Iyer is the name given to a community of Brahmins (members of the priestly class / caste) of India whose members mostly profess the advaita philosophy propounded by sri Shankaracharya and whose ancestors have had strong ties with the Tamil region, for many centuries. Iyers are therefore those whose ancestors came from Tamil-speaking areas. They are a subgroup of Smartha Brahmins. Though Iyer is used as a suffix to names, it does not constitute a caste or family name, but rather denotes a brahmin sub-caste whose ancestors have lived for longed periods in the Tamil region.

The term Iyer may have derived either from the honorific "ayya/ayya" in the Dravidian or from the term Arya/ Sanskritr, Ayya, Prakrit, languages.

Residence of Iyers

Iyers nowadays live mostly in Urban centres but also live in certain rural areas as well. In the past , they used to live in colonies known as Agraharams.(In Sanskrit Agram means Tip or End and Haram means Garland. Generally Shiva and Vishnu temples will be situated at the ends of Agraharam.Mostly such Agraharams lie by the side of a river also.) These are streets where only brahmins were allowed to live. A typical agraharam consists of a Temple and a street adjacent to the temple. The street used to have many houses where Iyers lived as Joint families.The houses were simple and usually made of wood. The houses were well built and strong.

After India's independance Iyers started moving out of their agraharams and began living with the rest of the society.However there are still some agraharams left where some traditional or old Iyers continue to stay.In the wake of Brahmins getting sidelined in Professioanl education and Government employment,especially in Tamil Nadu,most Agraharams are now deserted and the present generation ,at least one in a house, has migrated to the US Or UK Or Australia.

Social and political issues

During the ancient and mediaeval periods, Iyers (and Brahmins in general) rose in prominence in Indian society, primarily due to their emphasis on spiritual life and scholarship, particularly in terms of their expertise in the Vedas and the attendant religious rituals. Later, during the colonial period they also acquired English education and served as clerks in the British rule in India. After independence, they consolidated their position in the Indian administration. Such a situation led to resentment from the other castes in Tamilnadu, An upshot of this atmosphere was an "anti-Brahmin" movement and the formation of the Justice party. Though formed on

Iyer Women

The Iyer woman is often portrayed as woman draped in a nine yard saree, also known as madisar in tamil. This dress is permitted only for "sumangali" (loosely, a woman whose husband is still alive). Though such dress is worn regularly only by the older women, on festivals and other religious occasions it is worn by young women as well. Traditional Iyer women, both married and unmarried wear a "pottu" (red dot, also known as kumkum/sindoor/bindi) on their forehead and married women always wear the mangalsutra or "thali" as it is called in Tamil. This is a sacred cord tied by the bridegroom around the bride's neck and is the chief part of the marriage as it unites them in matrimony ,while the officiating brahmin priests chants vedic hymns.

According to scripture, an Iyer woman becomes part of her husband's family after marriage and adopts the gotra/lineage as well as the traditions of her husband's family. An Iyer woman who does not marry a brahmin is no longer considered a Brahmin and is not eligible to participate in the any of the orthodox traditions/rituals.

Until recently, an Iyer widow was never allowed to re-marry, while it was acceptable for Iyer widowers to re-marry. Divorces were considered a "great evil". Once a widow, an Iyer woman had to shave her head and lead the life of Sanyasin. She had to stop wearing the kumkum/bindi on her forehead, and was recommended to smear her forehead with sacred ashes. She was considered unlucky and even barred from entering the house through the front door. She was not even allowed into temples or invited to marriages and other auspicious functions.

All of these practices have fallen by the wayside over the last few decades, and modern Iyer widows lead unencumbered lives.

Traditional Iyer Ethics

Iyers were extremely orthodox a century ago. They followed Dharma shastra texts of Manusmriti Apastamba and Baudhayana. The society is patriarchal with an extremely dominating male society.

Iyers observed many rules in the past when they used to live and marry within their own community.They ate strict vegetarian food(which excludes certain plants like Onion and Garlic,which they considered impure but included milk/milk products made from cow). They were not expected to drink alcohol/wine/bhang or any other intoxicants such as drug or smoke cigarattes.They followed ellaborate purificatory rituals,and Kitchen rules(which included separation of different kind of food items).One other example of their kitchen rule is the practise of cooking only after taking a bath.The other example was eating food after offering it to God.Women were separated from the rest of the house,where others lived during their menstrual cycles.Marriage rules prevented Iyers from marrying within their own gotras ,and marrying outside their caste.Many other rules were followed and these rules were usually based on conceptions of purity and impurity.They also defined certain acts as unforgivable sin such as pre marital sex.

