ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a subjective impression of what is 'Deccani'; and this is reflected in the substitution of 'The Deccan' for 'The Peninsular Interior'. The Deccan Lavas have indeed a characteristic physical aspect and a high degree of cultural individuality as the Maratha homeland; but for the rest plateau merges with plateau and the border ranges are discontinuous in the east, a mere fillet in the west. Maharashtra, the Maratha country par excellence, may be taken as roughly coterminous with the main mass of the Deccan Lavas. The region extends from the Deccan Lavas on the north to the Moyar in the south; the southeast the border hills and scarps of the Mysore plateaus provide a fairly sharp boundary between the Moyar and the Palar. Northern Karnataka is in many aspects a transitional zone between Maharashtra and Mysore, and between the Western Littoral and the Deccan.
