak Tamil language.
History
The history of Tamil people has three broad time periods as described below.

The pre-classical period 
No one is sure about the exact origins of the Tamil people. Some connect them with the Elamite people of ancient Iran. Historians confirmed with the scripts and names of towns of Indus that the people of the Indus Valley Civilization were Tamil. 

In Tamil Nadu, the earliest presence of Tamil people dates back to around 10000 BC on wards. Archaeologists have found many burial places of megalithic era. The style of burials is same as described in classical Tamil literature. Recent excavations at these sites have also provided samples of early Tamil writing, dating back to at least 5000 BC (The Hindu, 2005).

The classical period
Three royal families emerged in the lands of the Tamil people: the dynasties of the Cholas, Cheras, and the Pandyas.
At that time, agriculture and trading were two main economic activities of Tamil people. They even traded with many other countries, including places in Europe. In Karur (Tamil Nadu), archaeologists found a large number of coins of Ancient Rome and Egypt. The Pandyas sent at least two ambassadors to the Roman Emperor Augustus. Archaeologists have also found Tamil writings in broken pieces of pottery in the Red Sea, where Tamil Merchants settled there and became one of the Acestor the Romani people, as DNA studys shows.

An unnamed traveler from ancient Greece had described in Greek language ports of the Pandya as "The land of Punt" and Chera kings. He had detailed the items exported by the Tamil people. These items included black pepper, pearls, ivory, silk, diamonds, sapphires, and tortoiseshell.
The classical period ended at around 2nd century. People from northern parts of India invaded the lands of the Tamil people. For Tamil people, this was a dark period of their history called kalapiraras. They are the Jewish Invaders from Western coast of Karnataka and Kerala with help of the local Telugu tribal's who lived in the jungles of Western ghats and chambal. This dark phase ended with the rise of the Pandyas and Pallava dynasty again.

The imperial and post-imperial periods
Historical records of ancient Tamil rulers have been destroyed on purpose. Only later pallava period is mentioned during the 6th century, they became powerful after they drove the kalapirars. Later The Pallavas also encouraged the worship of Shiva and Vishnu; and built large temples.
In the 9th century, the Cholas and the Pandyas defeated Pallavas. By the 10th century, the Cholas had established a big empire, covering most of south India and Sri Lanka. They had a strong navy, That reached Thailand, Burma and Sumatra. They also had a strong trading links with China. By the 12th – 13th centuries, the power of the Cholas had declined. For some time, Pandyas became powerful. However, by that time Muslim rulers invaded Tamil lands. The Pandya dynasty came to an end by the 16th century.

Over a period of time, western parts of Tamil lands were developing in a separate manner. By the 13th century, the Cholas and the Pandyas had lost control over these areas. The people living there developed their own language and culture. By the 15th century they had a separate language, Malayalam language, now the language of the Indian state of Kerala.
Tamils in Sri Lanka 
Before the deluge at about 11600 yrs, Sri Lanka was a part of Tamil Nadu and Tamil rulers of the ancient pandyas ruled this place.After deluge Sri Lanka separated from Tamil Nadu. One north Indian king of Tamil origin exiled his son Vijayan out of country for his wrongdoing Vijayan with a small troop reached Sri Lanka. The Tamil Nagas, Yakkars and vedars were the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka before Vijanyan's arrival and the land was under Pandiyan control. Pandiyan of Madurai welcomed Vijayan with good heart and facilitated his troops.He sent Tamil girls from Pandiyan kingdom to marry Vijayan and for his troops.The Tamil people ruled parts of Sri Lanka from time to time, and played important role in the ruling of Sri Lanka. In the 10th century, the Chola kings made Sri Lanka a part of their kingdom. This continued until late 11th century.
The modern period 
During the British Raj, the British combined all Tamil lands and gave them a new name, the Madras Presidency.  The Madras Presidency became a part of the British Raj.  Similarly, the British combined Tamil lands of Sri Lanka and other regions of Sri Lanka in 1802.  This became the Ceylon colony, also a part of the British Empire. When India became independent in 1947, Madras Presidency became a part of India.  Ceylon became independent in 1948, and the Tamil lands remained a part of independent Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka.

