page_title: South India
section_title: Clothing
hierarchical_section_title: South India / Culture and heritage / Clothing
caption_attribution_description: English: Veg Meals in Tamil Nadu,India traditionally served in banana leaf
context_page_description: South India is the area encompassing the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Puducherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area. Covering the southern part of the peninsular Deccan Plateau, South India is bounded by the Bay of Bengal in the east, the Arabian Sea in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south. The geography of the region is diverse with two mountain ranges - the Western and Eastern Ghats, bordering the plateau heartland. Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Tungabhadra and Vaigai rivers are important non-perennial sources of water.
  The majority of the people in South India speak one of the four major Dravidian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Some states/UTs also recognise minority language as Urdu in Telangana, French in Puducherry, and Bengali in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Besides these languages, English is used by both central and state Governments for communication purpose and can be found in all public sign boards.
context_section_description: South Indian women traditionally wear a sari, a garment that consists of a drape varying from 5 yards (4.6 m) to 9 yards (8.2 m) in length and 2 feet (0.61 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m) in breadth that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff. Ancient Tamil poetry such as the Silappadhikaram describes women in exquisite drapery or sari. The sari is to be wrapped around the waist, with the loose end of the drape to be worn over the shoulder, baring the midriff as according to Indian philosophy, the navel is considered as the source of life and creativity. Madisar is a typical style worn by Brahmin ladies from Tamil Nadu. Women wear colourful silk sarees on special occasions such as marriages.
  The men wear a dhoti, a 4.5 metres (15 ft) long, white rectangular piece of non-stitched cloth often bordered in brightly coloured stripes. It is usually wrapped around the waist and the legs and knotted at the waist. A colourful lungi with typical batik patterns is the most common form of male attire in the countryside. People in urban areas generally wear tailored clothing and western dress is popular in urban areas. Western-style school uniforms are worn by both boys and girls in schools even in rural areas.
caption: A traditional meal served on a banana leaf
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