SOUTH INDIA CULTURE

SOUTH INDIAN CULTURE

India is a harmonious land of diverse cultures, traditions, languages, and religions, and the most beautiful characteristic of this ancient land is that it stays true to its roots despite its rapidly changing facade with changing times. It is the strong and deep cultural roots that set India apart from the rest of the world, more than anything else. Each Indian state has a distinctive culture, yet the culture of Bharat can be talked about broadly referring to North Indian, Northeast Indian and South Indian cultures. Let’s delve into the brightly colorful culture of the southern part of India that encompasses the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu along with the Union territories of Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.

Festivals in South India:

A festival is a vibrant celebration of the culture and tradition of the land. If you truly wish to immerse yourself in South Indian culture, then you must take part in the resplendent celebrations of festivals like Dussehra, Deepavali, Maha Shivaratri, Ugadi, Sankranti, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Vishu, Hampi festival, Thrissur Pooram, Chithirai Thiruvizha, Karthika Poornima, etc. Onam is the biggest festival in Kerala and Tamil Nadu is famous for its 4-day Pongal celebrations. The grand-scale festivities of Mysore Dasara offer you insight into the rich Karnataka culture and tradition.

Music and Dance Forms:

South Indian culture finds vivid expression in music, dance, and other performing arts. The traditional music of South India is termed Carnatic music, which is known for its main focus on vocal music. Much like Hindustani music, swara, sruti, raga, and tala constitute the basic elements of Carnatic music. Most music in Carnatic style is composed such that it can be sung and its common form of composition is Kriti or kirtanam. Carnatic music heavily relies on improvisation which again takes forms. Musical instruments like mridangam, tambura, violin, veena, venu, ghatam, morsing, kanjira are key to the presentation of Carnatic music. The famed music composers of South India include Purandara Dasa,  Kanaka Dasa, Annamacharya, Ramadasa, Sripadaraja, and the Trinity of Carnatic Music – Tyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and Syama Sastri.

Traditional South Indian Attire:

Clothing is closely associated with cultural identity, and thus the way South Indians dress themselves up reveals a lot about South indian culture. The traditional attire for women of South India is a saree or langa voni (half-saree) and men can be seen wearing starched dhoti or panche for special occasions and celebrations. Lungi, a type of sarong, is another common item of clothing for men.

Food Culture in South India:

There’s no denying the fact that food is an intrinsic part of the culture. South Indians, in general, have a taste for spicy food, and rice is the staple food in the South. As a peninsular region bounded by water bodies on 3 sides, South India is very much a seafood lover’s paradise. The highly flavorful Hyderabadi biryani from Telengana cusine and Tamil Nadu’s idli-sambhar, dosa, and filter kaapi need no introduction at all.

The culinary traditions differ in different regions within each state and so does the aroma and flavor of food. Malabar cuisine uses coconut extensively whereas the cuisine of Andhra is known for its high spice quotient.

South India’s food culture is as much about how food is consumed as it is about how it is cooked. Food is traditionally served on a fresh banana leaf and eaten with hands while sitting cross-legged on the floor.