KERALA

Source from http://www.employmentwinner.co.nr/ Kerala attracted the notice of people in other parts of India even from time immemorial. It is evident from the many reference to the land of in ancient Sanskrit works. The Aitareya Aranyaka is the earliest Sanskrit work, which specifically mentions Kerala. The great Epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha, show awareness of Kerala on the part of their authors. Katyayana (4th century BC) and Pathanjali (2nd Century BC) show their acquaintance with the geography of Kerala. Kautilya’s Arthasastra mentions Kerala. The puranas also mention Kerala.Kalidasa’s Raghuvamsa has given a beautiful description of Kerala. Kerala looms large in the accounts of classical writes of Greece and Rome. The anonymous author of the Periplus (1st century AD) and Ptolemy (2nd century AD) are the most outstanding classical writes who give information about Kerala. Later foreign writes like Sulaiman (9th Century AD), Masudi (10th century AD) Al Kazwini (13th century AD), Marco Polo (13th century), John of Monte Corvino (13th century), Friar Jordanus of Severic (14th century) Ibn Batuta (14th century), Ma Huan (15th century), Nicolo Conti (15th century) and Abdul Razzack (15th century) are some of the other foreign travellers of the early period who give interesting glimpses of trade and other aspects of Kerala. Education and Learning Kerala stands in the forefront of Indian states in the matter of literacy and education. According to the census of 1991 the rate of literacy in Kerala is 94.59 per cent. This literacy rate is more than double that of the country. It is significant that Kerala is almost on a par with the most advanced countries of the world in point of literacy. Royal patronage The rules of the local dynasties of Kerala have made significant contributions to the progress of education. Under the famous ruler Ravi Verma Kulasekhara (1299-1314), Kollam the capital of Venad, became the great centre of Learning and culture. The rulers of other kingdoms like Tekkumkur and Vadakkumkur also patronized education and learning. Calicut under Zamorins became one of the reputed centres of learning in South India. In the 14th and 15th centuries under the Kolathiri Rajas, North Kerala also became a centre of enlightenment and culture. The Travancore court of the 18th century became the centre of attraction for scholars and men of letters. Marthanda Varma (1729-1758) and his successor, the Dharma Raja (1748-98), were also equally famous as patron of learning. Sabha Mutts The Sabha Mutts or Temple universities of North and Central Kerala were the centres of Vedic education. The system of education conformed to the Gurukula ideal. .Village Schools The Ezhuthupalli seems to have had its origin under Buddhist influence. Each Kara had its Patasala or Ezuthupalli under the Ezuthachan or Asan. The formal ceremony of initiation (Vidyarambham) took place under solemn auspicious either in the third year of the child or not later than the seventh year. The traditional system was that Asan sat cross-legged by the side of the child after making offerings to God wrote on the child’s tongue with golden coin the letters “ Hari sree, Ganapathaye nama”. The child was then made to write the letters of the alphabet in rice kept in a plate. .Kalari The Kalari also had a place of Importance in the system of education, which prevailed in the ancient Kerala. It is worthwhile to remember that Kalari has played a decisive role in Kerala on many a crucial occasions. It supplied the best fighting materials against many an invading horders. Seminaries and Theological Education Kerala has a record of its own in the field of theological education. The Muslims had their Madrassas and Arabic Colleges. The curriculum of Madrassas laid special emphasis on the learning of Quran, the life of the prophet, worship and the tenets of Islam. The credit of initiating theological studies of the churches goes to Portuguese. Western Education The beginning of Western education in Kerala may be associated with the work of Christian missionaries. The foundations of English education were firmly laid in Kerala. This led to the establishment of institutions offering professional and technical courses as well as those devoted to the promotion of oriental studies and fine arts. Institutions like Law College, Thiruvananthapuram (1874), the Ayurveda College, Thiruvanthapuram (1889), the Sanskrit College, Thiruvananthapuram (1889), the Engineering College, Thiruvanthapuram (1939), the Swathi Thirunal Academy, (now College of Music) (1939), the Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram (1951), the Agricultural College, Trivandrum, (1955), and the Veterinary College, Trichur (1955) were started. .Universities In 1937,the University of Travancore with headquarters in Trivandrum was set up. In 1957 following the birth of Kerala State (November 1, 1956), the Travancore University was recognised as Kerala University with jurisdiction over the whole of the state