After India’s independence in 1947, Madras Presidency became Madras State. It covered the areas of present-day Tamil Nadu, coastal parts of Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, northern Kerala, and the southwest of Karnataka. The Government of India rearranged (1956) the boundaries of many states of India based on language. Thus, the present day state of Tamil Nadu came into existence.
At the beginning, there was a demand for an independent country for the Tamil people. However, the constitution of India gave major rights to the states, and protected the speakers of regional languages from compulsory speaking and use of Hindi. This satisfied most of the Tamil people, and presently there is no demand for a separate country for Tamil people outside the federal system of India.

However, in Sri Lanka, the government did not give sufficient rights to people who spoke Tamil language. During 1970s, this led to a demand for independence of Tamil people and the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Geographic distribution
Tamil people live in many geographical regions. Sections below describe them.

In India
Most of the Tamil people of India live in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Most of the people living in Pondicherry of India are also Tamil people.
Tamil people have been traditionally living in some other parts of India - for examples, Hebbar and Mandyam Tamils of southern Karnataka, the Tamils of Palakkad in Kerala, and the Tamils of Pune, Maharashtra. For last one hundred years or so, Tamil people went to many other parts of India for jobs or business. Some of them settled in these places.

In Sri Lanka
Presently, there are two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The first group is Sri Lankan Tamils. They are descendants of the Tamil people who lived in the old Jaffna kingdom or who migrated to the East coast. The second group is Hill Country Tamils. They descended from the Tamil people who went to Sri Lanka from India as laborers in the 19th century-early 20th century. The first group mostly lives in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka. The second group mostly live in the central highlands.
In 1949, some political developments in Sri Lanka were adverse for Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Many Tamils people lost their citizenship of being citizens of Sri Lanka. Under an agreement between the governments of India and Sri Lanka, about 40% of these Tamils could get back their citizenship. Many others had to shift to India. These developments brought the two groups of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka closer. By 1990s, most of the Tamil people had got back their citizenship.

In other places
Beginning from the 18th century, many poor Tamil people went as laborers to many countries of the British Empire. Some of these countries were Malaya, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean. At the same time, many Tamil businessmen also went to places in Burma and East Africa. Many Tamils still live in these countries.

Special mention may be made of Singapore. The government has made Tamil language as one of the national languages although only 4.2% of the people speak Tamil language in Singapore.
By 1980s many Tamil people of Sri Lanka were facing ethnic conflicts. Many of them fled to Australia, Europe, North America and Southeast Asia. Today, the largest concentration of Tamils outside southern Asia is in Toronto, Canada.

In recent years, many young Tamil professionals from India (particularly computer programmers) have gone to Europe and the United States.

Culture

Language and literature 
Tamil people call their language as "the Tamil mother." They identify themselves based on their language.

Tamil language, like other languages of south India, is one of the Dravidian languages. It is not related to the Indo-European languages of the north India. Although modern speakers of Tamil language use a number of words of Sanskrit and English, Tamil language has maintained its original classical character. The Government of India has recently recognized Tamil language as one of the classical languages of India.
Classical Tamil literature is varied. For example, they cover poetry and lyrics; works of ethics and philosophy; and many other types of literary works. Notable works in classical Tamil literature include the Tirukkural by Thiruvalluvar, The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature and the works of Auvaiyar. Over many centuries, the written Tamil has changed very little. Thus, even modern Tamil people are able to read and enjoy these classical literary works.

Modern Tamil literature is also varied. It has many aspects: for example, Indian nationalism, historical romanticism, and social realism. In recent years, many works of Tamil language in Sri Lanka describe the tragedy of ethnic conflict and civil war. Tamil people living in many other places have also produced literary works.

Some of the note-worthy poets are Bharathiyar, Barathidasen, etc... of end of 19th century who depicts the originality of Tamil culture and India, penned several notarary poems on Tamil and National interest.
Visual arts
Tamil visual arts have three main forms: architecture, sculpture and painting. The theme is generally religious, showing aspects of Hinduism.

Tanjore painting is the most important form of painting of Tamil people. The painting originated in a place named Tanjore (modern name: Thanjavur). This style of painting originated in the 9th century. In this style of painting, the painter paints on a piece of cloth. Sometimes, the painter also decorates the painting with threads of gold and silver, and precious gems. There is one other type of important painting style. Painters make paintings on the walls of temples. Tamil paintings use rich colors and show minute details.
In their sculpture, artists use bronze. Several pieces of sculptures are found throughout Tamil Nadu, particularly in temples. Most of them are very old, dating from the 7th century onwards. The sculptures show very minute details, including details of ornaments and dress. Many sculptures also show movement with fine details. Two important examples of such sculptures are: the cave sculptures at Mamallapuram and Nataraja statue at Chidambaram.

