SOUTH INDIA-LAND OF SERENE BEAUTY
Simple Living High Thinking
A historic land of temple and mosque. This post – independence state combined the age old traditions of the Dravidian Hindus of the South with the Muslim cultural heritage that came from western and central Asia many centuries ago.Now if we want to talk about South India foreign invaders, here much of ancient India survives in its purest from in its customs, in its towering temple architecture, in its dances and costumes. Here life is more leisure and more traditional. Magnificently sculptured temples, richly woven silks, colourful festivals, cool hill stations and wide beaches. Talking about history of Emperor Ashoka, once nutured great dynasties – the Kadambas, the Hoyasalas, the Chalukyas and the Vijayanagar Emperors. All have left their imprint in the magnificent stonework and the ruins of great cities founded on this plateau of lush tropical jungle, beautiful garden cities and ornate buildings. Similarly a tropical paradise of waving and wide sandy beaches, this thin strip of coastal territory slopes down from the mountain Ghats in a cascade of lush green vegetation. Plantations and forests are everywhere. And canals and backwaters, where ancient craft still leisurely ply the waters, bisect the land throughout the state.
South India is first defined by its lushness. Green at the centre and edged with wonderful beaches… The South is also the land of spices: pepper, cinnamon, ginger, tea, tobacco… And besides, it is the India of large colorful temple cities where traditional Hinduism is still very alive. The South will enthrall both cultural travelers and adventure travelers. From the ruins of Hampi and Badami to the idyllic beaches of Kerala and Goa, from the immense spice plantations of the Ghats, South Indian mountains, to Portuguese and Dutch churches in Kochi and Panaji, from temple cities of Madurai and Trichy to the backwaters (canals and lagoons) of Allapuzha, from the bazaars of Mysore to the wildlife sanctuary of Chinnar, South India spills over with places as diverse as exceptional.
People:
Most of the South Indians with their dark color and heavy lips belong to the Dravidian race or Indo-Aryan stock. They speak languages that are a part of Dravidian linguistic family including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu. Konkani spoken mainly in Goa also used frequently in coastal Karnataka and Maharashtra.