Laughable South Indian and North Indian stereotypes

If you are a South Indian living in North India or the other way around, you are bound to face some amount of culture shock. We all have some predefined assumptions and stereotypes about the other, most of which are oftentimes just laughable and some even ridiculous, and yet each side has a strong belief that these stereotypes hold and anyone who doesn’t conform to the stereotypes is probably an exception.

Read on to first find out about some North Indian misconceptions regarding South Indians:

No matter which state you’re from in the South, you’re branded as ‘Madrasi’

North Indians seem to have a hard time with geography when it comes to the southern states. In fact, for them, every person from a state below Maharashtra is a Madrasi. The real joke is that technically Madras does not exist anymore.

The only two South Indian dishes are idli and dosa

This is a laughable misconception — there is actually a huge amount of diversity in South Indian food for every meal. Since idli and dosa are now popular across cultures it has probably led to this belief, however, the fact is that even North Indians have developed a good taste for the South Indian cuisine over decades and many South Indian restaurants are flourishing in north India.

South = Smart

South Indians are always apparently really bright according to North Indians. They’re always expected to be either engineers or doctors who studied in IITs.

All South Indian names are impossible to pronounce

Admittedly sometimes South Indians find it hard to pronounce their own names, so this stereotype is kind of valid. But all that’s asked of North Indians is that they put some effort into the pronunciation and not butcher any surnames, which hold a lot of value and pride.

All South Indians are trained in classical dance

Apparently all South Indians have the ability to break into a perfectly choreographed Bharatanatyam/Kuchipudi dance sequence anytime and anywhere.

South Indians only eat in banana leaves

This is really just an outdated tradition except for some remote areas but we won’t be surprised if North Indians believe that even burgers are served on banana leaves down south.

Men from the South walk around wearing lungis and sipping on coconuts

We blame the popular ‘Lungi Dance’ from Chennai Express for this one.

And now, some stereotypes South Indians hold about North Indians.

North Indian weddings are fancy and opulent

South Indians are known for their simplicity (which is arguably another stereotype) and they think that nothing is more extravagant and expensive than a North Indian wedding. What needs to be understood is that Bollywood does not depict reality and not everyone from the north has ‘destination weddings’.

All Punjabi mothers are obsessed with feeding their children

Aren’t all mothers like this?

Men from the north, especially those from Delhi, are aggressive and entitled

Northerners are often stereotyped to be aggressive and soaked in a culture of privilege. They are thought to always be citing their social status as a credential and a way to flout laws, usually using the line “Tu jaanta nahi main kaun hoon?” (Don’t you know who I am?) and “Tu jaanta hai mera baap kaun hai?” (Do you know who’s son am I?). Of course, this is a gross generalization as a result of Bollywood and pop culture.

North Indian mothers and girls are attracted to shiny objects

People from the south think aunties from the north have eyes only for jewelry, new clothes, fancy cars, etc. And in the North Indian version of a previously mentioned meme, girls from there are stereotyped to be ‘trapping’ rich yet naive South Indian boys.

All North Indians are non-vegetarians

South Indians are also guilty of assuming the daily diet of North Indians. They think of North Indians as hardcore non-vegetarians.

All North Indians use abuses in every sentence

South Indians have a perception that all North Indians curse all the time. So much so that they also tend to learn the most common North Indian abuses so that they can understand the North Indian language better

Ultimately, India is a country of diversity and such preconceptions and stereotypes are being slowly eroded away in recent times. There are many North Indians living in South India and the other way around: most of them are happy, and even come to love the other’s culture!