9 Misconceptions About South Indians That Will End With This Post

North Indian, Bihari, Madrasi and Chinky are four distinctive lookouts when it comes to Indian racism that is if we are not fighting over being a Hindu or a Muslim and so the six zonal names are left behind in the geography class.

India being a melting pot of cultures, the diverse range of custom gets adulterated by Indian stereotype hence every Punjabi is only to do Bhangda where as the South Indians Bharatanatyam. It’s an annoyance when such misconceptions are generalized.

For all those whose views on South Indians are built on Bollywood movies like Chennai Express, well this list will definitely bust your bubble.

1. I am a South Indian, but I am Not a Madrasi

Let’s set one thing straight there is no more a city or province called Madras in South India, its old news people, now it’s called Chennai. Under State Reorganization Act 1956 based on linguistic lines Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka formed the South Indian states where Dravidian languages Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada act as state language respectively. So not all South Indians are from Madras!

2. I am a South Indian, but I don’t always have idli and dosa

Yes, those are one among the customary cuisines of South India but it’s insane to consider that we force ourselves and others around us to eat rasam and Idli all through the year. We being humans too have a varied taste pallet that ranges from poha to chapatti.

3. I am a South Indian, but I am neither a pure vegetarian nor a Brahmin

This must come as a shock but we, South Indians, do contribute to the food chain not just as herbivores. Surrounded by coastal line of India, South Indians are always on grab for sea food. And Brahmins, like in any other part of India also reside in south but that does not imply that all South Indians are one of them.

4. I am a South Indian, but I am not always wearing kanjivaram sari

Here is a word picture; a man in lungi with horizontal tilak on his forehead with Angavastram and a woman in gold ornaments, heavy kanjivaram sari with gajra on her hair and of-course the white tilak on her forehead, remind you of a South Indian couple? Well on contrary to what Bollywood cinemas exaggerate a South Indian’s attire, it’s practically impossible to wear material such as silk in the heat of coastal planes. And in case of men in lungi, the sight is as rare as the sight of internet explorer on your PC. (exception stands for rural areas).

5. I am a South Indian, but my English and Hindi are not heavily accented

South Indians do add most common suffix after every word that is letter ‘a’, well let’s just be honest, we Indians do have a distinctive accent all in all be it a South or a North Indian. Even said so half the population of South has English that isn’t tainted with their mother tongue.

6. I am a South Indian, but I am not a nerd

Kerala has highest literacy rate in country and South India houses greater number of engineering colleges than tigers in India (figuratively) that’s because education for us is of prime importance but we still have fun and are not ones with stern faces.

7. I am a South Indian, but I am not dark in complexion

It’s high time that we stop calling someone not pleasing to the eyes only because they are heavily pigmented. But now that we have opened the lid on this topic, it’s time to remind people that Aishwarya Rai Bachan is in fact a South Indian. And leading beauties like Deepika, Shilpa Shetty, Asin and evergreen beauties like Hema Malini, Shridevi are all from South. So do you classify them as ugly?

8. I am a South Indian, but I do not always eat on banana leaves

As tradition goes, banana leaves as plates is used in South India only on special occasion and we do have food in normal china and cutlery sets as everyone else. As we are already on the topic of table manners, we do not lick sambhar off our elbows.

9. I am a South Indian, but my sentences don’t begin and end with a Rajnikanth’s dialogue

Rajnikanth has a great contribution to Indian jokes but it reaches its limit when South Indians are tagged as having his photo along with other deities at their home. Clearing this once and for all, he is an actor that is adored and loved by many just like any other actor, guess slightly more than other actors but that ain’t called worshiping!