Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India spoken by nearly 2.88% of Indians. Malayalam has official language status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé) and is spoken by 37 million people worldwide. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with significant number of speakers in the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari, and Coimbatore districts of Tamil Nadu, and Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka. Due to Malayali expatriates in the Persian Gulf, the language is also widely spoken in Gulf countries.
Thiruvananthapuram, commonly known by its former name Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major Information Technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills.
Kochi, also known as Cochin, is a major port city on the south-west coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala and is often referred to as Ernakulam. Kochi is the most densely populated city in Kerala. As of 2011, it has a corporation limit population of 677,381 within an area of 94.88 km² and a total urban population of more than of 2.1 million within an area of 440 km², making it the largest and the most populous metropolitan area in Kerala. Kochi city is also part of the Greater Cochin region and is classified as a Tier-II city by the Government of India. The civic body that governs the city is the Kochi Municipal Corporation, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA).
Thrissur is a city and headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Calicut urban areas and the 20th largest in India. Thrissur is also known as the "cultural capital of Kerala" because of its cultural, spiritual and religious leanings throughout history. The city is built around a 65-acre (26 ha) hillock called the Thekkinkadu Maidan which seats the Vadakkumnathan temple. Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin. It is located 268 kilometres (167 mi) towards north-west of the state capital city Trivandrum. One of the main cultural events in Thrissur is the Thrissur Pooram, which attracts quite a number of tourists and travellers.
The Western Ghats, also known as Sahyadri, are a mountain range that covers an area of 140,000 square kilometres (54,000 sq mi) in a stretch of 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, traversing the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hot-spots" of biological diversity in the world. It is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. It contains a large proportion of the country's flora and fauna, many of which are only found in India and nowhere else in the world. According to UNESCO, the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas. They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer. The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called Konkan, along the Arabian Sea. A total of thirty-nine areas in the Western Ghats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests, were designated as world heritage sites in 2012 – twenty in Kerala, ten in Karnataka, five in Tamil Nadu and four in Maharashtra.
Onam is an annual Harvest festival in the state of Kerala in India and is associated with Hinduism. It falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–September. According to legends, the festival is celebrated to commemorate King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest communist political party in India, and one of the eight national parties in the country. There are different views on exactly when it was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by the CPI is 26 December 1925. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), also a national party, separated from the CPI in 1964 following an ideological rift between China and the Soviet Union, continues to claim having been founded in 1920. The party remains committed to Marxism–Leninism.
The Malayali people are a Dravidian ethnic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are identified as native speakers of the Malayalam language. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, since the Middle Ages existed the Kingdom of Cochin, the Kingdom of Travancore, and the Malabar District of the Madras Presidency. The Malabar District was annexed by the British through the Third Mysore War (1790–92) from Tipu Sultan. Before that, the Malabar District was under the Zamorins of Calicut since the Middle Ages.
The Chera dynasty was one of the principal lineages in the early history of the present day states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in southern India. Together with the Cholas of Uraiyur and the Pandyas of Madurai, the early Cheras were known as one of the three major powers (muventar) of ancient Tamilakam in the early centuries of the Common Era.
Kerala Kalamandalam, deemed to be University of Art and Culture by the Government of India, is a major center for learning Indian performing arts, especially those that developed in the Southern states of India, with the special emphasis on Kerala. It is situated in the small town of Cheruthuruthy in Thrissur, Thrissur District on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river.
The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as Ketalaputo (Cheras) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of the Far East. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
Kerala has the eleventh largest economy in India. Service industry dominates the Kerala economy. Kerala's per capita GDP in 2016-17 was Rs.140,107. Kerala's high GDP and productivity figures with higher development figures is often dubbed the "Kerala Phenomenon" or the "Kerala Model" of development by economists, political scientists, and sociologists. This phenomenon arises mainly from Kerala's land reforms, social upliftment of entire communities implemented by various governments ruled the state. Some describe Kerala's economy as a "democratic socialist welfare state". Some, such as Financial Express, use the term "Money Order Economy". Kerala's economic progress is above the national average, with numerous major corporations and manufacturing plants being headquartered in Kerala, specifically in Kochi. Estimates of the 2013 Tendulkar Committee Report on poverty suggest that percentages of population below poverty line in rural and urban Kerala are 9.14% and 4.97%
The cuisine of Kerala, a state in the south of India, is linked to its history, geography, demography and culture. Kerala cuisine offers a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and red meat with rice a typical accompaniment. Chillies, curry leaves, coconut, mustard seeds, turmeric, tamarind, and asafoetida are all frequently used.
Kerala, a state situated on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Named as one of the ten paradises of the world by National Geographic Traveler, Kerala is famous especially for its ecotourism initiatives and beautiful backwaters. Its unique culture and traditions, coupled with its varied demography, have made Kerala one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Growing at a rate of 13.31%, the tourism industry is a major contributor to the state's economy.
Kerala is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile states of Travancore-Cochin and Madras. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is the twenty-third largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, 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 thirteenth-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.
The importance and antiquity of education in Kerala is underscored by the state's ranking as among the most literate in the country. The educational transformation of Kerala was triggered by efforts of the Church Mission Society missionaries, who were the pioneers that promoted mass education in Kerala, in the early decades of the 19th century. The local dynastic precursors of modern-day Kerala - primarily the Travancore Royal Family, the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and Muslim Educational Society (MES) - also made significant contributions to the progress on education in Kerala. There were many sabha mathams that imparted Vedic knowledge. Apart from kalaris, which taught martial arts, there were village schools run by Ezhuthachans or Asians. Christian missionaries brought the modern school education system to Kerala.
The Government of Kerala headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram is a democratically elected body that governs the Indian State of Kerala. Governor is the constitutional head and Chief Minister is the democratically elected head of the State. The state government maintains its capital at Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and is seated at the Kerala Government Secretariat or the Hajur Kutcheri.
Kerala Blasters Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala. The Blasters are one of the ten teams to have been part of the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of Indian football since its inception. They play in the league under licence from All India Football Federation (AIFF). The club was established on 24 May 2014 and began their first professional season a few months later in October 2014.
