South India

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South India
Image:Southindiaregionsweb.gif
Largest city Bangalore
Largest metropolitan area Chennai
Main languages Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu
Religion Hinduism
Area 635,780 km² 
Population (2001) 233,000,000
Density 337/km²
Birth rate<ref name=tocref>"eCensusIndia. Understanding the Vital Rates — Births, Deaths and Infant Mortality Rate at Natural Division Level". 2006. Office of the Registrar General.. 31 Aug. 2002. Government of India</ref>(2001) 20.4
Death rate (2001) 7.7
Infant mortality rate (2001) 48.4

South India is a region of India that traditionally includes the entire Indian Peninsula, south of the Vindhya ranges. The Narmada and Mahanadi rivers form the northern boundaries of the region, while the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal form the region's western, southern and eastern boundaries respectively. The southernmost point of the region, and therefore of mainland India, is Kanyakumari. South India as a cultural and linguistic entity, comprises the four southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Pondicherry, whose inhabitants are referred to as South Indians. Ethnically, South Indians are primarily linked by the Dravidian origin of their languages, although some communities such as the Konkani-speaking population of Karnataka retain distinct identities.

South India is a geographically diverse region, encompassing two mountain ranges — the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats and a plateau heartland. The Tungabhadra, Kaveri, Krishna and Godavari rivers are important non-perennial sources of water. Historically, a number of dynasties including the Cholas, Pandyas, Cheras, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara ruled over different parts of South India prior to the British conquest of India. Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the regional net domestic product. Information technology (IT) is a rapidly growing industry in South India, whose main cities constitute some of India’s major IT hubs. South India's diverse culture varies from the cultures of other parts of India. Politically, South India is dominated by regional political parties rather than by the larger national political parties.

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Other names

Apart from the English language terms South India and Peninsular India, South India has been known by several other historic names. The region has been referred to as the Deccan (from the Sanskrit word Dakshina meaning south), although that term currently is understood as referring only to the area covered by the eponymous plateau, a major geographic feature of the region. While this north-centric term is now outdated, the etymology of an indigenous term for the region is also traced to the Deccan Plateau: The Carnatic is an English term derived from "Karnād" or "Karunād", a word meaning highland (plateau). The terms Karnād and Carnatic have long overgrown particular association with the plateau and refer to all of South India, including the coasts, the eastern of which is named the Carnatic coast. The name Karnātaka is derived from the same etymological root. Drāvida Nād (from Drāvida and Nād; meaning land of the Dravidian people) is another name for the region; often shortened to Drāvida, a term used in the Indian national anthem.

The region acquired another collective term over the last century of British rule. Much of the region was encompassed by the Madras Presidency, and the entire region came to be called Madras and its inhabitants Madrasis.

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Geography

Image:South India satellite.jpg South India is a peninsula in the shape of a vast inverted triangle, bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the east by the Bay of Bengal and on the north by the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The line created by the Narmada and Mahanadi rivers is the traditional boundary between northern and southern India. The Narmada flows westwards in the depression between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges. The Satpura ranges define the northern spur of the Deccan plateau, one of the main geographic features of South India. The Western Ghats, along the western coast, mark another boundary of the plateau. The narrow strip of verdant land between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is the Konkan region; the term encompasses the area south of the Narmada as far as Goa. The Western Ghats continue south, forming the Malnad (Canara) region along the Karnataka coast, and terminate at the Nilgiri mountains, an inward (easterly) extension of the Western Ghats. The Nilgiris run in a crescent approximately along the borders of Tamil Nadu with northern Kerala and Karnataka, encompassing the Palakkad and Wayanad hills, and the Satyamangalam ranges, and extending on to the relatively low-lying hills of the Eastern Ghats, on the western portion of the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border. The Tirupati and Annamalai hills form part of this range.

The Deccan plateau, covering the major portion of the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is the vast elevated region bound by the C-shape defined by all these mountain ranges. No major elevations border the plateau to the east, and it slopes gently from the Western Ghats to the eastern coast. The plateau is watered by the east flowing Godavari and Krishna rivers. The other major rivers of the Deccan plateau are the Pennar and the Tungabhadra, a major tributary of the Krishna.

