Tamil comprises three general styles including the “Sankattamil” or ancient Tamil, “Centamil” or modern Tamil and “Kotuntamil” or everyday Tamil, with its script consisting of 12 vowels or “Uyireḻuttu”, 18 consonants or “Meyyeḻuttu” and one special character or “Aytam”. The vowels and consonants combine to form 216 compound characters, making a total of 247 characters or “Uyirmeyyeḻuttu”, making it easily the first and the only language in the world to classify and represent its characters into “Uyir” (or Soul), “Mei” (or Body) & “Uyir Mei” (or Soul & Body). With many Tamil words finding their way into the English Dictionary including Pariah, Catamaran, Ayah, Raj, Tamil has become one of the most widely searched terms and languages on Google!
Do you know that the ancient Tamil poet ‘Thiruvalluvar’ is the ‘world’s first Tweeter’ with all his 1330 “Kurals” or couplets having only 7 words fitting within 140 characters? Tamil literature, according to some of the most reliable sources, has existed for over 20,000 years. From the earliest Sangam poetry including Akattiyam, Tholkappiam, Ettu-thokai, Pattupaaṭṭu, Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural, the timeless universal philosophy which even made Gandhiji wanted to learn Tamil, to the stimulating lines of Bharathidasan, Tamil poetry is unparalleled in terms of beauty and style. Looking to read fantasy, adventure, history, ethics, romance, all these genre and more—all in one go, set in an intriguing ancient background? Simply grab a copy of any of the five great epics or ‘Iymperumkaapiyangal’ of Tamil literature. Had Subramanya Bharati, the heroic Tamil poet and freedom fighter with his fiery poetic lines, taken to Tweeter, Instagram or Facebook during his times, our country would have seen the exit of the British Empire in no time!