What is ‘South India’ according to North Indians?

What is ‘South India’ according to North Indians?

I am not a North Indian, but as a Himachali in, this is what I view South India as:

My very first acquaintance with South India began through Dosa, the apparently South Indian but actually pan Indian dish.

TEMPLES: I just can't get over the marvellous architectures of the beautiful temples.

The mystery surrounding the Vault B of Padmanabhaswamy Temple still intrigues me. At a point I was so enamoured by it that I spent hours checking about news and updates.

CINEMA: Steadily proliferating with innovative concepts and unique content. It all started with the movie Dhruva and I grew indispensibly fond of regional movies. My affinity towards South movies (thrillers particularly) is profound and probably unmatched. Baahubali became a pan-Indian success. Ratsasan was marvellous.

FOOD: Healthy and Tasty. Dosa, Idli, Sambhar and Chettinand Biryani!

PEOPLE: Reforming, extremely intelligent and utterly laborious.

NATURE: Breathe-taking and mesmerising! Beautifully decked in hues of resplendent and natural chromes.

LITERACY: See for yourself.

PAINTERS: I would not elaborate.

AUTHORS: I would not elaborate. Juxtaposition of Bengal and South India. She was of Bengali origin.

FESTIVALS: There are many festivals I feel. But Pongal and Onam are the ones I have mostly heard of.

I could not find any apt picture to describe Pongal.

The below picture is of Attukal Pongala.

CULTURE: Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. Beautiful brides and simple lifestyle. Loyal towards culture! Proud of their language. Never unnecessarily brag with their fluency in English. Westernisation has not overshadowed their ethnicity. Traditions and customs are visibly persisting till date and flourishing with time.

This is my perception of South India.

My perception is purely based on the movies I have seen, articles and stories I read and two of my friends who hail from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I have personally never visited South India but I wish to.

Edit:- I got to know from two nice people Srinivasa Adiga and Shilamine that Pongal (celebrated on Sankranthi) and Attukal Pongala are two different festivals. So I have corrected it accordingly.

I received another suggestion from Ritika Jakhotiya for adding Sudha Murthy to the list of authors. I did not know about her. But after this suggestion, I went to read her biography and it was quite inspiring. So I have added her name as well.

My heartfelt thanks to these aforementioned people for their kind contribution.

Picture Source: Google.

Thank you for Reading 🙏