Tamil Nadu is a beautiful state nestled in the southern Indian peninsula, on the shores of the Bay of Bengal and the deep blue Indian Ocean . It is a heady combination of tropical climate, cooler hill resorts, ancient culture, and friendly people making it an ideal holiday destination. The pride of many Tamils is the language Tamil itself. Scholars recognize Tamil to be one of India 's two languages of antiquity. One of the distinguishing features of Tamil is that it has three different forms of the sound "l". In fact, the correct pronunciation of "Tamil" sounds like "Tamizh" for which there is no phonetic equivalent in most other languages. Today, there are sizable Tamil speaking populations in Sri Lanka , Malaysia , Singapore , Mauritius and other countries.

There are more than 30,000 temples in this sate; which has given Tamil Nadu the title, " Land of Temples ". The Tamils have always been a God fearing lot and are ardent worshippers of Shiva, Vishnu, Parvati and Lakshmi Subramanya. Vinayaka or Pillayar is perhaps the most worshipped of the gods and is also called Ganapati or Ganesh. He is the elephant headed elder son of Lord Shiva and Parvati and is extremely benign in appearance. During any festival or celebration, worship of this God is given precedence over the other.

Touristic places in Tamil Nadu
Madras , Kanchipuram, Pondicherry , Tarangambadi (Tranquebar), Swamimalai, Gangaikondacholapuram, Madurai , Kodaikanal, (Udhagamandalam), Coonoor, Mahabalipuram, Vedantangal, Chidambram, Tanjore, Trichy, Karakkudi, Alagarkoil, Kanniyakumari, Ooty, Mudumalai Sanctuary

Festivals of Tamil Nadu
Music and dance festival, Christmas festival, Jallikattu-bull fight, Pongal, Tourist fair (fairlands or island grounds - Chennai), Chithirai festival, Dance festivals – Mamallapuram, Natyanjali dance festivals, Mahamagam festival, Arubathimoovar festival, Saral vizha (kuttalm or courtallm), Kanthuri festival, Kavadi festival, Velankanni festival, Navarathri, Karthigai deepam, Music festival

India Travel Destination Guide

Charities in India

Here are just some of the charities that accept voluntary workers: Denjong Padma Choeling Academy c/0 Sonam Yongda, Pemayengtse Gompa, West Sikkim 737 113 ©03595/50760 & 50141 The academy, with around 200 orphans and destitute children, relies on donations and welcomes voluntary teachers. Sikkim is a restricted area, so you will have

Harminder Bay Beach

This picturesque beach of Harminder Bay is situated 100-km from Port Blair at Hut Bay Island in Andaman and Nicobar. You can travel to this beach by ship from Port Blair. These beautiful beaches are situated at Hut Bay Island at a distance of 100-km from the city of

Metalware and jewellery in India

The south is one major area for metalware in India (dancing Shivas, : known as Nataraj, are a favourite here -check out the quality in the palace art gallery ! at Thanjavur), the Himalayas another, Dokra, j a speciality of West Bengal and Orissa, uses this very same lost-wax technique

Contacts for disabled travelers in India

Contacts for disabled travelers Britain and Ireland Can Be Done 7-11 Kensington High St, London W8 5NP ® 020/8907 2400. Specialist tour operators for the disabled. Carefree Holidays 64 Florence Rd, Northampton NN1 4NA © 01604/634301. Specialist tour operators for the disabled. Holiday Care Service 2nd Floor, Imperial Buildings, Victoria

Train services from Delhi

Train Serices from Delhi There are 4 major Railways stations in Delhi. New Delhi Railway Station Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station Old Delhi Railway Station Sarai Rohilla Railway Station New Delhi Station is situated at the eastern end of Paharganj, less than lkm north of Connaught Place. All the trains leave for the major destinations

History of Princely State Rajasthan

The history of India dates back almost five thousand years, and Rajasthan plays a crucial and unique role, especially with regard to the development of Indian culture. Its impressive story reaches through a heroic past. Its extravagant splashes of bright hues against the desert landscape and the purity of its

How to meet people in India

In India, generally in rural areas, foreigners are represented as the "rich sahib" (a rich and respectable person), whose culture dominates the world. English not being their first lan¬guage, they may not be familiar with the conventional ways of doing this, and thus their opening line may seem abrupt

Overview of Rajasthan – The Reminder of Romance And Royalty

Rajasthan, situated in the north-western part of the Indian Union, is now the largest State of India. Largely an arid state for most of its part, Rajasthan emerged after Partition from a mosaic of eighteen feudal kingdoms, known in the British era as Rajputana."Land of Kings". Running northeast from Mount

Getting Around & Visiting Rajasthan

Getting around the state is rarely problematic, though there's no avoiding some tedious long hauls. The state-run bus company, RSTDC, has regular services between cities, but since it hiked its prices by fifty percent in 1997, private operators have become a more popular option, offering cheaper fares and greater comfort.

Textiles and clothing in India

Silk is usually a good buy in India, provided you make sure it is the real thing (the old test was to see whether it was possible to pull the whole garment straight through a wedding ring; however, some synthetics apparently go through too, so burn a thread and sniff