KERALA“God’s Own Country”

Geography

Kerala (38,863 km²; 1.18% of India’s landmass) is situated between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats to the east. Kerala’s coast runs some 580 km in length, while the state itself varies between 35–120 km in width. Geographically, Kerala roughly divides into three climatically distinct regions. These include the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). There are 14 cities in Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city of Kerala.

HISTORY

According to Hindu mythology, Kerala was created by Parasuram, one of the avatars’ of MahaVishnu.

Geologists believe that Kerala was formed by some seismic activity, gradually or suddenly.

Sea trade started with the Phoenicians, and in 1000 BC Kerala was visited by King Solomon's ships that travelled to the Puvar, south of Trivandrum. Then followed the galleys of other far-off countries : Greece, Rome, Arabia, China. 

ECONOMY

Service Industry dominates the Kerala  economy. Kerala leads many other Indian states and territories in terms of

per capita GDP  and economic productivity. Human Development Index of Kerala's is the best in India. Some describe Kerala's economy as a "democratic socialist

welfare state“ Around 3,000,000 Keralites are working abroad.  Kerala is the most literate state in India, with 93.91% literacy.

Main Occupation

Population of some 24 million people with an overall density of 1,600 persons per square mile. About one-sixth is forest; of the rest, most of the land is cultivated often with maximum efficiency according to current Indian standards.

Fishing- plays a big part in Kerala's cultural and commercial life. Motorization of boats, better storage, and more efficient marketing have been undertaken during the past twenty-five years.

MAIN CROPS

Rice is the main crop being the staple food of the masses. 

After rice, coconut is the chief crop; the coconut acreage is nearly equal to that of rice. 

Spices like cardamom, pepper, gingelly, cloves, and ginger are important peasant-produced cash crops.

LANGUAGES

Allar language, Aranadan Language, Mannan, Kadar, Malapandaram, Malaryan, Malavedan, Paliyan, Paniya, Ravula, Eravallan, Irula language, Kanikkaran language, Betta Kurumba language, Muthuvan, Tamil, Yerukula, Kodava, Jennu Kurumba, Mullu Kurumba, Urali, Wayanad Chetti, Korra Koraga, Mudu Koraga, Bellari, Kudiya, Tulu, Mala Malasar, Malasar, Thachanadan, Ullatan, Kalanadi, Kumbaran, Kunduvadi, Attapady Kurumba, Mudugu and Pathiya and Judeo-Malayalam

Malayalam is classified as a South Dravidian language. It is the official language of Kerala. All Keralites consider Malayalam as their mother tongue.

LITERATURE

The earliest known extant literary work in Malayalam is Ramacharitam, an epic poem written in the late 13th or early 13th century.

For the first 600 years of the Malayalam calendar, Malayalam literature remained in a preliminary stage. During this time, Malayalam literature consisted mainly of various genres of songs. The most prominent among these were songs praising the goddesses of the land, ballads of brave warriors, songs related to the work of a particular caste and songs intended just for entertainment. Bhadrakali pattu, thottam pattu, mavaratham pattu, sasthanga pattu, nizhalkoothu pattu and lullaby were some of the major subgenres. These names were not used historically, but are used in modern times to describe the song genres of that time.

FESTIVALS

onamTHEYYAM

PADAYANI

BOAT RACES

POORAM

SOCIAL CULTURE & TRADITIONS

The culture of Kerala is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed and mixed for centuries, under influences from other parts of India and abroad.

The culture of Kerala evolved through the Sanskritization of Dravidian ethos, revivalism of religious movements and reform movements against caste discrimination. Kerala showcases a culture unique to itself developed through accommodation, acculturation and assimilation of various faculties of civilized lifestyle.

DANCE & MUSIC

The ragas and talas  of lyrical and devotional carnatic music — another native product of South India — dominates Keralite classical musical genres.

 Kerala has its own native music system, sopanam, which is a lugubrious and step-by-step rendition of raga-based songs.

FASHION

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