Culture of South India
Southern India covers states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The culture of South India forms an integral part of the Indian culture. Though South Indians are linguistically and culturally different from the rest of India, mutual interaction and the effect of external influences have made much cultural impact. Even with extensive modernization, the South Indian region has been able to preserve the cultural and tradition of the ancient past. According to some experts, the South Indians aim for the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body, and motherhood, which is aptly demonstrated through their dance, clothing, and sculptures.
South Indian women traditionally wear the sari while the men wear a type of sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a colourful lungi with typical batik patterns. The sari is an unstitched drape and only partially covers the midriff. In Indian philosophy, the navel of the Supreme Being is considered as the source of life and creativity. Hence by tradition, the stomach and the navel is to be left unconcealed. These principles of the sari also hold for other forms of drapes, like the lungi or mundu worn by men.
The music of South India is known as Carnatic music, which includes rhythmic and structured music by composers like Purandara Dasa, Tyagaraja, Annamacharya, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Shyama Shastri, Subbaraya Shastri, Mysore Vasudevachar and Swathi Thirunal.
The movie industry has emerged as an important platform in South India, over the years portraying the cultural changes, trends, aspirations and developments experienced by the people.
South India is home to several distinct dance forms - the Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Theyyam, Ottamthullal, Oppana, Kerala Natanam and Mohiniaattam (which literally translates as Dance of the Enchantress) The Bharatanatyam expresses the celebration of beauty and the universe, through its tenets of having a perfectly erect posture, a straight and pout curving stomach, a well rounded and proportionate body mass - to the body structure, very long hair and curvaceous hips.
Tradition of serving meals on plantain leaves, especially in formal events
Rice is the staple diet, while fish is an integral component of coastal South Indian meals. Coconut is an important ingredient in Kerala whereas Andhra Pradesh cuisine is characterized by pickles, and spicy curries. Dosa, Idli, Uttapam are popular throughout the region. There are large coffee estates in southern Karnataka and parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu; many South Indians drink coffee.
South India has two distinct styles of rock architecture, the pure dravida style of Tamil Nadu and the Vesara style (also called Karnata dravida style) present in Karnataka. The inspirational temple sculptures of Hampi, Badami, Bhattiprolu, Pattadakal, Aihole, Belur, Halebidu, Lakkundi, Shravanabelagola, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore, Madhurai and the mural paintings of Travancore and Lepakshi temples, also stand as a testament to South Indian culture
Sculptures became one of the finest medium of South Indian expression after the human form of dance. In this medium it was possible to etch the three dimensional form in time. The traditional South Indian sculptor starts his sculpture of the divinities from the navel which is always represented unclothed by the sari.
South India has an independent literary tradition going back over 2000 years. The first known literature of South India are the poetic Sangams, which were written in Tamil from 2000 to 1500 years ago. In South Indian literature and philosophy, women are considered very powerful. A married woman is regarded as auspicious, her shakti or mother-feminine power, protects and empowers her husband and their children
Recommended Itineraries:
| 
