Telling "vanakkam" with this posture is very common among Tamil people.

Let us begin the tutorial by knowing how to greet someone in Tamil. There is a universal greeting which you can use it anywhere and anytime. Just say, vanakkam! Traditionally, people greet with this word as they bow and join the hands to mark respect. Look at the above picture to figure it out. Unlike English, there are no greetings in Classical Tamil like good morning, good afternoon etc. The same word was used disregarding the time of speech. But in Modern Tamil, people tend to adopt the English style of greeting. New greetings are introduced and they are common in TV shows and radio programs, although colloquially they are heard very rarely. Read out the following greetings and learn its meaning. Try to use it when talking to Tamil people.