The 7th largest country in the world is known for its diverse culture, languages and traditions. If you are heading off to this country insearch of any of these then your itinerary needs to be changed ASAP! Like come on, you are either in for monumentand palace tours in the northern states or reveling in the nature recluse in Southernparts. Do you know what we are hinting at? You don’t have much scope in your itineraryto see the diversity! Not convinced? Let’s take you on a virtual tour of theNorth and South India. See for yourself! Number 1. LanguageWe are assuming you do a basic Google search about the destination you are planning tovisit and language is one of the first things you would check, right? So what language translation book have youpurchased for your trip to India? Ah, Hindi, of course- the national languageof India. Uhmm only that it isn’t the declared nationallanguage plus about 53% Indian population speaks Hindi as their first or second language. So what do the rest speak? There are 22 officially recognized languagesin India including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada which by the way are spoken morein the southern parts. In short, you need more preparation! Number 2. MusicIf you sit down for a musical show in northern India, be prepared for it to be completelydifferent from what you’ve experienced in the south! While instruments like mridangam, gottuvadyam,violin, veena and jalatarangam are favored in the south, the northern parts of Indiasee more of sitar, sarangi, santoor, and tabla in their music. You don’t need us to tell you that instrumentscan completely change the flavor of music! But there is more- the north Indian musicshows influence from foreign invasions while the music you hear in the south is more regional. Live music in itself will give you a flavorof diversity! Number 3. DanceThis had to be on this list, especially after we’ve already told you how different themusic is in the two parts of India! It is believed that just like the music, thedances in the north were influenced by foreign invasions, especially the ones by the Mughals. While the dance in south has maintained itsoriginality. Keeping this in mind, when you see performancesof Kathak, a dance form of north and compare it to Kuchipudi or Bharatnatyam, you see thedifference. Despite the dances being so different, yousee some similarity in terms of the costume which are colorful and bright! Number 4. FoodAhan, if you don’t have your holiday in India revolving around food, you are doingit wrong! India is all about spices and the food they are used in. But the dishes you’ve been eating in theSouth are barely available in the north and vice versa. Firstly if you are served rice at every mealwith some form of fish, you are in the southern parts! On the other side, wheat is the staple innorth and thus eating roti, parantha and puri will be on your plate every single time! Plus the butter chicken and chole bhatureare to be tried. And of course a trip to south would be incompletewithout some Sambhar, rasam, idli and dosa! Number 5. Dressing stylesWesterners know of jeans, shirts, skirts, jackets and the likes as wardrobe staples,right? While you’d see plenty of people in Indiawearing “western” outfits, a significant number of people are dressed in traditionalattire, especially in the south. So women in the southern parts prefer sariwhile their northern counterparts are more comfortable in salwar kameez. Men on the other side are seen in westernattire mostly but white dhoti and colorful lungis are still seen in south. If you are heading to India, you just cannotleave until you try at least one traditional Indian outfit! Number 6. TourismThis is what you’ve been waiting to hear, right? Okay let’s shoot- so north India is fullof cities that are decked up with huge buildings, monuments and temples with architecture influencedby invaders. You wouldn’t want to miss these attractionsbut what the south has in stored for you is very different! If you want to spend your vacation relaxingin the arms of nature, the south is where you should head. From waterfalls to tea plantations and fromhouseboat trips to wildlife parks, you’ll get the perfect nature recluse you have beendreaming about. Oh and of course the temples with their traditionalarchitecture are a plus! Number 7. WeatherPlanning of a vacation is incomplete till the time you have considered the weather ofthe destination! Would you be surprised if we told you thatNorth India is one of the most climatically diverse regions on Earth? Summers can cause the temperature to raiseto 35°C easily but some areas may even experience the extreme 50°C while the winters are notoriousfor bringing in fog! South on the other hand has a different climaticapproach with the coasts being humid and the inner peninsula being dry and being in thetemperature bracket of 18- 30°C. You may want to reconsider the dates of your tripnow! Number 8. AtmosphereOne of the biggest differences that you’ll encounter between the two portions is theatmosphere in the different states. While the south is more peaceful and pollutionfree with its strict rules about smoking, the northern states have a long way to go! Delhi is among the most polluted cities ofthe country with a severe problem of smog. Plus heaps of garbage will welcome you onthe streets of northern India but this probably won’t happen down south where it is easierto take a deep breath! Number 9. PeopleAnother major difference is in the population. If we talk about their looks, north Indianshave lighter skin tones as compared to their southern counterparts. While North Indians have sharper facial features,the southerners have long black hair, so it won’t be wrong to say that beautiful featuresare spread across the country in various forms! In terms of their nature- north Indians areknown for their jolly nature and tendency to spend money for showing off while peoplefrom the south generally believe in simple living keeping aside their love for gold! Number 10. Education and employmentIndia’s literacy rate, according to the 2011 census, was 74.04 percent. We are not sure what to make of it but theinteresting thing is that the literacy rate is rather high in the south, reaching an impressive94% in Kerala while it is only 64% in Bihar. That is a big difference if you ask us! As for employment, the statistics are shocking. Even with the highest literacy rate, Keralais among the states with the most unemployed people! Tamil Nadu on the other hand has lessemployment issues than Punjab, Haryana and Himachal. You might not be directly affected by these statistics as a tourist but it never hurt to be aware!
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