This document provides an overview of the Indian state of Kerala. It describes Kerala's geography as situated along the Arabian Sea coast with Western Ghats mountains to the east. The economy is service-based and Kerala leads India in human development and literacy. Major crops include rice, coconut, spices and the population density is high. Malayalam is the official language and festivals include Onam and Theyyam. Kerala culture is influenced by both Aryan and Dravidian traditions and features classical Carnatic music, dances, and traditional clothing.

1. KERALA
“God’s Own Country”

2. Geography
Kerala (38,863 km²; 1.18% of India’s landmass) is situated between the Arabian
Sea to the west and the Western Ghats to the east. Kerala’s coast runs some
580 km in length, while the state itself varies between 35–120 km in width.
Geographically, Kerala roughly divides into three climatically distinct regions.
These include the eastern highlands (rugged and cool mountainous terrain), the
central midlands (rolling hills), and the western lowlands (coastal plains). There
are 14 cities in Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram is the capital city of Kerala.

3. HISTORY
According to Hindu mythology, Kerala was created by Parasuram,
one of the avatars’ of MahaVishnu.
Geologists believe that Kerala was formed by some seismic
activity, gradually or suddenly.
Sea trade started with the Phoenicians, and in 1000 BC Kerala was
visited by King Solomon's ships that travelled to the Puvar, south
of Trivandrum. Then followed the galleys of other far-off countries :
Greece, Rome, Arabia, China.

4. ECONOMY
 Service Industry dominates the Kerala economy.
 Kerala leads many other Indian states and territories in terms of per capita
GDP and economic productivity.
 Human Development Index of Kerala's is the best in India.
 Some describe Kerala's economy as a "democratic socialist welfare state“
 Around 3,000,000 Keralites are working abroad.
 Kerala is the most literate state in India, with 93.91% literacy.

5. Main Occupation
 Population of some 24 million people with an overall density of
1,600 persons per square mile. About one-sixth is forest; of the rest,
most of the land is cultivated often with maximum efficiency
according to current Indian standards.
 Fishing- plays a big part in Kerala's cultural and commercial life.
Motorization of boats, better storage, and more efficient marketing
have been undertaken during the past twenty-five years.

6. MAIN CROPS
Rice is the main crop being the staple
food of the masses.
After rice, coconut is the chief crop; the
coconut acreage is nearly equal to that of
rice.
Spices like cardamom, pepper, gingelly,
cloves, and ginger are important peasant-
produced cash crops.

7. LANGUAGES
Allar language, Aranadan Language, Mannan, Kadar,
Malapandaram, Malaryan, Malavedan, Paliyan, Paniya, Ravula,
Eravallan, Irula language, Kanikkaran language, Betta Kurumba
language, Muthuvan, Tamil, Yerukula, Kodava, Jennu Kurumba,
Mullu Kurumba, Urali, Wayanad Chetti, Korra Koraga, Mudu
Koraga, Bellari, Kudiya, Tulu, Mala Malasar, Malasar,
Thachanadan, Ullatan, Kalanadi, Kumbaran, Kunduvadi, Attapady
Kurumba, Mudugu and Pathiya and Judeo-Malayalam
Malayalam is classified as a South Dravidian language. It is the
official language of Kerala. All Keralites consider Malayalam as
their mother tongue.

8. LITERATURE
The earliest known extant literary work in Malayalam is Ramacharitam, an epic
poem written in the late 13th or early 13th century.
For the first 600 years of the Malayalam calendar, Malayalam literature remained in a
preliminary stage. During this time, Malayalam literature consisted mainly of various genres
of songs. The most prominent among these were songs praising the goddesses of the land,
ballads of brave warriors, songs related to the work of a particular caste and songs intended
just for entertainment. Bhadrakali pattu, thottam pattu, mavaratham pattu, sasthanga pattu,
nizhalkoothu pattu and lullaby were some of the major subgenres. These names were not used
historically, but are used in modern times to describe the song genres of that time.

9. FESTIVALS
onam
THEYYAM
PADAYANI
BOAT RACES
POORAM

10. SOCIAL CULTURE & TRADITIONS
The culture of Kerala is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures,
developed and mixed for centuries, under influences from other parts of
India and abroad.
The culture of Kerala evolved through the Sanskritization of Dravidian
ethos, revivalism of religious movements and reform movements against
caste discrimination. Kerala showcases a culture unique to itself developed
through accommodation, acculturation and assimilation of various faculties
of civilized lifestyle.

11. DANCE & MUSIC
 The ragas and talas of lyrical and
devotional carnatic music — another
native product of South India —
dominates Keralite classical musical
genres.
 Kerala has its own native music
system, sopanam, which is a
lugubrious and step-by-step rendition
of raga-based songs.

12. FASHION

13. നന്ദി
THANK YOU
BY
MAHALAKSHMI
മഹാലക്ഷ്മി