There are many temples in the lands of Tamil people. The gates of these temples, called Gopuram, are higher than other parts. Earlier Gopurams were simple in construction. From 13th century onwards, they became bigger and have engravings and paintings. The engravings and paintings show scenes and characters from Hindu mythology. Temples at Thanjavur. Chidambaram and Srirangam are very big and fine examples of temples of Tamil people.

Tamil art is an important tradition of Indian art.
Performing arts
The Tamil people have many performing arts. The classical Tamil literature has many details of these performing arts.

Classical music of Tamil people is carnatic music. The classical Tamil literature records details about the carnatic music. This is a vocal music with use of musical instruments. Carnatic music is completely religious.

Tamil folk music is very different from the carnatic music. The folk music shows a lot of excitement. The songs may convey folklore and other popular tales.

Bharatanatyam is the main dance of the Tamil people. Generally one dancer performs this dance. The dance tells a story through movements of parts of body, particularly hands. Until 1930s, girls known as devadasis performed this dance in temples. Now, it has become common, and there are many famous dancers who perform this dance. Tamil people also have many types of folk dances performed in villages. Sometimes they perform such a dance before the village goddess called Mariamma.
Tamil people also have a long tradition of theatrical performance. In villages, performers perform in the open. They dance and sing, and some times tell stories. These stories may be religious stories or on any other topic.

Tamil Nadu has a well-developed tradition of stage theatre tradition. Presently, both classical and folk performing arts survive in modern Tamil society.

Tamil people like to watch movies. Tamil movies are famous for technical details, artistic presentation, and entertainment. Most of the Tamil movies will have some songs and dances. Kollywood is the popular term for the Tamil film industry

Religion
Most of the Tamil people are Hindus. However, many are Muslims and Christians. At one time, Jainism was one of the major religions of Tamil people. However, presently there are only few thousand Tamil Jains.
In Tamil Hinduism, the most popular deity is god named Murugan. He is a form of Karthikeya, the son of Shiva. The Tamil people also worship mother goddess Amman or Mariamman. Many Tamil people also worship Kannagi, a folk heroine. Throughout Tamil lands, there are many temples of Shiva, Vishnu, and Ganesha (Ganpathi). In rural areas of Tamil Nadu, people worship many local gods and goddesses. They call them aiyyanar.

There were many saints known as Alvars and Nayanars. In the 10th century, Ramanuja propagated his philosophy about worship and also accepted lower caste-Hindus as his disciples. There were many other notable Tamil saints. The Ramayana has many parts based in Tamil regions and according to legends, many of Rama's soldiers were Tamil people.
The most important Tamil festivals are Pongal and the Tamil New Year. Pongal is a harvest festival and people celebrate this in mid-January. Tamil people also celebrate Diwali. Two other important Hindu festivals of Tamil people are Thaipusam, and Adipperukku.

The most important Tamil Muslims festivals are Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Martial arts
A Tamil legend states that the Cholas, Chera and Pandyan kings fought many wars in the 1st century. The war lasted for about one hundred years. During this period, the Tamil people perfected many martial arts. All these styles of martial arts still exist. They also developed many weapons.

There are many types of martial arts. For example, in a special type of martial art called Silambam, a person would use a stick of about 1.6 meters long. By moving the stick he would try to defend against attack by several persons. In another type of martial art, persons get training to defend themselves without using any weapons, by using their hands and legs.
Varma Kalai (Tamil: வர்மக்கலை) is a martial art and esoteric healing art originating from ancient Tamil Nadu in South India. The name literally translate as "The Art of Vital Points". It is an element of the Tamil martial art Kuttu varisai.[1]

In some parts of Tamil Nadu, notably Alanganallur (near Madurai), some Tamil people hold annual event around Pongal festival: called " Manju virattu " in Tamil (bullfighting}).

Movements
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, a social leader of Tamil people started a movement named Self-respect Movement. It was to promote self-respect and remove social evils like casteism. Many people call this movement as the Dravidian movement. All political parties of Tamil Nadu draw their principles from this movement.

Scholars of India and Sri Lanka have developed a vocabulary in Tamil language for words of science and technology.

