Footloose in fun-filled South India
The four south Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry share a common Dravidian root and have cultural, linguistic and traditional affinities.
To the traveller, these states in combination offer the ingredients of the holiday of a life time. On offer is a wide range of avenues for relaxation, adventure, leisure and learning. Your tour of India will be incomplete without spending quality time in these beautiful southern states. With pristine beaches, placid lakes and backwaters, mist-clad mountain resorts, numerous wildlife sanctuaries bristling with a variety of flora and fauna, a plethora of ancient temples and monuments, and a rich repertoire of performing art forms, these southern states have something to offer for everyone right round the year.
The Idli-Vadai-Dosa Saga
Though these states vary considerably in their culinary preferences, common ingredients include rice, lentils, spices, dried red chilies, fresh green chilies and coconut. South India is where popular items like idli, vadai and dosa had their origin. Made from ground rice and black gram and usually served with sambar and coconut chutney, these simple, healthy and wholesome vegetarian preparations have won worldwide acclaim and have become ubiquitous.
Ragas, Rhythms and Mellifluous Melodies
Another factor that unifies these South Indian states is Carnatic Music, the classical music of the region and one of the world’s oldest & richest musical traditions. In its basic form, Carnatic Music is a monophonic song with improvised variations. It is concerned more with the melody than with the symphony, and the voice is the supreme instrument as well. There are 72 basic scales on the octave, and a compellingly rich range of melodic motion and rhythmic structures.
Music critic Todd M. McComb had this to say about Carnatic Music: “I value Carnatic music first for the effectiveness with which it can build positive mental discipline. It helps me to focus and organize my thoughts, and it helps to eliminate negative mental habits… There is a very real sense in which the kritis speak to me, both in word and in music. They express the power in the world beyond petty human concerns, something which music is so ideally suited to express.”
- Thomas Thottungal
