Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.
Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from Tamil people from south India, including the land now comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Eelam Tamils from Sri Lanka, as well as the Tamil diaspora.
Madhaviah Krishnan, better known as M. Krishnan, was a pioneering Indian wildlife photographer, writer and naturalist.
Ashokamitran was the pen name of Jagadisa Thyagarajan, an Indian writer regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-independent Tamil literature. He began his prolific literary career with the prize-winning play "Anbin Parisu" and went on to author more than two hundred short stories, and a dozen novellas and novels. A distinguished essayist and critic, he was the editor of the literary journal "Kanaiyaazhi". He has written over 200 short stories, nine novels, and some 15 novellas besides other prose writings. Most of his works have also been translated into English and other Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu.
Thekkady is a town near Periyar National Park, an important tourist attraction in the Kerala state of India. The name Thekkady is derived from the word "thekku" which means teak. Temperatures are lowest in the months of December–January and highest in the months of April–May.
Kandukondain Kandukondain is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film directed and co-written by Rajiv Menon. Based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility, it features an ensemble cast of Mammootty, Ajith Kumar, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai and Abbas. Veterans Manivannan, Srividya and Raghuvaran play supporting roles. The film's soundtrack was scored by A. R. Rahman and the cinematographer was Ravi K. Chandran.
Periyar, is the longest river and the river with the largest discharge potential in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. The Periyar is of utmost significance to the economy of Kerala. It generates a significant proportion of Kerala's electrical power via the Idukki Dam and flows along a region of industrial and commercial activity. The river also provides water for irrigation and domestic use throughout its course besides supporting a rich fishery. Due to these reasons, the river has been named the "Lifeline of Kerala". Kochi city, in the vicinity of the river mouth, draws its water supply from Aluva, an upstream site sufficiently free of seawater intrusion. Twenty five percent of Kerala's industries are along the banks of the Periyar. These are mostly crowded within a stretch of 5 kilometres (3 mi) in the Eloor-Edayar region (Udhyogamandal), about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Kochi harbor.
Conjeevaram Natarajan Annadurai, popularly known as Anna, also known as Perarignar Anna, was an Indian politician who served as the fourth and last Chief Minister of Madras State from 1967 until 1969 and first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for 20 days before his death. He was the first member of a Dravidian party to hold either post.
Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (PNP) is a protected area located in the districts of Pathanamthitta and Idukki in Kerala, India. It is a renowned Elephant and Tiger reserve. The protected area encompasses 925 km2 (357 sq mi), of which 305 km2 (118 sq mi) of the main zone was declared as the Periyar National Park in 1982. The park is a repository of rare, endemic, and endangered flora and fauna and forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala: the Periyar and the Pamba.
Maraimalai Adigal was a Tamil language orator and writer and father of Tanittamil Iyakkam. He was a fervent saivite. He wrote more than 100 books, including works on original poems and dramas, but most famous are his books on his research into Tamil literature. Most of his literary works were on Saivism. He founded a Saivite institution called Podhunilaik Kazhagam. He was an exponent of the Tanittamil Iyakkam and hence considered to be the father of Tamil Linguistic purism. He advocated the use of Tamil devoid of Sanskrit words and hence changed his birth name Vedhachalam to Maraimalai.
Ravi K. Chandran is an Indian cinematographer and film director who predominantly works in Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil-language cinema. His career began in 1991 with the Malayalam film Kilukkampetti. He is the founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC) and has won two Filmfare Awards and one Southern Filmfare Award.
Kaadhal Kavithai is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Agathiyan and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar. The film stars Prashanth, Isha Koppikar and Kasthuri, while Manivannan and Srividya play supporting characters. The film had music composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while duo Lancy-Mohan and Ravi Yadav handled the editing and cinematography respectively.
Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River of Idukki district of Indian state of Kerala. It is situated 150km south east of Kochi and 200km north east of state capital city of Trivandrum. It is located 881 m (2,890 ft) above the sea level, on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala, India. It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached in an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area. It has a height of 53.6 m (176 ft) from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m (1,200 ft). The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam's reservoir. The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers. The dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar, but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Although the Periyar River has a total catchment area of 5398 km2 with 114 km2 downstream from the dam in Tamil Nadu, the catchment area of the Mullaperiyar Dam itself lies entirely in Kerala and thus not an inter-State river. On 21 November 2014, the water level hit 142 feet for first time in 35 years. The reservoir again hit the maximum limit of 142 feet on 15 August 2018, following incessant rains in the state of Kerala. In a 2021 UNU-INWEH report about ageing large dams around the world, Mullaperiyar was said to be "situated in a seismically active area with significant structural flaws and poses risk to 3.5 million people if the 100+ years old dam were to fail".
Thulladha Manamum Thullum is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by debutant Ezhil. It stars Vijay and Simran, while Manivannan, Dhamu and Vaiyapuri among others play supporting roles. The film is produced by R. B. Choudary and has its music composed by S. A. Rajkumar and cinematography performed by R. Selva.
Sundara Ramaswamy was an Indian novelist, poet, translator, and literary critic, widely considered to be a preeminent figure in post-Independence Tamil literature. His notable works include "Oru Puliyamarathin Kathai", "J.J. Sila Kuripugal", "Kuzhanthaigal," "Pengal," and "Aangal." He was a key figure in Tamil modern literature. The translations of his novels and short stories have brought him international acclaim. Sundara Ramaswamy has been praised for his versatility and his skillful negotiation of various literary forms: poetry, short fiction, and the novel.
P. Jeevanandham also called Jeeva, was a social reformer, political leader, litterateur and one of the pioneers of the Communist and socialist movements in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.
Azhagiya Theeye is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Radha Mohan that stars Prasanna and Navya Nair. The film was produced by Prakash Raj, who also played a significant character in the film, while Ramesh Vinayagam composed the music. It released to generally positive reviews. The film was a commercial success. The film's name is inspired by the song of the same name from Minnale (2001). The movie was officially remade in Telugu in 2006 as Happy.
Gnana Rajasekaran is an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright and Retired IAS Officer. His directional debut was Mogamul (1994) won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director. His other works include Bharathi (2000), Periyar (2007) and Ramanujan (2014). As of 2014, Rajasekaran has won three National Film Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. His films have been screened at international film festivals including the International Film Festival of India.
Vaadamalli is a 2011 Indian Malayalam thriller film directed by Alberrt Antoni after his critically acclaimed debut film Kanne Madanguka.
Perumal Murugan is an Indian writer, scholar and literary chronicler who writes in Tamil. He has written twelve novels, six collections of short stories, six anthologies of poetry and many of the non-fiction books. Ten of his novels have been translated into English: Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize in 2005, Current Show, One Part Woman, A Lonely Harvest, Trail by Silence, Poonachi or the Story of a Goat, Resolve, Estuary, Rising Heat, and Pyre He was a professor of Tamil at the Government Arts College in Salem Attur and Namakkal.
