AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
One year later he married the Swiss actress Lotti Geissler (1919–1983). They had three children. The financial situation of the family got better, when Dürrenmatt began to write radio dramas and crime fiction.
In 1984 he married the german actress and television director Charlotte Kerr (1927–2011).
His world-wide success is based on two plays: "The Visit" and "The Physicists".
Kampala
Kampala is the capital of Uganda. More than 1,800,000 people live there. The city is on the shore of Lake Victoria.
The Ugandan National Theatre is in Kampala. There is also a university in the city.
The home team; Kampala City Council (KCC) Footbal Club is a leading Africa FIFA Club team player.
Common wombat
The common wombat, "Vombatus ursinus", is one of three wombat species living in Australia. It is found the mountains and hills of southeast Australia, Tasmania, and Flinders Island in Bass Strait. They look like a small bear, which is what the name "ursinus" means. It is a marsupial, a type of mammal that carried its young in a pouch. It is the largest burrowing plant-eating mammal in the world. Its closest living relative is the koala.
They are a short and muscular animal that walks on four strong legs. The feet and claws are designed to help the wombat dig tunnels in rocky ground. They are between 70–120 cm in length and weigh between 15–35 kg. It is covered in a very rough and coarse fur which can be anywhere from black to silver grey, from dark brown to sandy brown. Wombats have very tough skin on their rump.
Wombats live alone but meet up to breed in April to June on mainland Australia. In Tasmania the breeding can occur at any time of the year. The young wombats are tiny, about two cm long, when they are born after a gestation of only 21 days, and move into the mother's pouch. Wombats normally only have one baby although the pouch has two nipples. Unlike a kangaroo, the pouch opens backwards, which would prevent it from filling with dirt as it crawls into its burrow. The young wombat lives in the pouch for about six months, and finally becomes independent of the mother at about 18 months of age. Wombats live for about five years, although some in captivity have lived for 26 years.
Wombats live in burrows that they dig with their sharp claws. They are nocturnal animals, and come out their burrows in the evening to look for food. It is a herbivore, so it only eats grass, tree and shrub roots, bark, leaves, and fungi. Wombat faeces are cube shaped. The wombat will use them to mark things in its territory, so it is common to find the cubes on top of leaves, rocks, and branches. Because of their shape they do not roll off.
The burrows can be as small as two metres or as long as 30 metres. They dig with their front feet, kick the soil backwards with their back feet, and then use their rump like a bulldozer to push the dirt out of the burrow. Only one wombat lives in each burrow, but wombats may have up to four burrows in the area they live.
Farmers see the Common Wombat as a pest. It often destroys fences by burrowing, and the burrow openings are a danger to grazing animals. It is still common in Australia, but the areas it lives in are being reduced because of land clearing for farms.
The common wombat has no natural predators. It is not scared of people and is often seen in camping areas. They can make good pets.
The common chimpanzee ("Pan troglodytes"), or robust chimpanzee, is a species of great ape. The common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee (or "chimp"), though this can be used to refer to both species in the genus "Pan": the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing show both species of chimpanzees are the closest living relatives to modern humans.
The common chimpanzee is more robust than the bonobo, weighing between and measuring approximately from head to tail. Its gestation period is eight months. The infant is weaned at about three years old, but usually maintains a close relationship with its mother for several more years; it reaches puberty at the age of eight to 10, and its lifespan in captivity is about 50 years.
The common chimpanzee lives in groups which range from 15 to 150 members, although individuals travel and forage in much smaller groups during the day. The species lives in a male-dominated, strict hierarchy, so disputes can generally be settled without the need for violence. Nearly all chimpanzee populations have been recorded using tools, modifying sticks, rocks, grass, and leaves and use them for acquiring honey, termites, ants, nuts, and water. The species has also been found creating sharpened sticks to spear Senegal bushbabies out of small holes in trees.
The common chimpanzee is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Between 170,000 and 300,000 individuals are estimated across its range in the forests and savannahs of West and Central Africa. The biggest threats to the common chimpanzee are habitat destruction, poaching and disease.
Jane Goodall discovered that chimps hunt and eat smaller primates such as "Colobus" monkeys. Goodall watched a hunting group isolate a colobus high in a tree, block all possible exits, then one chimpanzee climbed up and captured and killed the colobus. The others then each took parts of the carcass, sharing with other members of the troop in response to begging behaviours. The chimps at Gombe kill and eat as much as "one-third of the colobus population" in the park each year. This alone was a major scientific find which challenged previous conceptions of chimp diet and behavior.
Also startling, and disturbing, was the tendency for aggression and violence "within" chimpanzee troops. Goodall observed dominant females deliberately killing the young of other females in the troop in order to maintain their dominance, sometimes going as far as cannibalism.