In modern times , many of these rules are not strictly followed and these rules are not at all followed by some families.One good reason why this has happened is that Iyers now live and interact with more people who come from outside their own community , than their own.Thus excepting for a few Iyers , who still live as priests, the rest of Iyers are becoming increasing integrated with the rest of Indians.

Though corrupt and antisocial Iyers are not unknown , by and large the community has been known as a

Iyers today

In addition to their earlier occupations, Iyers today have diversified into a variety of fields—their strengths particularly evident in the fields of mass media, science, mathematics and computer science. It is a minuscule percentage of Iyers who choose, in this era, to pursue the traditional vocation of priesthood, though nearly all Hindu Temple priests are Brahmins. Iyers have been active in the cultural field also. Music has always been integral to the Iyer community; Carnatic music forms an ancient classical tradition, and includes, apart from vocal music, instruments such as mridangam, naadaswaram, veena, ghatam, etc. Bharatanatyam has been ardently pursued by female members of the Iyer community from the time of its reinvention in early 20th century. These classical art forms, Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam, enjoy public patronage during the Chennai cultural season in the months of December and January.

Some notable Iyers in the Modern Era

Spiritual LeadersThe list of Spiritual Leaders is large. It is sufficient to name some of the Great Teachers.

• Paramacharya of Kanchi-Revered as divine Incarnation by billions of people.
• Ramana Maharishi was a sage who meditated in the forests of Arunachala.
• Sheshadri Swamigal was a great Siddha who lived in the forests of Arunachala.
• Swami Sivananda was a great yogi who lived in Rishikesh,in the foothills of Himalayas.
• Sri Sri Ravisankar is the founder of the Art of Living.
• Jagadguru Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamiji, who has done yeoman service in regard to a more receptive attitude of Muslims for building a Rama temple in Ayodhya, is the present pontiff of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham.
• Bharati Krishna Theerthaji was the Shankracharya of Puri.He also brought Vedic mathematics to the modern world.
• Krisha Premi a great saint and devotee of Krishna in modern times.
• Muralidhar Guruji A great devotee of Lord Krishna in modern times

Scientists and Academicians

Not all names can be put here as there are many Iyers who have served as directors of National Institutes. If any important name is missing, the list may be updated to include the person.

• Sir CV Raman (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Nobel laureate and physicist)
• G. N. Ramachandran (Biochemist who solved the three-dimensional x-ray diffraction structure of collagen, and whose "Ramachandran plot" describing the stearic freedom available to amino acids in proteins is described in nearly every basic Biochemistry text book)
• R.S. Krishnan Scientist Emeritus, Ex-Head of Physics. Dept. IISc, Ex-Vice Chancellor of Trivandrum University, a favorite protégé of Sir C.V.Raman & also has an effect to his name - Krishnan Effect
• Vilayanur Ramachandran Neuro Scientist, University of San Diego
• M S Swaminathan (b. 1925) has been called the father of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture in the 1960s. As a result of his efforts, India became a net exporter of food by the mid 1970s. Swaminathan however has been Director General, International Rice Research Institute (Manila), and has received the Magsaysay Award (1971).
• S.R. Ranganathan Important figure in Library Science
• Raghavan Iyer Indian-born political philosopher and Hindu scholar.
• P. S. Lokanathan World Renowned Economist.
• Rajagopala Chidambaram Former Director of BARC, now Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India
• T. N. Ananthakrishnan Former Director, Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta
• L.A. Ramadas Former Director of Meteorological department of Government of India
• Krishnaswami Alladi Chairman, Department of Mathematics, University of Florida
• U.V.Swaminatha Iyer Aka. "Tamil thatha U.ve.sa" Father of Tamil Revival movement
• Subrahmanya Bharathi Tamil poet and Freedom fighter

Journalists and Writers

• Professor K. V. Krishna Iyer Highly respected professor and author of reference books on Kerala History
• Ulloor Parameswara Iyer Famous Malayalam poet
• "Kalki" B. Krishnamurthy Journalist and Novelist par excellence, founder of tamil weekly "Kalki".
• V. V. S Iyer Tamil Scholar and Freedom Fighter.
• V. S. Srinivasa Sastri - Rt. Honourable Srinivasa Sastri was a freedom fighter, great orator and teacher. Was called the "Silver Tongued Orator of the British Empire" by Winston Churchill
• Pico Iyer (noted author)
• R. K. Narayan (Indian author of great fame)
• R. K. Laxman (Indian cartoonist and humorist). R. K. Laxman is the younger brother of R. K. Narayan
• T. P. Kailasam - noted Kannada writer and considered as the "Father of modern Kannada Theater"
• Cho Ramaswamy Political analyst, editor of Tughlaq, and film actor.
• Malayattoor Ramakrishnan Malayalam novelist
• K. Subrahmanyam Indian journalist and strategic analyst

Advocates and Social Activists

• V. R. Krishna Iyer (Judicial expert and Justice, Supreme Court of India)
• Sir Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar One of the Founding fathers of Indian

Constitution.

