Ancient Dravidian culture

South Indian culture refers to the culture of the South Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. South Indian culture though with its visible differences forms an important part of the Indian culture. The South Indian Culture is essentially the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body and motherhood. It is exemplified through its dance, clothing, and sculptures.

South Indian women traditionally wear the saree while the men wear a type of sarong, which could be either a white dhoti or a colourful lungi with typical batik patterns. The saree, being an unstitched drape, enhances the shape of the wearer while only partially covering the midriff. In Indian philosophy, the navel of the Supreme Being is considered as the source of life and creativity. Hence by tradition, the stomach and the navel is to be left unconcealed, though the philosophy behind the costume has largely been forgotten. This makes the realization of sharira-mandala, where in Angikam bhuvanam yasya (the body is your world) unites with the shaarira-mandala (the whole universe), as expressed in the Natyashastra. These principles of the sari, also hold for other forms of drapes, like the lungi or mundu or panchey (a white lungi with colourful silk borders in kannada), worn by men. The lungi is draped over clockwise or counterclockwise and is tied at the back or fixed just along the waist line. It's sometimes lifted to the knee and tied at the waist leisurely or just held in hand to speed up walking.

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