Editing Tamil Nadu (section)

===Architecture===
{{Further|Architecture of Tamil Nadu}}
[[File:Andal Temple.jpg|thumb|The large ''[[gopuram]]'' is a hallmark of [[Dravidian architecture]]]]
[[Dravidian architecture]] is the distinct style of rock architecture in Tamil Nadu.<ref name="Hindu">{{cite book|last=Harman|first=William P.|title=The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess|date=9 October 1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|page=6|isbn=978-8-1208-0810-2}}</ref> In Dravidian architecture, the temples consisted of porches or ''mantapas'' preceding the door leading to the sanctum, gate-pyramids or ''[[gopuram]]s'' in quadrangular enclosures that surround the temple, and ''pillared halls'' used for many purposes.  These features are the invariable accompaniments of these temples. Besides these, a South Indian temple usually has a [[temple tank|tank]] called the ''kalyani'' or ''pushkarni''.<ref>{{cite book|last= Fergusson|first= James|title= History of Indian and Eastern Architecture|orig-date= 1910|edition= 3rd|year= 1997|publisher=Low Price Publications|location= New Delhi|page= 309}}</ref> The gopuram is a monumental tower, usually ornate at the entrance of the temple forms a prominent feature of [[koil]]s and [[Hindu temple architecture|Hindu temples]] of the Dravidian style.<ref name="Gopuram">{{cite book|first=Francis D.K.|last= Ching|year= 2007|title= A Global History of Architecture|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York|isbn=978-0-471-26892-5|page=762|display-authors=etal}}</ref> They are topped by the ''kalasam'', a bulbous stone [[finial]] and function as gateways through the walls that surround the temple complex.<ref>{{cite book|first=Francis D.K.|last= Ching|year= 1995|title= A Visual Dictionary of Architecture|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|location=New York|isbn=978-0-471-28451-2|page=253}}</ref> The gopuram's origins can be traced back to the [[Pallava art and architecture|Pallavas]] who built the group of monuments in [[Mahabalipuram]] and [[Kanchipuram]].<ref name="UNC">{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249|title=Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram|publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|access-date=3 April 2022|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202145914/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/249|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Chola art and architecture|Cholas]] later expanded the same and by the [[Pandyan art and architecture|Pandya]] rule in twelfth century, these gateways became a dominant feature of a temple's outer appearance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mitchell|first=George|title=The Hindu Temple|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=1988|location=Chicago|pages= 151&ndash;153|isbn=978-0-226-53230-1}}</ref><ref name="Brit">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037402/gopura|title=Gopuram|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=20 January 2008|archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819003114/https://www.britannica.com/technology/gopura|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Emblem of Tamil Nadu|state emblem]] also features the [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] with an image of a Gopuram on the background.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Which-Tamil-Nadu-temple-is-the-state-emblem/articleshow/55285143.cms|title=Which Tamil Nadu temple is the state emblem?|date=7 November 2016|newspaper=[[Times of India]]|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=12 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112160826/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Which-Tamil-Nadu-temple-is-the-state-emblem/articleshow/55285143.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Vimana (architectural feature)|Vimanam]]'' are similar structures built over the ''[[garbhagriha]]'' or inner sanctum of the temple but are usually smaller than the gopurams in the Dravidian architecture with a few exceptions including the [[Brihadisvara Temple]] in [[Thanjavur]].<ref>{{cite book|author=S.R. Balasubrahmanyam|title = Middle Chola Temples|publisher=Thomson Press|year=1975|isbn=978-9-060-23607-9|pages=16–29}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Neela|first1=N.|last2=Ambrosia|first2=G.|title=Vimana architecture under the Cholas|journal=Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science & Humanities|date=April 2016|volume=3|issue=4|page=57|url=https://www.shanlax.com/wp-content/uploads/SIJ_ASH_V3_N4_008.pdf|access-date=5 July 2019|issn=2321-788X|archive-date=5 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705140824/https://www.shanlax.com/wp-content/uploads/SIJ_ASH_V3_N4_008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Mugal Empire|Mugal]] influence in medieval times and the [[British Empire|British]] influence later gave rise to a blend of [[Hindu]], [[Islamic]] and [[Gothic revival]] styles, resulting in the distinct [[Indo-Saracenic]] architecture. Several buildings and institutions built during the British era followed the style.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Metcalfe|first=Thomas R.|title=A Tradition Created: Indo-Saracenic Architecture under the Raj|journal=History Today|volume=32|issue=9|url=http://www.historytoday.com/thomas-r-metcalfe/tradition-created-indo-saracenic-architecture-under-raj|access-date=28 December 2012|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618230153/https://www.historytoday.com/thomas-r-metcalfe/tradition-created-indo-saracenic-architecture-under-raj|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Indo-saracenic Architecture|work=Henry Irwin, Architect in India, 1841–1922|publisher=higman.de|url=http://www.higman.de/Henry%20Irwin/indo-saracenic.htm|access-date=28 December 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730131008/http://www.higman.de/Henry%20Irwin/indo-saracenic.htm|archive-date=30 July 2020}}</ref> By the early 20th century, [[art deco]] made its entry in the urban landscape.<ref>{{cite news|title=Art Deco Style Remains, But Elements Missing|date=2 September 2014|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2014/sep/02/art-deco-style-remains-but-elements-missing-655242.html|newspaper=The New Indian Express|access-date=28 December 2022|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208132502/https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2014/sep/02/Art-Deco-Style-Remains-But-Elements-Missing-655242.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After Indian Independence, Tamil architecture witnessed a rise in  [[Modernism]] with the transition from lime-and-brick construction to [[concrete]] columns.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chennai looks to the skies|location=Chennai|date=31 October 2014|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/Five-years-after-the-CMDA-allowed-buildings-to-go-above-60-metres-Chennai%E2%80%99s-skyline-finally-begins-to-look-up-finds-Vishal-Menon/article60348870.ece|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=28 December 2022|archive-date=8 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208132503/https://www.thehindu.com/features/homes-and-gardens/Five-years-after-the-CMDA-allowed-buildings-to-go-above-60-metres-Chennai%E2%80%99s-skyline-finally-begins-to-look-up-finds-Vishal-Menon/article60348870.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>