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Tamiḻakam
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Tamiḻakam or Ancient Tamil country^[1] (Tamil தமிழகம் "the Tamil homeland") refers to the classical era territory of old South Indian royalties covering modern Tamil Nadu, Tamileelam^{[citation needed]}, Kerala, and southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka. In an academic context, Tamilakam is used to refer to these territories as a single cultural area, where Tamil was the natural language and culture of all people ^{[2] [3]} It is also used, less correctly, to refer to the modern state of Tamil Nadu in India.

According to the Tolkappiyam, the limits of Tamilakam in Southern India was between the hills of Venkatam in the north, and Cape Comorin in the south. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8][9] [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]}

Etymology[link]

It is a portmanteau of two words from the Tamil language, namely Tamil and akam. It can be roughly translated as the 'homeland of Tamil'. According to Kamil Zvelebil, the term seems to be the most ancient term used to designate the Tamil territory.^[34]

Other names[link]

In Tolkappiyam, there are several references to "centamiḷ nilam" (land of refined Tamil). ^[35]

Nadus of Tamilakam[link]

Tamizhagam was divided into various provinces named nadu, meaning 'country'. These provinces changed throughout history, so the following list is not exhaustive.

[edit] The land of the Three Crowned Kings

• Chera Nadu, modern Kerala
• Chola Nadu
• Pandya Nadu

Others[link]

• Naga or Illa Nadu^{[36][37] [38][39] [40][41][42][43]}

• Kongu Nadu
• Tulu Nadu
• Puzhinadu
• Venadu or Vezha Nadu
• Tondai Nadu
• Idai Nadu
• Nanjil Nadu
• Kuttanadu
• Kudanadu
• Karkanadu
• Palnadu or Pallava Nadu
• Vengi Nadu, modern Andhra Pradesh
• Ay Nadu

• 

  Sangam period

• 

  ca. 1 CE

• 

  ca. 300 CE

• 

  ca. 700 CE

References[link]

Ganesh Venkatraman is an Indian film actor and model. He rose to fame following his performances in films such as The Angrez, Abhiyum Naanum and Unnaipol Oruvan.

Early life[link]

Ganesh was born and raised in the Mumbai suburb of Andheri (West). His roots are in Tamil Nadu. Ganesh was the winner of Gladrags Man-hunt Mr. INDIA 2003 and was amongst the top five finalists of the Super Model contest held in Istanbul, Turkey, in the same year.

During his college days, he actively participated in dramas & ramp shows which directed his focus towards modeling and acting. He captained his college volley-ball team. After completing his formal education, this software professional was employed by a reputed IT company, where he worked for nearly two years. Ganesh has also appeared in the new LIC advertisement.

Ace Director Murugadoss chooses Ganesh Venkatraman for a big Ad Campaign

Filmography[link]

External links[link]

• Ganesh Venkatraman at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2008)

Indira Varma (born 14 May 1973 in Bath, Somerset) is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome, Luther and Human Target.^[1][2]

Early life and background[link]

Varma is the only child of an Indian father and a Swiss mother who was part Genoese Italian.^[3] She was a member of Musical Youth Theatre Company. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London in 1995.

Career[link]

Varma has had a number of television and film roles, including Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love in 1997 and Bride and Prejudice in 2004, and the young Roman wife Niobe during the first season of BBC/HBO's historical drama series Rome. Her character appeared briefly in the second season of the award-winning series when it aired on Sunday, 14 January 2007.^[4]

In 2006, she played Suzie Costello in the first and eighth episodes, "Everything Changes" and "They Keep Killing Suzie", of BBC Three's science-fiction drama series Torchwood.^[5] She appeared as Dr. Adrienne Holland in the CBS medical drama 3 lbs^[6] which premiered on 14 November 2006^[7] and was cancelled on 30 November 2006 due to poor ratings.^[8][9] Varma guest starred in the fourth season premier of hit US detective drama Bones as Scotland Yard Inspector Cate Pritchard. She also played the role of Zoe Luther in the six part BBC drama Luther.