The river Kaveri rises in the Western Ghats, in the Kodagu district of Karnataka and flows briefly through the Deccan plateau before entering Tamil Nadu, where it forms an extensive and fertile delta on the east coast. The three major river deltas of South India, the Kaveri, the Godavari and the Krishna, are located along the Bay of Bengal. These areas constitute the rice bowls of South India. Rivers that flow westward, from the mountains to the Arabian Sea, include the Periyar, Nethravati, Mandovi and Tapti (or Tapi) rivers, and the Narmada at the northern edge of the region.

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Regions

Image:Temple Tangore 1.jpg Image:Mattancherry palace bhagvathy kshetram.JPG The four states of South India generally follow linguistic boundaries. In addition to these linguistic regions, South India has a number of overlapping traditional geographic regions. Some of these regions are:

The low-lying coral islands of Lakshadweep are off the south-western coast of India. Sri Lanka lies off the south-eastern coast, separated from India by the Palk Strait and the chain of low sandbars and islands known as Rama's Bridge. The Andaman and Nicobar islands lie far off the eastern coast of India, near the Tenasserim coast of Burma. The southernmost tip of mainland India is at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) on the Indian Ocean.

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History

Template:Main articles Image:Chola country.png Image:Golcondafort.jpg Image:Madras Prov South 1909.jpg Recent carbon dating on ash mounds associated with neolithic cultures in South India date back to 8000 BCE. Artefacts such as ground stone axes, and minor copper objects have been found in the region. Towards the beginning of 1000 BCE, iron technology appears to have spread through the region; however there does not appear to be a fully developed Bronze Age preceding the Iron Age in South India.<ref name=prehistory>Agarwal, D.P."Urban Origins in India". 2006. Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala Universitet</ref> South India was a crossroads of the ancient world, linking the Mediterranean and the Far East. The southern coastline from Karwar to Kodungallur was the most important trading shore in the Indian subcontinent resulting in intermingling between locals and traders. The South Indian coast of Malabar and the Tamil people of the Sangam age traded with the Graeco-Roman world. They were in contact with the Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Syrians, Jews, and the Chinese.

There were several significant rulers and dynasties in South Indian history. The ancient history of the region comprises dynasties such as the Kadambas of Banavasi, Chalukyas of Badami, Chalukyas of Kalyani, Cheras, Cholas, Hoysalas, Kakatiyas, Pallavas, Pandyas, Rashtrakutas of Manyaketha and Satavahanas. The early medieval period saw the rise of Muslim power in South India. The defeat of the Kakatiya Empire of Warangal by Tughlaq forces of the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 CE heralded a new chapter in South Indian history. The struggle of the period was between the Bahmani Sultanate based in Gulbarga (and later, Bidar) and the Vijayanagara Empire with its capital in Vijayanagara in modern Hampi. With the fall of Vijayanagara and the break-up of the Bahmani sultanate, the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda and Hyderabad became the dominant power in the region. Qutb Shahi dominance of the region continued until the middle of the seventeenth century, when the Mughals under Aurangzeb made determined inroads into the Deccan. Following Aurangzeb’s death, Mughal power weakened, and South Indian rulers gained autonomy from Delhi. The Wodeyar kingdom of Mysore, the Asaf Jahis of Hyderabad, and Marathas all gained power.

In the middle of the eighteenth century, the French and the British initiated a protracted struggle for military control of South India. Shifting alliances between the two European powers and the local powers marked the period with mercenary armies being employed by all sides causing general anarchy in South India. The four Anglo-Mysore wars and the three Anglo-Maratha wars saw Mysore, Pune and Hyderabad allying themselves with the British or the French. South India during the British colonial rule was divided into the Madras Presidency and Hyderabad, Mysore, Thiruvithamcoore (also known as Travancore), Kochi (also known as Cochin or Perumpadapu Swaroopam), Vizianagaram and a number of other minor princely states. British Residents were stationed in the capitals of the important states to supervise and report on the activities of the rulers.

