ÿþ<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META HTTP-EQUIV="CONTENT-TYPE" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1252"> <TITLE>Vanakkam...Welcome µ £ • Í • ® Í , µ ° Á • µ ° Á • !</TITLE> <META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="OpenOffice.org 3.3 (Win32)"> <META NAME="CREATED" CONTENT="0;0"> <META NAME="CHANGEDBY" CONTENT="Kuyil"> <META NAME="CHANGED" CONTENT="20110626;18372956"> <META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="Tamil language and culture in South Africa"> <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="tamil, tamil language, tamil culture, SA, south africa, tamil education"> </HEAD> <BODY LANG="en-US" DIR="LTR"> <TABLE WIDTH=100% BORDER=0 CELLPADDING=5 CELLSPACING=5> <TR> <TD colspan=2 WIDTH=85%> <P ALIGN=CENTER><IMG SRC="images/ad2.gif" NAME="graphics1" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=532 HEIGHT=84 BORDER=0><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><FONT FACE="verdana, arial"><FONT SIZE=3><BR></FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> <P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000ff"><FONT FACE="verdana, arial"><FONT SIZE=3> RESOURCES FOR TAMIL LANGUAGE &amp; CULTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA </FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> <P ALIGN=CENTER> </P> </TD> <TD WIDTH=15%> <P ALIGN=CENTER><IMG SRC="images/SA.gif" NAME="graphics2" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=68 HEIGHT=50 BORDER=0></P> <P ALIGN=CENTER><BR><BR> </P> <P ALIGN=CENTER><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"> <SCRIPT> <!-- var today = new Date(); var cc_days = new Array("Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"); var cc_months = new Array("January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"); var cc_year = today.getYear();if (cc_year > 99 && cc_year < 200) {cc_year += 1900} else { if (cc_year < 100) {cc_year = 2000 + cc_year}} document.write (cc_days[today.getDay()]+"<font class='dingbat'>&#160;&#187;&#160;</font>"+cc_months[today.getMonth()]+" "+today.getDate()+"<font class='dingbat'>&#160;&#187;&#160;</font>"+cc_year); //--> </SCRIPT><BR> </P> </TD> </TR> <TR> <td valign=top width=42.5%> <P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><B>WHAT IS TAMIL ?<BR></B></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><BR></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><I>THE LANGUAGE</I></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"> </FONT></FONT> </P> <P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt">Tamil (</FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Mangal"><SPAN LANG="hi-IN"><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><SPAN LANG="hi-IN">&#2980;&#2990;&#3007;&#2996;&#3021;</SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt">) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in Malaysia, Mauritius, Vietnam, R&eacute;union as well as emigrant communities around the world.<BR>Tamil was the first Indian language to be declared as a classical language by the government of India in 2004. Tamil literature has existed for over two thousand years. </FONT></FONT> </P> <P><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><I>THE PEOPLE</I> </FONT></FONT> </P> <P><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt">There are currently sizeable Tamil-speaking populations descended from colonial-era migrants in Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, <B>South Africa</B>, and Mauritius. <BR>Some people in Guyana, Fiji, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago have Tamil origins. Groups of more recent migrants from Sri Lanka and India exist in Canada (especially Toronto), USA, Australia, many Middle Eastern countries, and most of the western European countries.