First of all, I would like to say that Southern India is a much better term than South India. I am from patna (Bihar), Yeah, you may also call me a North Indian, living in Bangalore since couple of years.
Before coming here, I was like - I will never go in southern part of India. South Indians are very rude, they don't know even hindi, North Indians are always neglected there, they don't consider themselves as a part of India. (thanks to media for those irrelevant assumptions)
2 years back, during my first visit, while coming out from Bengaluru airport (Kempegowda International Airport), the first thing which I noticed was our Indian Tricolor.
I was out of my emotions and I was like- at least I am in India. If I had to know about some place, instead of asking directly by some people, I used to prefer Google maps. But every time you can't depend on Google maps. One day, I was asking something to an auto driver (of course in my broken english). He didn't understand properly and said- kidhar ko jaane ka bhaia (where you have to go). I immediately asked- aapko hindi aati hai? (do you know hindi ?). He replied - Ha bhaia, thori bahut to aati h. (yeah, I know a little bit).
Earlier in our class, we had a group of some 10–12 North Indians and generally avoid South Indians mainly because of that english barrier. Later, I realized that almost everyone here knows hindi. Also I try to communicate in kannada (I am still a beginner), they understand my intentions and reply me in their best possible way to ease my comfort. Soon that communication gap vanished and now, I can share my every thought and joke with each and everyone.
Not only bangalore, I have visited Chennai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Ooty, Coimbatore, Coorg and Pondicherry and I can't find any difference anywhere. Here, people are so polite and ground to earth. Last year, one of my friend had fallen at chennai railway station due to heat stroke and people around us helped him in best possible way. In just two years, my hollow assumptions completely changed about the southern part.
North Indians thought that their festival is not celebrated in Southern India, but we have to realize that Onam, Pongal, Ugadi, Varmahalakshmi puja and along with them, there are many festivals which are not flourished in many part of Northern India. India is a land of immense diversity and we should respect the tradition of every particular part.
Southern India is surrounded mainly by water, which is one of the reason for its development. Here, the infrastructure and road connectivity are much better than many parts of Northern India. GDP per capita is also high and the chief reason is less population density, here crime rate is also low. But every place has certain pros and cons. Here, water for cultivation and drinking is a major issue due to presence of only seasonal rivers, growing infrastructure has also its own consequence, people are running behind money without realizing the true meaning of happiness.
If Northern India constitutes the head and both hand of our motherland without which it looses its identity, then Southern India constitutes its feet without which we can't think about its progress.
image source :- google image.