South India is a linguistic-cultural region of India that comprises the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the two Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, whose inhabitants are collectively referred to as South Indians. Agriculture is the single largest contributor to the regional net domestic product Apart from the English language terms South India and Peninsular India, South India has been known by several other historic names.

The region has been referred to as the Deccan (from the Sanskrit word Dakshina meaning south). In the middle of the eighteenth century, the French and the British initiated a protracted struggle for military control of South India. Shifting alliances between the two European powers and the local powers marked the period with mercenary armies being employed by all sides causing general anarchy in South India.

A dominant feature of South India is the tropical climate. Lush evergreen vegetation, the South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests are found along the Western Ghats. The languages of the Dravidian family Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu have been influenced by Sanskrit to varying degrees and the converse is true as well. Bharatanatyam expresses the celebration of beauty and the universe, through its tenets of having a perfectly erect posture, a straight and pout curving stomach, a well rounded and proportionate body mass - to the body structure, very long hair and curvaceous hips.