She says of this revelation, "During the first ten years of the study I had believed […] that the Gombe chimpanzees were, for the most part, rather nicer than human beings. […] Then suddenly we found that chimpanzees could be brutal—that they, like us, had a darker side to their nature". These findings revolutionized our knowledge of chimpanzee behaviour. They were further evidence of the social similarities between humans and chimpanzees, albeit in a much darker manner.
If they can, male chimpanzees try to kill the male members of neighbouring groups. Males work together when they spot a chance to make a lightning raid on an isolated male from the other group. They kill him. In Gombe, Tanzania, a group in the 1970s was seen to kill seven of their neighbours one by one, until all were gone. It can take years for this to happen but, when it does, the remaining females and the neighbouring territory are added to the now larger group. Attacks like this are carefully planned, done only when success is likely, and carried out in silence. Their behaviour is quite different from any other behaviour known in chimpanzees:
The bonobo ("Pan paniscus") is a great ape and the smaller of the two species making up the genus "Pan" (the other is "Pan troglodytes", the common chimpanzee). The bonobo is sometimes called the dwarf or pygmy chimpanzee. Although the name "chimpanzee" is sometimes used to refer to both species together, it is usually understood to mean the common chimpanzee, while "Pan paniscus" is usually referred to as the bonobo.
The bonobo lives in rain forest, in a area south of the Congo River. This is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central Africa.
The bonobo has high levels of sexual behavior. Sex functions in conflict appeasement, affection, social status, excitement, and stress reduction. It occurs in virtually all partner combinations and in a variety of positions. This may explain the lower levels of aggression in the bonobo as compared to the common chimpanzee and other apes. Bonobos are matriarchal and a male's rank in the social hierarchy is often determined by his mother's rank.
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.
Genoa (, Ligurian: "Zena") 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.
Liguria
Liguria (, ]; Ligurian: "Ligûria" ]) is a region of Northern Italy. The capital is Genoa.
The population was about 1,610,134 in 2005.
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.
Kalahasti
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.
Raidas
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 Ravidas. They follow his teachings and consider him their Guru, the teacher.
Raidas wrote poems in Braj Bhasha. A few of his poems are ""ab kaise chutey ram nam"", ""aasi Lal tujh binu"".
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).
Rishi
Rishi is a word used in many Hindu scriptures. A simple translation of the word into English would mean a sage. Hindu scriptures and Hindu mythology tell about a number of rishis. They describe a rishi as an old person, with a lot of knowledge and wisdom. They also say that some of the rishis had great powers, and sometimes even some gods of Hindus like Indra were afraid of rishis. Some of the rishis were famous for becoming angry very quickly and easily. Their anger sometimes resulted in the rishis cursing 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.
Tiruvannamalai
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 Tiruvannamala.
Vishvamitra
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.
Rabindranath Tagore (), popularly called "Kabiguru", was born on 7 May 1861. His name is written as Rabindranath Thakur 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. 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 in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta), at 6 Dwarkanath Tagore Lahne, Jorasanko Thakur Bari. He was the youngest of his parents' 14 children. His father was Debendranath Tagore. His mother was Sharada Devi.
Tagore was a Bengali Brahman by birth. His nickname was "Rab" or "Rabi".
Tagore 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. The tour lasted for several months. They visited many places like Amritsar in Punjab (British India), 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. One of them was a long poem in Maithili (the language spoken by the people of Mithila, India). Tagore wrote a poem in the style of Vidyapati, a famous poet who wrote in Maithili.
In 1878, Tagore went to London. He enrolled at a public school in Brighton, England. He 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, but two died during childhood.
In 1890, Tagore began managing his family's estates in Sheildah, now in Bangladesh. In 1898, Tagore's wife and children joined him there. Tagore traveled across the vast estate. Between 18911895, he wrote many short stories about life in Bengal, especially rural life.
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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:
Tagore is the only person to have written anthems for three countries.
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. 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"".
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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".
Even many decades after his death, people hold festivals in his honor in many parts of the world. Examples include the following:
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.
Tamil people
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.
The history of Tamil people has three broad time periods as described below.
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).
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.
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.
After 16th century no major rulers emerged to rule Tamil lands. But, there were many smaller local rulers. For some time, rulers from the present day Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh also ruled over the Tamil lands. By the 17th century, Europeans from the United Kingdom, France and Denmark started to establish their settlements in Tamil lands. They fought many battles. Finally, the British won, and by the end of the 18th century, most of the Tamil lands came under the British rule.
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.
After decline of the Chola power in Sri Lanka, different rulers ruled Sri Lanka, the Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty from 1215.Thou the name says Arya chakravarthi it is a debate that their surnames says SANGILI which is a pure Tamil origin name of Tamil root. The Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty ruled over large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until 1619. By this time the Portuguese and the Dutch won many areas of Sri Lanka. However, in 1796, the British won entire Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka became part of the British Empire..
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.
Tamil people live in many geographical regions. Sections below describe them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.