Varma played the role of Ilsa Pucci in the second season of the Fox television series Human Target until the show was cancelled on 10 May 2011.^[10]

Filmography[link]

• Clancy's Kitchen (1996) .... Kitty
• Crucial Tales: Phoenix (1996) TV mini-series .... Manreet
• Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996) .... Maya
• Sixth Happiness (1997) .... Amy
• Jinnah (1998) .... Ruttie Jinnah
• Psychos (1999) TV mini-series .... Dr. Martine Nichol
• Zehn wahnsinnige Tage (2000) (TV) .... Ra
• Other People's Children (unknown episodes, 2000) .... Amy
• Sci-Fright (unknown episodes, 2000) .... Host – Nina (2000)
• In a Land of Plenty (unknown episodes, 2001) .... Sonali Ganatra
• The Whistle-Blower (2001) (TV) .... Diane Crossman
• Attachments (4 episodes, "User Friendly", "The Irony Act", "Gaydar" and "Eye Candy", 2000–2001) .... Sasha
• Mad Dogs (2002) .... Narendra
• Rockface (1 episode, "#2.5", 2003) .... Alison
• The Canterbury Tales (1 episode, "The Sea Captain's Tale", 2003) .... Meena
• Reversals (2003) (TV) .... Kathy Irwin
• Donovan (2004) .... Cara Mathis
• Bride and Prejudice (2004) .... Kiran Balraj
• The Quatermass Experiment (2005) (TV) .... Judith Carroon
• Love Soup (1 episode, "They Do Not Move", 2005) .... Suzanne Daley
• A Waste of Shame (2005) (TV) .... Lucie ("the Dark Lady")
• Broken News (6 episodes, 2005) .... Melanie Bellamy – ESN
• Little Britain (3 episodes, "#3.1", "#3.5" and "#3.6", 2005) .... ... / Babysitting Mother / Health Spa Receptionist
• Rome (15 episodes, 2005–2007) .... Niobe of the Voreni
• Bring Something Back: The Making of 'The Quatermass Experiment' (2005) (V) .... Herself
• Pride and Prejudice Revisited (2005) (TV) .... Kiran Balraj archive footage (uncredited)
• Basic Instinct 2 (2006) .... Denise Glass
• The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (1 episode, "In the Blink of an Eye", 2006) .... Melissa Booth
• Torchwood (2 episodes, "Everything Changes" and "They Keep Killing Suzie", 2006) .... Suzie Costello
• 3 lbs (6 episodes, 2006) .... Dr. Adrianne Holland
• Sex and Death 101 (2007) .... Devon Server (uncredited)
• The Whistleblowers (6 episodes, 2007) .... Alisha Cole
• Comanche Moon (2008) TV mini-series .... Therese Wanz
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (1 episode, "Assassin", 2008) .... Bela Khan
• Bones (1 episode, "Yanks in the U.K.", 2008) .... Inspector Cate Pritchard
• The Finest (2009) ....Detective Superintendent Madeline Jenner (pre-production)
• Moses Jones (2009) (TV three-part series)...Dolly
• Hustle (2010) Episode 1 & 6 – "Can't Catch Us Yet'...DCI Lucy Britford
• Luther (2010)...Zoe Luther
• Human Target (2010–2011)...Ilsa Pucci
• World Without End (2012)...Mattie Wise
• Silk (2012)...George Duggan

Theatre[link]

In 1997, Varma played Bianca in Shakespeare's Othello at the National Theatre (NT), London. In 2000 to 2001, she appeared in Harold Pinter and Di Trevis's NT stage adaptation of Pinter's The Proust Screenplay, Remembrance of Things Past, based on À la recherche du temps perdu, by Marcel Proust. In the summer of 2001, she played Gila in One for the Road, by Harold Pinter, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

In 2002, she played Sasha Lebedieff in Ivanov by Anton Chekhov at the National Theatre, London and Bunty Mainwaring in The Vortex by Noël Coward at the Donmar Theatre, London. In 2004, she played Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder at the Young Vic Theatre Theatre, London. In 2008, she played Nadia Baliye in The Vertical Hour by David Hare at the Royal Court Theatre London. In 2009 she played Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with Donmar West End at Wyndham's Theatre, London.

Personal life[link]

Indira lives in London with her husband and their daughter.^[11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Indira Varma at the Internet Movie Database