After independence, most of South India was included in Madras state, which included the former Madras Presidency and the princely states of Banganapalle, Pudukkottai, and Sandur. In 1953, the government yielded to pressure from the northern Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State, and allowed them to create India's first linguistic state - Andhra State on October 1,1953. The States Reorganisation Act (1956) created several new states along linguistic lines. Andhra State was renamed Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala was created from the Malayalam-speaking region. Madras State, which after 1956 included the Tamil-majority regions, changed its name to Tamil Nadu in 1968, and Mysore State was renamed Karnataka in 1972. Portuguese India, which included Goa, was annexed by India in 1961, and Goa became a state in 1987. The enclaves of French India were ceded to India in the 1950’s, and the southern four were organised into the Union Territory of Pondicherry. Template:See also

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Flora and fauna

Image:Kerala India trees.jpg Template:Expandsect A dominant feature of South India is the tropical climate, which is less harsh than in northern India. Lush evergreen vegetation, the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests are found along the Western Ghats. Tropical Dry Forests, the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests and scrub lands Deccan thorn scrub forests are common in the interior Deccan plateau. The southern Western Ghats have high altitude rain forests called the South Western Ghats montane rain forests. The Malabar Coast moist forests are found on the coastal plains<ref name="netgeo_terres">Template:Cite web</ref>. The Western Ghats itself is a biodiversity hotspot<ref name="cons_intl_hotspots">Template:Cite web</ref>.

Some of the most famous wildlife sanctuaries are found in South India. These include Project Tiger reserves such as Periyar National Park, the neighbouring Mudumalai National Park, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park and Waynad wildlife sanctuary, Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve among many others.

Important protected ecological sites include the Annamalai Hills and Nilgiri Hills of the Western Ghats and backwaters like the Pulicut Lake in Andhra Pradesh, Pitchavarum in Tamil Nadu and the famed backwaters of Kerala formed by the Vembanad Lake, the Ashtamudi Lake and the Kayamkulam Lake.

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Demographics

Image:South Indian Sadhu.jpg The estimated population of the political region of South India, comprising Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu is over 233 million.<ref name=demographics>Template:Cite web</ref> South India is home to diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. The largest ethnic groups in South India include the Kannadigas, Malayalis, Tamilians, Telugus and the Konkanis, which can be further subdivided based by regions and spoken dialects. The proportions of South Indians who follow Hinduism (82.86%) and Islam (11.10%) are approximately the same as the national averages. Christians constitute 5.29% of the population while Jains, Ayyavazhis, Jews and Buddhists together form less than 1%. South India has one of the main Christian populations in India. St Thomas the Apostle, who arrived at Kodungallur on the Malabar Coast of India in 52 CE, is said to have brought Christianity to the country.

The average literacy rate of South India is approximately 73% — considerably higher than the Indian national average of 60%.<ref name=ciaindia>Template:Cite web</ref> Kerala leads the nation with a literacy rate of 91%. The sex ratio in South India is fairly equable at 997; Kerala is the only state in India with a sex ratio higher than 1000.<ref name=demographics /> The population density of the region is approximately 463. Scheduled Castes and Tribes form 18% of the population of the region. Agriculture is the major employer in the region — 47.5% of the population is involved in agrarian activities. About 60% of the population lives in permanent housing structures. 47.8% of South India has access to tap water. Wells and Springs are other major forms of water supply. The predominant form of transport is the bicycle, which constitutes 31% of the various modes of transport in South India. Television access in the region is 36.7% with the state-run Doordarshan and its various regional stations freely available.

