History of South India: How is it that South India remained untouched by the Mughals?

 Interesting that this question is there in many places.

South India was very much "touched" by the Mughals, especially Aurangazeb, who made it a point to expand his empire to the logical boundary of India.

After he conquered Bijapur, Aurangazeb set up two Subahs in the deep south. Nawab of Sira in Karnataka oversaw the South-Western possessions and the Nawab of Arcot in Tamilnadu oversaw the South-Eastern possessions. In addition there were smaller Nawabs of Adoni, Gutti, etc

One person who fought Aurangazeb was the queen of Keladi on the Western Ghats, Chennamma. She is famous for giving shelter to the fleeing Rajaram, son of Shivaji and ensure his passage to Jinji. The Alamgir had to sue for peace, which he normally never did.

​
​
Remarkably, Rajaram and the Marathas withstood a siege of Auragazeb in Jinji (Gingee) in Tamilandu for 8 years, but ultimately had to quit the fort in 1698. After this fall there was very little resistance.

The shrewd Chikka Deva Raja of Mysore courted Aurangazeb and got his seal of approval from the Mughal overlord. Below was this throne with ivory presented from Aurangazeb.

​
​

Maratha Kingdom of Tanjore, founded by Shivaji's brother, also had to accept Mughal Suzerainty in the early 1700s. Below is a Mughal Tanjore painting.

​
​

Lastly, Madurai Nayaka dynasty also had to accept Mughal overlordship.

Mughals thus changed the course of South India permanently.

What is ‘South India’ according to North Indians?

 I am not a North Indian, but as a Bangalee, this is what I view South India as:

My very first acquaintance with South India began through Dosa, the apparently South Indian but actually pan Indian dish.

TEMPLES: I just can't get over the marvellous architectures of the beautiful temples.

The mystery surrounding the Vault B of Padmanabhaswamy Temple still intrigues me. At a point I was so enamoured by it that I spent hours checking about news and updates.

CINEMA: Steadily proliferating with innovative concepts and unique content. It all started with the movie Dhruva and I grew indispensibly fond of regional movies. My affinity towards South movies (thrillers particularly) is profound and probably unmatched. Baahubali became a pan-Indian success. Ratsasan was marvellous.

FOOD: Healthy and Tasty. Dosa, Idli, Sambhar and Chettinand Biryani!

PEOPLE: Reforming, extremely intelligent and utterly laborious.

NATURE: Breathe-taking and mesmerising! Beautifully decked in hues of resplendent and natural chromes.

LITERACY: See for yourself.

PAINTERS: I would not elaborate.

AUTHORS: I would not elaborate. Juxtaposition of Bengal and South India. She was of Bengali origin.

FESTIVALS: There are many festivals I feel. But Pongal and Onam are the ones I have mostly heard of.

I could not find any apt picture to describe Pongal.

The below picture is of Attukal Pongala.

CULTURE: Bharatnatyam and Kathakali. Beautiful brides and simple lifestyle. Loyal towards culture! Proud of their language. Never unnecessarily brag with their fluency in English. Westernisation has not overshadowed their ethnicity. Traditions and customs are visibly persisting till date and flourishing with time.

This is my perception of South India.

My perception is purely based on the movies I have seen, articles and stories I read and two of my friends who hail from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I have personally never visited South India but I wish to.

Edit:- I got to know from two nice people Srinivasa Adiga and Shilamine that Pongal (celebrated on Sankranthi) and Attukal Pongala are two different festivals. So I have corrected it accordingly.

I received another suggestion from User-10385664813308778284 for adding Sudha Murthy to the list of authors. I did not know about her. But after this suggestion, I went to read her biography and it was quite inspiring. So I have added her name as well.

My heartfelt thanks to these aforementioned people for their kind contribution.

Picture Source: Google.