Kerala

One of the four southern Indian states,
whose inhabitants speak a Dravidian
language, in this case Malayalam. Kerala
occupies the narrow strip of land
between the Western Ghats and the
Arabian sea, in the region formerly
known as the Malabar coast. Kerala is
one of the “linguistic” states formed
after Indian independence in 1947, to
unite people with a common language
and culture under one state government. It was created from the
Malayalam-speaking regions of the former Madras state, plus the princely
states of Travancore and Cochin. Kerala
has always been important as a trading
center. The desire for its spices and sandalwood have brought merchants from
the Middle East for thousands of years.
In modern times it has had India’s first
elected communist government, and is
the only Indian state to have 100 percent
adult literacy. Kerala’s most famous
sacred site is the temple of Aiyappa at
Shabari Malai. By custom the annual
pilgrimage to the site is restricted to
men as well as women past childbearing age. For general information
about Kerala and other regions of India,
see Christine Nivin et al., India. 8th
ed., Lonely Planet, 1998.