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Languages

Template:Main Image:Proto-Dravidian Language Map.jpg South India's predominant language family is Dravidian, which is a family of 23 languages spoken in South Asia. A relationship of the Dravidian language family to other linguistic families has not been established. However, in the presence of many hypotheses, a relationship with Uralic languages appears to most plausible.<ref name=languagebrit>"Dravidian languages". Encyclopædia Britannica 1995 Ed.</ref> Dravidian as an independent language family was first established by Francis W. Ellis, a British civil servant in 1816. The more dominant languages in South India include Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Almost all Dravidian languages spoken in South India belong either to the Proto-South Dravidian or Proto-Central Dravidian (sometimes also known as Proto-South Dravidian II) subfamilies. Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu and Kannada are Proto-South Dravidian languages, while Telugu and Gondi are Proto-Central Dravidian. Around 3 BCE, Tamil and Kannada developed into distinct idioms and two distinct cultures emerged. Telugu appeared as a distinct linguistic unit in Andhra. In about 250 BCE, the Asokan Southern Brahmi script was adapted for Tamil and was used in cave inscriptions by Jain monks.<ref name=languagebrit /> The earliest Kannada inscriptions were dated at 450 CE, while Kannada's first literary work begins with Kavirajamarga in 850 CE. The oldest Telugu inscriptions were placed at 633 CE, while its literary tradition begins with Nannaya's translation of the Mahabharata in the eleventh century CE. Malayalam's first writings occurred during the close of the ninth century. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 divided states in India along linguistic lines and led to the creation of separate states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in areas where Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil respectively were dominant.

In the 2001 Census of India, Telugu, with approximately 66 million native speakers, was the third largest language in India, after Hindi and Bengali. Tamil was accorded the status of classical language by the Government of India in 2002 and had about 53 million speakers (native and non-native speakers). Kannada had 33 million speakers while Malayalam has 30 million <ref name=indiacensuslang>"Languages spoken".Office of the Registrar General. Government of India</ref>. All four languages are designated as national languages of India. Konkani, an Indo-Aryan language, is widely spoken in Goa and coastal Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra, where it has drawn heavy influences from Kannada and Malayalam. Most of Maharashtra, which includes the northern Deccan and Konkan regions of South India, is predominantly Marathi-speaking. Marathi and Konkani are part of the southern zone of the Indo-Aryan languages.

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Economy

Template:Main

Comparison between North India and South India
North India South India
Per capita income Rs. 8433 Rs. 13629
Literacy rate 59% 74%
Per capita expenditure on public health Rs.92 Rs.127
Proportion of households with electricity 49% 74%
Source: Business Today, January 2005

Image:Farm in tamil nadu.jpg The populace is largely agrarian, dependent on monsoons, as is the populace in most of India. Some of the main crops cultivated in South India include paddy, sorghum, millet, pulses, sugarcane, cotton, chilli, and ragi. Areca, coffee, tea, vanilla, rubber, pepper, tapioca, and cardamom are cultivated on the hills, while coconut grows in abundance in coastal areas. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of rice in India,<ref name="aponline">Template:Cite web</ref> while Karnataka produces 70% of India's coffee. Frequent droughts in northern Karnataka, Rayalaseema and Telangana have left farmers debt-ridden, forcing them to sell their livestock and sometimes even to commit suicide.<ref name=farmersuicide>Template:Cite web</ref> The region also suffers from water scarcity, especially during summer.

Chennai, the potential Detroit of South Asia <ref name="TheHindu1">Template:Cite web</ref> houses the manufacturing units of many automobile manufacturers. Bangalore is headquarters to several public manufacturing heavy industries A notable improvement in the economy of South India recently has been due to the growth of Information technology. Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India, is India's IT hub, and is home to over 200 software companies. Between 1992-2002, Karnataka attracted the fourth highest total Foreign Direct Investment approvals in India, approximately Rs 21,566 million. Chennai ranks second only to Bangalore in software exports in India and grossed over Rs 1000 crore in 2005.<ref name="elcot">Template:Cite web</ref> The net state domestic products of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu rank higher than the net state domestic products of most Indian states.<ref name=indiabudget>Template:Cite web</ref> In terms of industrialisation, Kerala lags behind many of the Indian states, but in terms of the people’s quality of life, Kerala is ahead of most other states in India. Around 20% of the state GDP is from overseas remittances. This paradox is often termed as the Kerala Phenomenon or Kerala model of development.