<BR>Tamils are mostly Hindus with sizable Christian and Muslim populations. <BR><BR><I>source: wikipedia</I> </FONT></FONT> </P> <hr color="#a50800"> <P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><B>TAMIL HERITAGE IN SOUTH AFRICA<BR></B></FONT></FONT><BR><BR> </P> <P><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"> <img src="images/durbs2.jpg" align=left height=200 width=270 border=0 alt="Entrance to the railway underpass at Victoria Embankment (Margaret Mncadi Ave) in Durban"> Tamil heritage in South Africa is most notable by the numerous religious shrines built across the country, some being declared heritage sites in terms of South African Heritage Legislation. <p>Majority of them are Hindu Shrines or Temples, with a few Christian Churches, built by the early indentured Indians. <p> It is assumed that there are more Tamil Heritage treasures throughout South Africa, and this website will endeavour to uncover these treasures. <p> One such unique treasure is located in the entrance to an underground pedestrian tunnel under the railway in Victoria Embankment (Margaret Mncadi Avenue) in Durban. It is a public noticeboard encouraging pedestrians to "COMMIT NO NUISANCE" in English, Afrikaans, Tamil and Zulu. <p> Although the Tamil script seems to have been incorrectly copied from a handwritten memo, one can decipher the message as follows: <p> … š Á ¤ Í ¤ ® Í š Æ ¯ Í ¯ ¾ ¤ À ° Í • ³ Í . š Á ¤ Í ¤ ® ¾ • ‡ ° Á ™ Í • ³ Í </td > <td valign=top width=42.5%> <P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><B>LEARN TAMIL DVD - FOR KIDS<BR></B></FONT></FONT><BR><BR> </P> <P ALIGN=LEFT><IMG SRC="images/tamildvd1.JPG" NAME="graphics6" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=72 HEIGHT=98 BORDER=0><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt">DISCOVERING LANGUAGE THROUGH EVERYDAY OBJECTS, COLOURS AND NUMBERS! <BR><BR>Children learn Tamil through this fun filled DVD. <BR>Exploring Tamil introduces basic vocabulary and rich sounds of Tamil through playful children, vibrant everyday objects, colors and numbers. <BR>For kids ages 1 to 5. E-mail: samie (at) tamil.co.za for more info.</FONT></FONT></P> <hr color="#a50800"> <P ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal"><FONT FACE="Mangal"><FONT SIZE=3><SPAN LANG="hi-IN">&#2980;&#2990;&#3007;&#2996;&#3021; &#2951;&#2979;&#3016;&#2991;&#2965;&#3021; &#2965;&#2994;&#3021;&#2997;&#3007;&#2965;&#3021;&#2965;&#2996;&#2965;&#2990;&#3021; </SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P> <P ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="font-style: normal"><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">Visit the Tamil Virtual University to learn Tamil online</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> <P ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="font-style: normal"><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal"><A HREF="http://www.tamilvu.org/">www.tamilvu.org</A> </SPAN></FONT></FONT> </P> <hr color="#a50800"> … š Á ¤ Í ¤ ® Í š Æ ¯ Í ¯ ¾ ¤ À ° Í • ³ Í . š Á ¤ Í ¤ ® ¾ • ‡ ° Á ™ Í • ³ Í !<BR><BR> <img src="images/durbs.jpg" align=center height=350 width=500 border=0 alt="The noticeboard inside the underpass tunnel in four languages: English, Afrikaans, Tamil & Zulu"> </td> <td valign=top align=middle width=15%> <P><FONT FACE="Verdana, sans-serif"><FONT SIZE=1 STYLE="font-size: 8pt"> <hr color="#a50800"> <b>DOWNLOADS</b> <hr color="#a50800"> <p> <font class='dingbat'>&#160;&#187;&#160;</font>Tamil Alphabet Lessons <p> <FONT FACE="Mangal"><font size=3><SPAN LANG="hi-IN">&#2949</font></font> <a href="http://www.tamil.co.za/vowel1.pdf"><img src="images/pdf.gif" border=0><br> Vowel 1 : Writing Exercise </a><br> Download, print & practice writing the first vowel of the Tamil alphabet <br><br><br><br> <FONT FACE="Mangal"><font size=3><SPAN LANG="hi-IN">&#2950</font></font> <a href="http://www.tamil.co.za/vowel2.pdf"><img src="images/pdf.gif" border=0><br> Vowel 2 : Writing Exercise </a><br> Second vowel of the Tamil alphabet <br><br><br><br> <FONT FACE="Mangal"><font size=3><SPAN LANG="hi-IN">&#2951</font></font> <a href="http://www.tamil.co.za/vowel3.pdf"><img src="images/pdf.gif" border=0><br> Vowel 3 : Writing Exercise </a><br> Third vowel of the Tamil alphabet <br><br><br><br> <font class='dingbat'>&#160;&#187;&#160;</font>Tamil Software <p> Type, search, chat and blog in Tamil script & other Indian languages.<br> <FONT FACE="Mangal"><FONT SIZE=3><SPAN LANG="hi-IN"><SPAN STYLE="font-weight: normal">&#2949;&#2996;&#2965;&#3007;</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></FONT></P> Download the FREE azhagi software at <BR> <A HREF="http://www.azhagi.com/">www.azhagi.com</A> </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT> </P> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align=center colspan=3> </td> </tr> </table> <P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0cm"><BR> </P> <P ALIGN=CENTER><BR><BR> </P> </BODY> </HTML>