Tamil, one of the 22 official languages of India, is the mother tongue of a majority of people living in
Tamil Nadu. Tamil is one of the
Dravidian languages and the rich literature of this classical language spans over 2,500 years. Unlike a majority of north Indian languages, Tamil did not originate from
Sanskrit. However, it has borrowed a number of words from Sanskrit. It has around 61 million users around the world. 'Thirukkural', the crowning glory of Tamil literature, was written by Sage Thiruvalluvar. Sri Lanka and Singapore also have Tamil as one of their official languages.