There is also a large amount of economic and income disparity in South India. As IT companies have entered the economic arena, their high level of pay has raised the economic standing of young and educated professionals, while the poor has become less and less able to afford basic necessities. It is not uncommon to see the shacks of homeless people propped up against the buildings of large multinationals. The poor, unable to afford sending their children to school, remain in a cycle of life completed separated from that of this more affluent upper class.Template:Fact

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Politics

Template:Main Image:Cpmernakulam (40).jpgPolitics in South India is typically dominated by regional parties and by the larger national political parties, the Congress (INC) and BJP (BJP).

Pre-Independence Politics in the Madras Presidency was dominated by the Justice Party and the INC. Periyar Ramasami who started the Periyar movement was elected leader of the Justice party in 1938 and in 1944 renamed it to Dravidar Kazhagam. The initial mandate was the secession of Dravida Nadu from the rest of India on independence.<ref name="periyar"> Template:Cite web</ref> During Independence, Periyar strongly believed that the party should not participate in elections in the newly created India, something his closest followers disagreed with. In 1948, C. N. Annadurai, a follower of Periyar and a Joint Secretary of Dravidar Kazhagam parted ways with Periyar to form the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party<ref name="periyar"/>. INC's political influence over Tamil Nadu gave way to the rise of the DMK which formed its first government in 1968 and again in 1978. The following year, a split in the DMK resulted in the formation of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), lead by M. G. Ramachandran. Together, the AIADMK and the DMK currently command a 60% share in Tamil Nadu state elections.<ref name=tamilpolitics>Harris, Wyatt. "The Changing Politics of Tamil Nadu in the 1990s". Political Mobilisation and Political Competition. Dec 2004.</ref> The shift in political power in Tamil Nadu was due to the rise of Dravidan Nationalism by such leaders as C. N. Annadurai, who extolled the achievements Tamilians in ways that the common person could relate to. The main facets of state politics in Tamil Nadu included language — the distinction between Tamil and non-Tamil speakers was an important tool used by the DMK in the 1960s and caste <ref name=tamilpolitics /> — such as the Self-respect Movement. The imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking areas of India has often been a contentious issue in Tamil Nadu. In January-February 1965, large scale anti-Hindi agitations, a cause championed by the DMK,<ref name=dmkantihindi>Guha, Ramachandra. "Hindi against India". 2006. The Hindu. The Hindu Group. 16 Jan. 2005</ref> occurred in Tamil Nadu.

The establishment of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh by former Telugu actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) broke the dominance of the Congress in Andhra Pradesh politics. NTR successfully challenged the INC's supremacy in the state and his party was voted into power a total of nine times, each time alternating power with the Congress. There has been a recent growth in popularity of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Andhra Pradesh's northwestern Telangana region. The party's main mandate is the separation of Telangana from the rest of Andhra Pradesh. In the 1996, a year after winning a state election by a landslide, a dispute between NTR, his wife Lakshmi Parvati and his immediate family resulted in a split in the TDP. Concerned over undue influence over NTR and his policies, the bulk of the party favoured the family under the leadership of NTR's son-in-law, N Chandrababu Naidu, who later became Chief Minister of the state. Naidu is regarded as a visionary who promoted the growth of information technology in the state.

The Janata Dal has been far more successful in Karnataka than it has been in national politics. National political parties such as the BJP and INC have experienced more comparative success in Karnataka than they have in other states of South India. Karnataka's political environment is dominated by two rival caste groups — the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats.<ref name=karnatakapolitics>Price, Pamela. " Ideological Elements in Political Instability in Karnataka...". University of Oslo</ref> Ramakrishna Hegde played an integral part in the ascent of the Janata Dal into the national foray in the late 1980s. However, it was his political rival H. D. Deve Gowda, then the Chief Minister of Karnataka, who later went on to become the Prime Minister of India. Caste and language have figured prominently in Karnataka politics. Anti-Hindi and anti-Tamil movements bore to the front of Karnataka politics in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name=antihindikar>Nair, Janaki. "Battles for Bangalore: Reterritorialising the City". Centre for the Study of Culture and Society. Bangalore, India.</ref> The Kaveri water dispute with Tamil Nadu holds an important place in the politics of the state.

