Kerala is the
God’s own country. This state of India is situated on the South West coast of
the country. The shape of the state is most likely to draw the attention of the
people. Sickle-like in shape, Kerala on map looks like a crescent moon as it
appears on the eleventh day of lunar eclipse. The capital of Kerala is
Thiruvananthapuram which is almost located on the border of Tamil Nadu’s Padmanavapuram.
Kerala is one of the 50th travel-worthy places on earth. Only two
Indian places figure in the list. Interestingly Kerala is ahead of Taj Mahal in
this list. Pollution free Kerala is magnificent, a place of beauty and unique
culture. Kerala is the most educated
state of India with a literacy rate of 90%. A peculiar feature of Kerala is
that here women have over taken men in number, perhaps for the fact that men
has largely gone out of the state in search of job. It is therefore no surprise
that Malayalam-speaking people of Kerala, known as Malayalees, are seen working
in large numbers in oil-rich Arab countries. The state consists of Travancore, Malabar,
Cochin and south Canara district of Karnataka all of which were parts of Madhya
Presidency during British rule.
Nature is
bountiful in Kerala. It is, however, deprived of any hill towns and resorts. Water
and greens make this beautiful state similar to Bengal. Blue waves of the
Arabian Sea lash the western shores of Kerala while the evergreen eastern part
is extended up to Masala hill on the western Ghat range of mountain. Kerala is
adequately provided with hills, forest, canals, creeks and troves of coconut
trees. The splendor of nature also becomes apparent when one sees Kovalam
beach, Periyar wildlife sanctuary and backwater created by the sea looking like
creeks. The backwater whispers as wave turns into uncountable number of
bubbles. Kerala is very attractive and at the same time less expensive a place
to visit. As many as 44rivers flow down Kerala and there are sub lakes, deltas
and estuaries spread all over Kerala. Kerala is called the Venice of East. There
is a great diversity in nature of this state and in its history.
Kerala is also
rich in cultural expressions like dancing and music. The tribal dance of north
Kerala, Theyyam and Kalaripayattu of the Nair’s are as old 1000year. The
episode of Ramayana, Mahabharata, and other literatures of olden days had been
woven together to give the famous Kathakali dance more than 400 years ago. Sanskrit
dance is also performed here with 9m high masks are appreciated the world over.
Kerala has contributed greatly to the development of Karanataki music.
The Elephant
March is a yearly festival that is quite popular in Tiruvananthapuram. Thousands
of tourists gather here to watch the colorful procession of 101 elephants. The elephant
carries a huge umbrella on its back. Tourists may also enjoy riding. Boat Race
another popular festival of Kerala is celebrated on the 2nd Saturday
of August of every year. More than 100 boats with 100 oars each take competition
in the race. The boat race is the major
attraction of the tourists. Temples, mosque and churches have dotted almost everywhere
in Kerala.
Demographic-
The literacy rate in Kerala is 90%
and the density of population is 819 per sq km. the main language of this state
is Malayalam, a combination of Sanskrit and Dravid along with Tamil and
English. Keralites are highly disciplined and sincere to their work. Kerala was
created as a linguistic state on 1 November, 1956 with Malayalam as the state
language. It is the 12th state in terms of population. Kerala is
quite developed in agriculture, education and health care.
Climate-
An ideal time
for the tourists to visit the place is during October to March, however November
to February is equally good. The tourists
must avoid visiting the place during monsoon from May to November, but the
tourists may tour round the year. There is no excessive heat in Kerala. Maximum
temperature here is 33C and minimum 22C.
********
