Culture

Known for simple living, loyalty at work, soul stirring music, numerous gigantic temples and simplest of clothing South India is indeed a place to be when visiting India. Soak yourself into the mesmerizing environs of South India visiting different states and regions brimming with ethnic diversity and different cultures. A place of sustenance for veteran movie starts mastered in action thriller having a different industry to it called Tollywood. Seeing ladies adorned with saree- an unstitched drape wrapped around the lower part of the body, these are usually made out of silk further decorated with gold or silver zari work that is the inlay of gold or silver thread consisting of a certain percentage of pure metal concentrate. Men on the other hand wear Dhotis is a white colored sarong like wrap around attire to cover the lower part of their body or colorful Lungi with typical batik pattern, men generally leave their upper parts of the body uncovered sometimes in formal situations a simple piece of cloth may be used to cover the upper part of the body.

Carnatic music forms the heart of music in South India, ranging from rural folk music to sophisticated Indian classical Music usually devotional in nature with rhythmic tuning and structured music different states in the region has different kinds of music like Tamil Nadu has Tamil Pann usually sung by temple servants locally called Oduvars during prayer service in the temples. Other types of prominent devotional music includes essential components like a double reed wind instrument called Nadhaswaram, said to be created when the very first temple in south India was erected as well as Thavil a barrel shaped instrument which looks like a drum are used in almost every part of South India in devotional music making it unique to the Southern region of India. Contrary to popular perceptions Temples in Southern region of India are the centre of various activities apart from devotion and pilgrimage, these provide to be centres of training for traditional music, dancing forms, prior to the advent of western education system these temples also sufficed as schools where a Guru (Teacher) would impart knowledge to his Shishya (students) these would be informal classes basically framed under tree shelters where the teacher would be seated up on a raised platform and the students would be seated below him making it not only a regular practice but also a mark of respect. Dance forms like Koodiyattam, Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kerela Natanam are a regular site to see when visiting South India, these dance forms don’t only require physical strength but also a lot of mental strength for every part of one’s body to remain in sync with each other.

Boasting of being one of the most ancient literary traditions in the subcontinent the philosophy and literary traditions in Indian date back to as early as two thousand years. The poetic compilations of Sangama poetry are the first known evidences of South Indian literature. Unlike North India what one observes in South India is a stark contrast between the Vaishanavites and Shaivites, both of these are Hindu sub cults which co exists in northern region of India but in Southern part these have stark differentiations oweing to their respective rituals and traditions. Apart from Hinduism Karnataka in South India also is a major pilgrimage site for Jains other religions like Christianity has flourished since ages in the Southern part of India. South India also acts as an abode to a large Muslim community particularly in the Malabar Coast who probably came and settled in as traders initially travelling via Arabian sea and liked it as a place of settled due to its proximity to the sea shore and easy travel of good and raw material from India to the far off land and also trading as importers dealing in finished products etc. Existence of the oldest Jewish synagogue in what we know as Kochi today makes the region indeed a melting point for different religions and traditions which even today coexist with the utmost harmony.

Dotted with gigantic temples famed all over the world for their mechanism and technique of planning and execution are the major tourist attractions from all over the world, largely built using different types of sandstone. These vivid temple structures are not only picturesque but also holds records of possessing world’s largest amount of wealth in terms of gold and precious jewels offered to gods as a part of donations offered by people out of their devotion. These temples apart from being some of the richest temples in the world, also holds a record of serving Prasadam that is small amounts of food either in the form of sweets or small portions of daily cooked food offered as mercy coming from the gods themselves.