Kerala hosts two major political alliances: the United Democratic Front (UDF — led by the Indian National Congress) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF — led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)). Kerala numbers among India’s most left-wing states. An interesting phenomenon of Kerala politics is the alternate election of Congress and the Communists to power.

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Culture and Heritage

Template:Main Image:Karnataka Hampi IMG 0837.jpg Image:Lunch from Karnataka on a plantain leaf.jpg Image:Tyagaraja.jpg Image:Kerala-girl-left.jpg South Indians are linguistically and culturally different from the rest of India, although mutual interaction and the impress of similar external influences have made much cultural impact. According to some experts, the weltanschauung of South Indians is essentially the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body, and motherhood, which is exemplified through their dance, clothing, and sculptures.<ref name="beck"> Beck, Brenda. 1976; Bharata, 1967; Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss, 2002; Wadley, Susan, ed. 1980</ref>

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, though the philosophy behind the costume has largely been forgotten. As opined in the ancient Natyashastra, this makes the realization where in Angikam bhuvanam yasya (the concept of the human body as the world) unites with the sharira-mandala (the whole universe).<ref name="beck"> Beck, Brenda, 1976; Bharata, 1967</ref> These principles of the sari, also hold for other forms of drapes, like the lungi or mundu worn by men.<ref name="Boulanger"> Boulanger, Chantal; 1997</ref>

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 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.

The music of South India is known as Carnatic music, which includes rhythmic and structured music by composers like Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Tyagaraja, Mysore Vasudevachari 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. Some movie classics like Nammukku paarkkaan munthiri thoppukal (1986) by Padmarajan, Adi Shankara (1984) by director G V Iyer, and Perumthachan (1990) by Ajayan have gained worldwide acclaim for their masterful depiction of the worldview of the South Indian 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.<ref name="Kallarasa"> Kallarasa Virachita Janavasya Ed: G.G. Manjunathan. Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe, University of Mysore, 1974.</ref> These tenets bring to life the philosophy of the Natyashastra. This is elaborated in the araimandi posture, wherein the performer assumes a half sitting position with the knees turned sideways, with a very erect posture. In this fundamental posture of the Bharatanatyam dance, the distance between the head and the navel becomes equal to that between the earth and the navel. In a similar way the distance between the outstretched right arm to the outstretched left arm becomes equal to the distance between the head and the feet, thus representing the "Natyapurusha", the embodiment of life and creation.<ref name="beck"> Beck, Brenda, 1976; Bharata, 1967</ref>

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, Pattadakal, Aihole, Belur, Halebid, Lakkundi, Shravanabelagola, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore, Madhurai and the mural paintings of Travancore and Lepakshi temples, also stand as a testament to South Indian culture. The paintings of Raja Ravi Varma are considered classic renditions of many a scenes of South Indian life and mythology. There are several examples of Dravidian mural paintings in the Mattancherry palace and the Shiva kshetram in Ettamanoor. South India is home to 5 of the 26 Indian World Heritage sites <ref>World Heritage Listed Sites in India. URL accessed on April 12, 2006.</ref>.

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. A koshta or grid of the sculpture would show the navel to be right at the centre of the sculpture, representing the source of the union of the finite body and the infinite universe. Sculptures adorn many of the temples around the complexes and also inside them. They are also depiction of dance steps of various stylizations and have served to preserve dance forms and revive it.<ref name="Dehejia"> Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss; 2002</ref>

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. The 850 CE Kannada classic Kavirajamarga written by King Amoghavarsha I makes references to Kannada literature of King Durvinita in the early sixth century CE. Tamil Buddhist commentators of the tenth century CE ‘‘Nemrinatham’’ make references to Kannada literature of the fourth century CE. Distinct Malayalam and Telugu literary traditions developed in the following centuries. The artistic expressions of the South Indian people shows their admiration of the magnificence of nature and its rhythms, as in the epic Silappadhikaram by Ilango Adigal, also called as the Cilappatikaram. Other works include the "Tholkappiam" written by Tholkappiar, and Thiruvalluvar’s Thirukural. 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.

