A Mystique Journey Through the Soul of KERALA

KERALA

കേരളം, ദൈവത്തിന്റെ സ്വന്തം നാട്

സമൃദ്ധിയുടെയും സമാധാനത്തിന്റെയും നാട്
ഉത്സവങ്ങളുടെയും ആഘോഷങ്ങളുടെയും നാട്
ആചാരങ്ങളുടെയും അനുഷ്ടാനങ്ങളുടെയും നാട്

ആ നാടിന്‍റെ ആത്മാവിനെ ഞങ്ങള്‍ നിങ്ങള്‍ക്കായിസമര്‍പിക്കുന്നു

Introduction

Kerala is one of the four southern states of India. It is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations of the country. Blessed with a salubrious climate, backwaters, wonderful beaches, plantations and paddy fields and waterfalls, full of scenic forest area with wildlife makes the state a paradise for holiday makers. Enchanting art forms, festivals, ancient monuments with a rich historic heritage make the state more inviting than ever.

Geographical Location

Kerala is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the eastern side and Tamilnadu and Karnataka on the west. It covers an area of 38,863 sq.km.

Kerala is mainly divided into three geographical regions – highlands, midlands and lowlands. The highlands slope down from the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats runs through the length of the state and this is the area of major plantations. The midlands in between the mountains and lowlands are made up of hills and valleys. This region is basically farmland.

Forty four rivers are flowing crisscross the state along with countless rivulets (41 west flowing & 3 east flowing).

The state’s forest wealth includes tropical wet evergreen, semi-green and tropical most deciduous. Mangroves are seen in coastal areas and low morass lands.

The Climate

The climate of the state is tropical. The summer months are from February to May with a temperature between 24-33˚c. The monsoon falls during June to September while the winter months are between October and January. The temperatures during the winter range from 22-32˚c.

History

The legend here states that Parasuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu the preserver in the Hindu Trinity created the land. The story goes that Parasuram stood on a mountain and threw his axe into the sea and the land thus emerged from the waters became Kerala, the land of plenty and prosperity. Earlier Kerala was made up of three distinct regions Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. The land being rich and fertile, many outsiders also came in during the past. Jewish and Arab traders were the first to come to Kerala from across the seas to set up trading stations. The Apostle of Christ, St. Thomas is believed to come to Muziris in AD52 and established the first church in Kerala. Portuguese discovered the sea route to India from Europe when Vasco Da Gama landed with his ship near Kappad in Calicut in AD 1498. Slowly the Kerala society became a mix of people belonging to various sects of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. The arrival of Portuguese was followed by that of the Dutch, the French and finally the British. The state of Kerala was created on the 1^st of November 1956. The Keralites celebrate this day as ‘Kerala Piravi’ meaning the ‘Birth of Kerala’.

The Culture

Kerala has a unique culture. The people of Kerala really concern the guests, ‘Athidhi Devo Bhava’ means that they considers the guests as same as to be God and treat them hearty. Keralites have their own agricultural methods and practices, unique in their food habitat and family traditions are also different from the other states of India.

Fair & Festivals

Kerala is the home of many colorful festivals. Most of them have a religious fervor inspired by Hindu mythology. Almost every village has its own fairs and festivals and festivities. Major festivals are Onam, Vishu, Navarathri, Deepavali, Christmas, Easter, Miladi Sherif, Muharram, Ramadan, and Bakrid. Besides these, there are, Arattu at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, Thrissur Pooram (Kudamattam), Ambalapuzha Arattu, Aranmula Uthrittathi (Boat race), Ashtami at Vaikom, Attukal Ponkala, Kuthiyottam and Kettukazcha in Chettikkulangara, Guruvayoor Festival (Elephant race), Kumaranalloor Thrikarthika (Deepakazcha), Mannarasala festival (Temple of Snakes). Likewise Christian have their feasts and festivals, the main ones being the Arthungal feast at St. Andrew’s Church, Neenthu-Nercha at Kudamaloor St. Marys Church (Birth place of St.Alphonsa), Bharananganam feast at St.Marys church Pala, Edappaly Perunnal, The Edathua Perunnal at St. George’s church, St. Thomas shrine at Malayattur, Manjinikkara festival, Maramon Convention at Pathanamthitta,etc. The Masjid festivals are the Chandanakuda Mahothsavam in Bhimapalli, the festival at Cheraman Juma Masjid at Kodungaloor etc.

The Arts

Mohiniyattam and Kathakali are the most important classical dances of Kerala. Koodiyattom, Koothu , Krishnattom, Thullal, Ashtapadhi etc are the other important classical arts. Among them Koodiyattom was accredited by UNESCO. Kerala has a rich variety of folk dances. There are more than fifty well known folk dances in Kerala. Of them the Theyam, Thira, Mudiyettu, Padayani, Poorakkali, Velakali, Kaduvakali, Dhuffmuttu, are performed by men alone. Folk arts like Thiruvathira, Margamkali, Thumbithullal, Oppana are exclusively preformed by women.

Agriculture & Economy

About 50% of the population depends upon agriculture. A unique feature of the site is the predominance of cash crops. Kerala is a major producer of coconut, pepper, ginger, rubber, cardamom, cocoa, coffee, cashew, areca nut, tea. The spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc., are also cultivated. Rice and tapioca are important food crops. Coconut is the most important cash crop of Kerala while pepper earns the maximum foreign exchange. Banana, pineapple, mango and jackfruit are major food crops. Kerala is not self-sufficient in food production. The total area under cultivation has increased in respect of coconut, rubber, pepper and turmeric. Kerala’s share in the coconut production is 41% in the country. The state accounts for more than 22% coffee and 1% under tea. The area under rubber is about 84% in the country.

Kerala is rich in industrial potentialities and infrastructure facilities such as hydro-electric power, rich forest, rare minerals like ilmenite and monazite and the efficient system of transport and communications. Traditional industries are handloom, cashew, coir and handicrafts. Other important industries are rubber, tea, ceramics, electric and electronic appliances, telephone cables, transformers, bricks and tiles, drugs and chemicals, general engineering, plywood splints and veneers, beedi and cigar, soaps, oils, fertilizers and khadi and village industry products.

Major irrigation project are Malampuzha, Chitoorpuzha, Kuttiyadi, Neyyar and Chimmini.

The Cuisines

Keralites have their own traditional food preparations. Most of the items are mildly flavoured, gently cooked and light on the stomach. Kerala does have its own well- developed vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisines such as Sadhya (including boiled rice, parippu, sambhar, kaalan, rasam, thoran, aviyal, pachadi, kichadi, pickles and payasam), idli, dosa, puttu, palappam and stew, tapioca and fish curry, karimeen pollichatu, fried prawn and biriyani. Most of the curries are flavoured with the non-scalding spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cloves, cumin coriander and turmeric.