KERALA

Kerala, often referred to as Keralam, is a state in the south-west region of India on the Malabar coast.



Padmanabhaswamy 

 It was formed on 1 November 1956 as per the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam-speaking regions. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and north east, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 census, Kerala is the twelfth largest state by population and is divided into 14 districts with the state capital being Thiruvananthapuram.
 Malayalam is the most widely spoken and official language of the state.

A Houseboat

The region was a prominent spice exporter from 3000 BCE to 3rd century. The Chera Dynasty was the first powerful kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks from the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. During the Chera period, Kerala remained an international spice trading center. 

Later, in the 15th century, the lucrative spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, and eventually paved the way for the European colonisation of India. After independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and

Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state. 

Later, the state was formed in 1956 by merging the Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin (excluding four southern taluks), and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.

Silent Valley National Park & Bharathappuzha River

Culture

The culture of Kerala is composite and cosmopolitan in nature and it's an integral part of Indian culture. It has been elaborated through centuries of contact with neighboring and overseas cultures. However, the geographical insularity of Kerala from the rest of the country has resulted in development of a distinctive lifestyle, art, architecture, language, literature and social institutions.There are around 10,000 festivals celebrated in the state. The Malayalam calendar, a solar calendar started from 825 CE in Kerala, finds common usage in planning agricultural and religious activities.

The ongoing campaigning from March 2009 by Praveen JH et al. of the social group PETLA for the proposed Top-Level Domain of. ker for Kerala, are centered on creating an independent Internet identity for Kerala's diverse linguistic and cultural communities. They were mostly inspired by the success of the. cat domain created for websites in the Cornish or Catalan language and Cornwall (Kernow), or about their culture. The Cornish World Magazine's prior claim for this proposed TLD from 2008, is yet to be finalised and as of May 2014, the TLD remains unassigned.

1)Onam

Onam (Malayalam: ഓണം) is a harvest festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. [1] It is also the state festival of Kerala with State holidays on 4 days starting from Onam Eve (Uthradom) to the 4th Onam Day. Onam Festival falls during the Malayalam month of Chingam (Aug–Sep) and marks the commemoration of Vamana avatara of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of King Mahabali. Onam is reminiscent of Kerala's agrarian past, as it is considered to be a harvest festival.

Kerala has a large number of Hindu temples. Many of the temples have unique traditions and most hold festivals on specific days of the year. Temple festivals usually continue for a number of days. A common characteristic of these festivals is the hoisting of a holy flag which is then brought down only on the final day of the festival. Some festivals include Poorams, the most famous of these being the Thrissur Pooram.  

2)Dance

 

Kerala is home to a number of performance arts.These include five classical danceforms: Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Koodiyattom, Thullaland Krishnanattam, originatedand developed in the temple theatres during the classical period under the patronage of royal housesKerala natanam, Kaliyattam, Theyyam, Koothu and Padayani are other dance forms associated with the temple culture of the region.

Some traditional dance forms such as Margamkali and Parichamuttukali are popular among the Syrian Christians and Chavittu nadakom is popular among the Latin Christians,while Oppana and Duffmuttu are popular among the Muslims of the state. 

3)Music

Development of classical music in Kerala is attributed to the contributions it received from the traditional performance arts associated with the temple culture of Kerala.[343]Development of the indigenous classical music form, Sopana Sangeetham, illustrates the rich contribution that temple culture has made to the arts of Kerala.

[343] Carnatic musicdominates Keralite traditional music. This was the result of Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma's popularisation of the genre in the 19th century.[333] Raga-based renditions known assopanam accompany kathakali performances.[344] Melam; including the paandi and panchari variants, is a more percussive style of music:[345] it is performed at Kshetram-centered festivals using the chenda.[346] Panchavadyam is a different form of percussion ensemble, in which artists use five types of percussion instrument.[347] Kerala's visual arts range from traditional murals to the works of Raja Ravi Varma, the state's most renowned painter.[343] Most of the castes and communities in Kerala have rich collections of folk songs and ballads associated with a variety of themes; Vadakkan Pattukal (Northern Ballads), Thekkan pattukal (Southern Ballads), Vanchi pattukal (Boat Songs), Mappila Pattukal (Muslim songs) and Pallipattukal (Church songs) are a few of them

4)Cuisine

 

 

 

Kerala cuisine has a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and meat. Culinary spices have been cultivated in Kerala for millennia and they are characteristic of its cuisine.[378] Rice is a dominant staple that is eaten at all times of day.[379] Breakfast dishes are frequently based on the rice preparations idli, puttu, Idiyappam, or pulse-based vada or tapioca.[380] These may be accompanied by chutney, kadala, payasam, payar pappadam, Appam, chicken curry, beef fry, egg masala and fish curry.[208]Lunch dishes include rice and curry along with rasam, pulisherry and sambar.[381] Sadhya is a vegetarian meal, that is served on a banana leaf and followed with a cup of payasam.[382] Popular snacks include banana chips, yam crisps, tapioca chips, unniyappam andkuzhalappam.[383][384][385] Sea food specialities include karimeen, prawn, shrimp and other crustacean dishes.[386] Kerala is one of the few places in India where there is no communal distinction between the different food types. People of all religions share the same vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

Flora and fauna

Eravikulam National Park

Most of the biodiversity is concentrated and protected in the Western Ghats. Out of the 4,000 flowering plant species 900 species are medicinal plants; 1,272 of which are endemicto Kerala and 159 threatened.:11 Its 9,400 km2 of forests include tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (lower and middle elevations—3,470 km2), tropical moist and dry deciduous forests (mid-elevations—4,100 km2 and 100 km2, respectively), and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests (highest elevations—100 km2). Altogether, 24% of Kerala is forested.[131]:12 Two of the world's Ramsar Convention listed wetlands—Lake Sasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands—are in Kerala, as well as 1455.4 km2 of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Subjected to extensive clearing for cultivation in the 20th century,[132]:6–7 much of the remaining forest cover is now protected from clearfelling.[133]Eastern Kerala's windward mountains shelter tropical moist forests and tropical dry forests, which are common in the Western Ghats.

Kerala's fauna are notable for their diversity and high rates of endemism: it includes 102 species of mammals (56 of which are endemic),476 species of birds, 202 species of freshwater fishes, 169 species of reptiles (139 of them endemic), and 89 species of amphibians (86 endemic).These are threatened by extensive habitat destruction, including soil erosion, landslides, salinisation, and resource extraction. In the forests, sonokeling, Dalbergia latifolia, anjili, mullumurikku, Erythrina, and Cassia number among the more than 1,000 species of trees in Kerala. Other plants include bamboo, wild black pepper, wild cardamom, the calamus rattan palm, and aromaticvetiver grass, Vetiveria zizanioides.:12 Indian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Indian Leopard, Nilgiri Tahr, Common Palm Civet, and Grizzled Giant Squirrel are also found in the forests:12, 174–175 Reptiles include the King Cobra, viper, python, and Mugger Crocodile. Kerala's birds include legion—Malabar Trogon, the Great Hornbill, Kerala Laughingthrush, Darter, Southern Hill Myna and several emblematic species. In lakes, wetlands, and waterways, fish such as kadu; stinging catfish and Choottachi; Orange chromide—Etroplus maculatusare found.