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Diversity

Image:Charminar.jpg Image:Kottayam Valia Palli02.jpg The main spiritual traditions of South India include both Shaivite and Vaishnavite branches of Hinduism, although Jain philosophy had been influential several centuries earlier. Shravanabelagola in Karnataka is a popular pilgrimage center for Jains.

Kodagu, in Karnataka is home to one of the largest Buddhist monasteries in India and provides sanctuary to Tibetan Buddhist monks that fled Tibet fearing persecution from communist China. There is a large Muslim community in South India, particularly in the Malabar coast, which can trace it's roots to the ancient maritime trade between Kerala and Omanis and other Arabs. The Hyderabad region in Andhra Pradesh has a large Muslim population and is a historic center of South Indian Muslim culture. Ayyavazhi was a fast spreading religion especially in southern districts of Tamil Nadu and in some parts of Kerala from the mid-nineteenth century. Image:Gomateswara.jpg

Christianity has flourished in coastal South India from the times of St. Thomas the Apostle who is believed to have come to Kerala and established the church, from which came the Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Nasranis, Syrian Christians, Roman Catholics with Syrian-rite which is a combination of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church). The two Eastern Catholic Churches, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, both in communion with Roman Catholic Church, have their Holy See in Kerala. The Knanaya community exists as part of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church. Goa and Kerala are home to a significant Roman Catholic Latin Rite population. The Church of South India is an autonomous Protestant church, formed in 1947 through the merger of several Protestant denominations. The oldest Jewish synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations is the Paradesi Synagogue in Kochi, Kerala.

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See also

Template:Topics related to South India

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Notes

<references />

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References and bibliography

  • Beck, Brenda. 1976. “The Symbolic Merger of Body, Space, and Cosmos in Hindu Tamil Nadu." Contributions to Indian Sociology 10(2): 213-43.
  • Bharata (1967). The Natyashastra [Dramaturgy], 2 vols., 2nd. ed. Trans. by Manomohan Ghosh. Calcutta: Manisha Granthalaya.
  • Boulanger, Chantal; (1997) Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping, Shakti Press International, New York. ISBN 0-9661496-1-0
  • Craddock, Norma. 1994. Anthills, Split Mothers, and Sacrifice: Conceptions of Female Power in the Mariyamman Tradition. Dissertation, U. of California, Berkeley.
  • Danielou, Alain, trans. 1965. Shilappadikaram (The Ankle Bracelet) By Prince Ilango Adigal. New York: New Directions. ISBN 0811200019
  • Dehejia, Vidya, Richard H. Davis, R. Nagaswamy, Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2002) The Sensuous and the Sacred: Chola Bronzes from South India. ISBN 0295982845
  • Hart, George, ed. and trans. 1979. Poets of the Tamil Anthologies: Ancient Poems of Love and War. Princeton: Princeton U. Press
  • Kallarasa Virachita Janavasya Ed: G.G. Manjunathan. Kannada Adhyayana Samsthe, University of Mysore, Mysore 1974.
  • Gover, Charles. 1983 (1871). Folk-songs of Southern India. Madras: The South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society.
  • Nagaraju, S. 1990. “Prehistory of South India.” In South Indian Studies, H. M. Nayak and B. R. Gopal, eds., Mysore: Geetha Book House, pp. 35-52.
  • Trawick, Margaret. 1990a. Notes on Love in a Tamil Family. Berkeley: U. of California Press.
  • Wadley, Susan, ed. 1980. The Powers of Tamil Women. Syracuse: Syracuse U. Press.
  • Zvelebil, Kamil. 1975. Tamil Literature. Leiden: Brill.
  • Economy referenced from the Encyclopaedia Britannica online.
  • Some economic statistics from Union Budget and Economic Survey, Government of India. URL accessed April 10th, 2006.
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