till 1968 when the new University of Calicut was established to cater the needs of North Kerala.The Cochin University of Science and Technology, the Kerala Agricultural University, Trissur, The Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, the Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University, Kaladi, the North Malabar University Kannur were established later. The Christian Missions, the Nair Service Society, the Sree Narayana Trust and the Muslim Educational Society have a chain of colleges and schools under them. Language and Literature Malayalam as a distinct language had its origin in the ninth century AD. Till then the people on either side of the Western Ghats spoke the same language, with dialectal variations with in itself. There is general agreement among ethnologists that the first component of the word, viz., and ‘mala’ means hill or mountain, but in regard to the second component, viz.,’alam’ there is a difference of opinion, According to one view the word is identical with ‘azham’, meaning “sea” or “deep”, which would make Malayalam the land lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. In the other view Malayalam means “a land abounding in hills”. The earliest literary works in Malayalam are believed to have been the folk songs and ballads of popular origin. Kerala scholars have by their learned works enriched the diverse branches of Art and Science. Histrionics, Dance, Music, Mimamsa, Philosophy, Tantra, Architecture, Grammar, Mathematics, Astronomy, Astrology, and Medicine are some of those fields, which have been enriched by the literacy contributions of Kerala. Social Heritage The coming of the European powers gave a boost to the economy of Kerala in certain fields and this also helped in the gradual emergence of a new economic order. The Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British have contributed to the economic development of the state. Kerala’s participation in the freedom struggle is also significant. There were a number of social and religious movements in Kerala, the contributions of Chattampi Swamikal and Sri Narayana Guru is important in this context. Improvement of intercaste relations, movement of Christian unity, Indianisation of the Church, Muslim reform movements and Land reforms in the state have made significant improvement in the social and cultural heritage. People A state with 100% literacy, world standards of health, and a hard working, determined, dedicated population is always setting standards in all most all the spheres of its activity. In more modern times the Keralites have migrated in large numbers in search of employment to several foreign countries like United States, Malaysia and Singapore in South East Asia as well as to several countries of Africa and West Asia. The professionals of Kerala are among the most wanted experts in the fields of medicine, Information Technology etc. Religion Kerala is known for its communal harmony and it is achieved by Kerala’s interaction with varied cultures and ways of life, both indigenous and foreign. Originally its people followed the Dravidian way of life and religious practice. In due course many indigenous religions and philosophical systems from North India made their appearance on Kerala soil and competed with one another for the loyalties of the people. The story of the synthesis of Dravidian and Aryan cultures and the rise and fall of religions like Jainism and Buddhism in ancient Kerala is of particular interest to those engaged in the study of the story of cultural synthesis. At the same time Kerala’s commercial contacts with foreign countries, world religions like Christianity, Judaism and Islam were also introduced in the land and they helped considerably in shaping the composite culture of the land Along a sun drenched coastline, to the extreme south west of the Indian peninsula, lies Kerala, beautiful and benign. Flanked by the Arabian sea on the west and the mountains of the Western Ghats on the east, this land of Parasurama stretch north-south along a coast line of 580 kms with a varying width of 35 to 120 kms. Cascading delicately down the hills to the golden coasts covered by verdant coconut groves, the topography and physical characteristics change distinctly from east to west. Located between north latitudes 8 degree 18' and 12 degree 48' and east longitudes 74 degree 52' and 72 degree 22', this land of eternal beauty encompasses 1.18 per cent of the country. The Western Ghats, bordering the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost continuous mountain wall, except near Palakkad where there is a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap. The average elevation of the Ghats is about 1500 meters above sea level, occasionally soaring to peaks of 2000 to 2500 m. From the Ghats, the land slopes to west on to the plains, into an unbroken coastline. The nature of the terrain and its physical features, divides an east west cross section of the state into three district regions - hill and valleys , midland plains and coastal region. Population Data Kerala has 31,838,619 people according to the 2001 census, which is nearly 3.44 per cent of the country's population. Her population density is 819 persons per sq.km., the third in India and clocks at thrice the national average. The sex-ratio recorded in this census is 1058 females per 1000 males. The state has a unique place in the literacy map of India, with a literacy rate of 90.92%. According to 2001, the birth rate is 18.3 and death rate is 6.4. The coastal belt is thickly populated, and it is the hilly tracts where the density of population is the lowest. The rate of increase of population is slowing down. From about 135 lakh in 1951, the population increased to 169 lakh by 1961, 213 lakh by 1971, 254 lakh by 1981, 291 lakh by 1991 and 274 lakh by 2001. Hills & Valleys This strip of land on the eastern edge, close to the Ghats, comprises of steep mountains and deep valleys, covered with dense forests. Almost all the rivers of the state originate here. Tea and coffee estates have cropped up in the high ranges during the last two centuries. Midland Plains In this central region, the hills are not very steep and the valleys are wide. The valleys have been developed as paddy fields and the elevated lands and hill slopes, converted into estates of rubber, fruit trees and other cash crops like pepper, tapioca, etc. Coastal Belt This strip near the coastline, is comparatively plain. Extensive paddy fields, thick groves of coconut trees and picturesque backwaters, interconnected with canals and rivers, are the features of this region. In the southern and northern parts of the state, the coastal belt also has some hills and valleys. Backwaters & Rivers Backwaters: The backwaters are a peculiar feature of the state. Canals link the lakes and backwaters to facilitate an uninterrupted inland water navigation system from Thiruvananthapuram to Vadakara, a distance of 450 kms. The Vembanad lake stretching from Alappuzha to Kochi is the biggest water basin and is over 200 sq.kms. in area. Water-logged Kuttanad alone forms more than 20 per cent of India's total length of waterways. Rivers: There are 44 rivers in the state, of which 41 originate from the Western Ghats and flow towards west into the Arabian sea. Three tributaries of the river Cauvery originate in Kerala and flow east into the neighbouring States. These rivers and streams flowing down from the Western Ghats either empty themselves in to the backwaters in the coastal area or directly into the Arabian Sea. As the Western Ghats are nowhere more than 120 kms from the sea, all these rivers are comparatively short. The important rivers from north to south are; Valapattanam river (110 kms.), Chaliar (69 kms.), Kadalundipuzha (130 kms.), Bharathapuzha (209 kms.), Chalakudy river (130 kms.), Periyar (244 kms), Pamba (176 kms), Achancoil (128 kms.) and Kalladayar (121 kms.). Other than these, there are 35 more small rivers and rivulets flowing down from the Ghats. Most of these rivers are navigable up to the midland region for country crafts which provide a cheap and reliable transport system. The presence of a large number of rivers has made Kerala rich in water resources which are being harnessed for power generation and irrigation. Rivers/ Rivelets of Kerala Name of river/rivelets Length in Kms. (A) West Flowing 1 Majeswar 16 2 Uppala 50 3 Shiriya 67 4 Mogral 34 5 Chandragiri 105 6 Chittari 25 7 Nileswar 46 8 Kariangode 64 9 Kavvaiyi 31 10 Peruvamba 51 11 Ramapuram 19 12 Kuppam 82 13 Valapattanam 110 14 Anjarakandy 48 15 Tellicherry 28 16 Mahe 54 17 Kuttiyadi 74 18 Korapuzha 46 19 Kallai 22 20 Chaliyar 169 21 Kadalundi 130 22 Tirur 48 23 Bharathapuzha 209 24 Keecheri 51 25 Puzhakkal 29 26 Karuvannur 48 27 Chalakudy 130 28 Periyar 244 29 Muvattupuzha 121 30 Meenachil 78 31 Manimala 90 32 Pamba 176 33 Achencoil 128 34 Pallickal 42 35 Kallada 121 36 Ithikara 56 37 Ayoor 17 38 Vamanapuram 88 39 Mamom 27 40 Karamana 68 41 Neyyar 56 (B) East Flowing(Tributaries of Kaveri) 42 Kabani 43 Bhavani 44 Pambar Rain Fall Kerala receives a fairly good annual rainfall varying from 1250 to 5000 mm.The normal annual rainfall of Kerala is 3107 mm.(national average is 1197mm). The State has the benefit of the South West and North East monsoon. Although, quantum wise the rainfall received is fairly high, its distribution shows wide temporal and spatial variations. On an average the number of rainy days is in the range of 120-140 in a year. The annual yield of water in Kerala in a normal year is around 7030 crores cubic metres. The utilizable water resource is around 4200 crore cubic metres. The highest rainfall occurs in the high ranges of Idukki district where it exceeds 500 cm. This diversity of rainfall makes it very cold high up in the mountains, while lower down at an elevation of 1000 to 1500 meters, a bracing climate is experienced. In the plains and lowlands, it is generally warm and humid. Maximum temperature is around 36.7 degree C and the minimum is about 19.8 degree C