• Sir T. Mutthusami Iyer - Eminent Lawyer and Judge of Madras High Court in late

19th Century

• Sir Sundaram Iyer- Judge of the Madras High Court in late 19th Century
• Sir P. Sivaswami Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras from (1907 -1911).
• Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer - Advocate General of State of Madras in the 1920's
• Rajah Iyer- Former Advocate General of State of Madras
• Patanjali Sastri- Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India
• Govind Swaminathan- Eminent Lawyer and former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu
• V. P. Raman-Former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu and former Additional Solicitor

General of India

• G. Ramaswamy-Former Attorney General for India
• Viswanatha Sastri -Eminent lawyer of the Supreme Court of India
• Alladi Kuppusami -Former Chief Justice Andhra Pradesh High Court
• T. L. Venkatrama Iyer - Judge Supreme Court of India

Patriots and Freedom Fighters

• Satyamurthy Indian freedom fighter
• Subramanya Bharathi (Indian freedom fighter and noted Tamil poet and social reformer.)
• Kalki Sadasivam Freedom fighter and husband of M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Sports players

• Vishwanathan Anand (Chess grandmaster)
• Nirupama Vaidyanathan First Indian women to play a round in Grand Slam.
• Professor K. V. Iyer World famous body Builder.

Performers in Modern music and arts of the new age

• Hariharan Singer (Colonial Cousins)
• Vijay Iyer Jazz musician

Distinguised Civil Servants and other people in the Government

• T. N. Seshan 10th Chief Election Commissioner of India, a Palakkad Iyer
• R. Venkataraman 8th President of India (1987-1992); Vice-President of India (1984-1987)
• T. S. Krishnamurthy A former Chief Election Commissioner.
• K. Subrahmanyam Former Secretary (Defense Production), Home Secretary (Tamil Nadu) and Director (Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses).

Distinguished people in the Entertaintment Industry

• Mani Rathnam Famous Movie Director, full name: G. Subramanirathnam Iyer.
• K. Balachander Famous cinema director.
• G. Anantha Aiyer Well know NRI Tamil Playwright
• G V Iyer Internationally renowned Director-Producer of Sanskrit movies like 'Adi Shankaracharya','Ramanujacharya','Bhagawat Gita'.
• Gemini Ganesan Famous Tamil Star
• Soundarya Famous Telugu actress (late)
• Arvind Swamy Actor cum entrepreneur.
• Shankar Mahadevan Well known film singer and Music Director
• Vidya Balan actress
• Padma Lakshmi actress and super model
• Jai Shankar Late Tamil Actor
• Trisha A kerala Iyer, Entertaining actress in Tamil Movies

Performers of Classical arts

• Rukmini Devi Arundale One who popularized Bharathanatyam
• Padma Subrahmanyam Renowned Bharathanatyam dancer.
• Vani Ganapathy

Carnatic musiciansSince the mid-20th century, Carnatic music has been dominated by Iyers. As a result, below is only a selection of the most popular Carnatic musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries.

• vocalist
• vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer
• composer/vocalist G. N. Balasubramaniam
• vocalist D. K. Pattammal
• violinist Dr.L.Subramaniam World renowned violinist
• vocalist Madurai Mani Iyer
• mridangist Kumbhakonam Rajappa Iyer
• mridangist Palakkad Mani Iyer
• mridangist Palghat Raghu
• mridangist Umayalpuram Sivaraman
• mridangist Trichy Sankaran
• composer/vocalist Papanasam Sivan
• violinist T N Krishnan
• composer/violinist Lalgudi G Jayaraman
• vocalist K V Narayanaswamy
• composer/vocalist Maharajapuram Santhanam
• violinist M S Gopalakrishnan
• vocalist Sanjay Subrahmaniam
• vocalist Radha Ramji
• vocalist Sowmya

Other famous people

• Sir C. P.Ramaswami Iyer the devan of Travancore.
• Subramanium Swamy, Lawyer, Academician, Economist, Politician, President of the Janata Party.
• Mani Shankar Aiyar, Politican and Central Minister
• Gurumurthy RSS Intellectual
• Lakshmi Sehgal, a Presidential Canditate and former head of INA women command.