In the 1960s, the government of Tamil Nadu held a World Tamil Conference. The Conference has been meeting regularly.
In 1999, many Tamil people organized a World Tamil Confederation. Its purpose is to protect and promote Tamil culture and bring a sense of togetherness amongst Tamils in different countries. The Confederation has since adopted a Tamil flag and Tamil song  to act as symbols for the Tamil people living in different countries. The words on the flag quote the opening line of a poem by the classical poet Kaniyan Pungundranar. These words mean: “All lands are our home; all people are our kin.”

In Sri Lanka, the Federal Party (later the Tamil United Liberation Front) took the lead in Tamil politics. However, by 1980s, political movements took a back seat in Tamil politics of Sri Lanka. Many military groups had started conflicts, and a civil war broke out. The Tamil Tigers emerged as the most important force amongst these military groups. The Tamil Tigers are fighting to establish its own government in areas where Tamil people are in majority. Presently they control many areas, and are negotiating for peace.
Related pages

 Tamil language
 Tamil Nadu
 Sri Lankan Tamils

References

Further reading
 Sastri, K.S. Ramaswamy (2002). The Tamils: The People, Their History and Culture, Vol. 1: An Introduction to Tamil History and Society. New Delhi: Cosmo Publications. .

Other websites 
 Tamils - An Ancient People
 Information about Tamil people and culture
 A video gallery of Tamil arts and culture 
 Tamil library - learn Tamil 
 Tamil news
Down syndrome (or trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder. Most people with Down Syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, or part of it.

Down syndrome causes a mental handicap. It may be mild or severe. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental age of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but it truly depends on the person. This can vary widely, but most individuals need supervision if they are to live their lives in a satisfactory way. Children who have this condition take more time to learn new things.

The condition is named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who first described it in 1866. He called it mongoloid idiocy because he thought that children with Down syndrome had faces like that of Blumenbach's Mongolian race (a historical categorization now "East Asian"). The term "mongoloid idiocy" is not used today; it is considered an offensive term.
There is discrimination against people with Down syndrome, both in the education system and in society in general. Some people with the condition may have average intelligence but may also have other noticeable features of the disability. For example, people with Down syndrome often have a different shape of eyes than those without the syndrome. Some people with the condition have severe learning difficulties.

Of every 800 to 1000 babies that are born, one is diagnosed with Down syndrome. Older women have a higher chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. If they have a procedure known as amniocentesis, pregnant mothers can be told whether their foetus has Down syndrome. Sound scans may also diagnose the presence of Down Syndrome. Mothers whose foetus is diagnosed as having Downs syndrome may choose to have an abortion. In the United Kingdom and Europe 92% of such cases are aborted.
Long-term, the responsibility of looking after individuals with Down syndrome is, eventually, local authorities. This is because parents grow older and less capable, or are unable to cope with the difficulties.

Features 

They also grow differently from other children. Babies with down syndrome can be identified at birth because they may have a specific set of physical features. These features include narrow eyes, a flat nose-bridge, smaller mouths and shorter fingers. Smaller mouths can result in tongue protrusion or what looks like a large tongue. Sometimes the little fingers curve inwards as well, and there is also often a space between the big toe and the others. People with Down syndrome often have heart defects or Alzheimer's disease when they are older. About 90% of people with Down syndrome live through their teens. The lifespan of a person with Down syndrome averages between 50 and 55 years old.

So far there have been no treatments for Down syndrome.
Genetic causes
Down syndrome comes from a problem with the genes. Humans are diploid organisms. This means that for each chromosome, there are two copies, one from the mother, and one from the father. During meiosis the number is reduced to one set of chromosomes. People with Down syndrome have an extra copy of chromosome 21, or part of it.
There are three ways that Down syndrome is caused. The most common cause of Down syndrome is trisomy. Trisomy is when the child receives two chromosomes from the mother and one from the father. This makes it so there are three chromosomes of chromosome #21. Another way Down syndrome is caused is when new cells are made. Sometimes even when the parent cells are normal chromosome 21 can be deformed when cells reproduce. This makes it so some cells have 47 chromosomes and others have 46. This is called a mosaic disorder. Mosaic means that they have a third chromosome from the replication of cells. The third way Down syndrome can be caused is called translocation. This happens when a normal chromosome breaks into two pieces. This results in three chromosomes.

Well-known people with Down syndrome 

 Stephane Ginnsz, actor (Duo)—In 1996 was first actor with Down syndrome in the lead part of a motion picture.

 Max Lewis, actor (Notes on a Scandal).
 Joey Moss, Edmonton Oilers locker room attendant.