Here are 5 things you absolutely need to know about South India. 1. All South Indians are NOT Madrasis Get that? Madras may be the biggest city in South India (Bangloreans might contest that claim, but I am sticking by this Wikipedia list.), but it occupies just 1189 sq.kms of the area in the vast landmass that South India is. Hell, it is not even called Madras any more and people there speak Tamil for gods sake! “Madrasi” for your kind information is NOT a language. It is more of a slur. Citizens of other areas in South India have nothing to do with Madras and are NOT Madrasis. Another reason for people being referred as Madrasis is because the entire area came under the Madras Presidency during the pre-Independence era and its inhabitants were THEN referred to as Madrasis. The next time you attempt to call your South Indian friend a “Madrasi”, remember that all 220 million of us Dravidians are collectively laughing at your ignorance – in a language you can never understand. 2. All South Indians are NOT Dark Skinned and curly haired Yes, there are some who are (like me) – but a vast majority of South Indian’s have a wheatish skin tone. So, please remove that image of a burly, lungi clad, hairy legged dark skinned moustached Anna from your minds which is usually what Hindi movies show you when they show you a Madrasi. Lolakutty - A typical Malayali WomanLolakutty – A typical Malayali Woman I have known people who went to Bangalore for the first time and were surprised to see that there were “gorey South Indians” there. This is not saying that dark skinned south Indians are in any way inferior to anyone. Hell, look at me! 3. All South Indians Don’t Have Idli Sambar for Breakfast and Rice for Lunch This is even worse than the Madrasi stereotype. Back in 2006, when I got my first job, my Mom was too apprehensive of me eating “bahar ka khana”. This resulted in me getting a tiffin to work. During a lunch break with one of my colleagues, I opened my tiffin to reveal stacks of Chapaties and Dal squeezed inside. This guy gave me the most bewildered look someone has ever given me all life and followed it by a conversation that remotely resembled this: He: “Duuude, you eat Chapatis?” Me: “Yeah I do.” He: “But you are south indian na?” Me: “Han to? ” He: “Abe lekin, tum log to rice khate ho na?” Me: FACEPALM So yeah, it is common for a South Indian to have Chapaties as a part of his daily diet. And lest I forget, making Idlis on a daily basis is too much of an effort. The last time I had an Idli was in an Udupi Restaurant. In 2012. ..And more and more South Indians prefer to have them there. Oh and one more thing. A large number of south Indians are hardcore non vegetarians and some south Indian Hindus in Kerala even eat Beef. 4. All South Indians DO NOT speak one language This is for all those cerebrally challenged people who attempt to speak “Madrasi” by uttering gibberish like “Andu gundu narugundu sirigundu”. Apart from the fact that you look like a total idiot when you say that, it also goes on to assert that your knowledge about fellow countrymen is sub-par. South Indians mainly speak four languages – Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam and they are VERY DIFFERENT from each other. For those of you who have an IQ of a dingbat, let me also add that there are FOUR different states in South India . Some bits of these languages might be mutually intelligible – but a Malayalee would be as lost as a Bihari in Hyderabad if he doesn’t know either Telugu or Hindi. The Bihari would at least be OK there thanks to his knowledge of Hindi – which is well understood there. Here is a video that might help you brush up on your ignorance about “Madrasis”. Apart from these main languages, there are many other localized dialects as well. South India is more linguistically diverse that you might have thought. Oh and yes, we do not HATE Hindi. There might be some South Indians out there with stupid prejudices, but most of them are peace loving folks with no animosity for the Hindi speaking Janta. 5. The Lungi is not just a Dress. It is used to express yourselves. While I do not actually wear a lungi, being a Malayalee, I am aware about the significance it holds in the life of a Keralite. The Lungi is often considered the National Dress of us South Indians and thanks to a recent stereotypical film, people have come to know about a dance form that involves it. Anyway, unlike the “normal” dresses you North Indians wear, the way we South Indians interact without our lungis holds a deeper meaning. Since I am simply too lazy to type it all out, you guys better watch this video to get an idea. Note that this is just the Malayalee way of using the Lungi to express yourselves. Tamilians, Telugus and Kannadigas might have their own separate methods.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:17:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015