The Indian state by Malabar coast (South-western India) was formed on 1 November 1956 among Malayalam speaking regions covering an area of ~15,000 sq miles.
Malayalam is my mother tongue and I've had the privilege to learn the language and works in this language until 15 years of age from some of the best teachers I've had growing up ( 🙏 ).
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Tall tamarind trees, jackfruit, mangoes, coconuts, and plantains fill my thoughts from childhood among the many common sights when you take a stroll out on a road in this paradise. Not to mention the crows, myna, dogs, grey mongoose, and the plethora of accessible dirt, coast, and earth to play with.
The state (most of her) experiences a humid Tropical rainforest climate. The one I was used to, growing up and living in Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram). Never-the-less, experiences with hand fans, light natural wind (ilam kaattu), food, festivals, travel, ocean, and public swimming ponds we played sports in, friends from adolescence and beyond, make this land sweet and calling.
The humid climate is typical for 10 - 15 degrees latitude and Kerala spans between 8°18' and 12°48'.🗺
Interestingly, the geography has 370 miles along the coast and the width of the state spans a thin strip - 7mi to 75mi. Not to mention that the 75 miles at places clearly show the climatic divide among eastern highlands, rugged mountains, (Idukki) rolling hills, western lowlands, and coastal plains (Eranakulam).
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If you find yourself in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), take the train via Alappuzha (Alleppey) north to Thrissur to view the coastal plains and backwaters. Take the road back and have food from every district (Thrissur, Eranakulam, (Kottayam), Alappuzha, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram).
Use Google (or ask around - best to ask the chettan(bro)/chechi(sis) with an Auto rikshaw) to find the best restaurant/shop/home-kitchen/street-vehicle with traditional cuisine. Get to know Toddy if you'd like sweet alcohol (definitely acquired taste as I've heard brothers with a liking discuss) and my suggestion would be to drive through Kottayam **with a local friend**.
The state gives ample importance to traditional industries and traditional art forms. The people and government here, tend to make healthy choices for the land. I just hope and believe that we shall progress to find the balance and live with nature (worldwide humanity). Note to self here would be: Think, Be, Do!
Kalaripayattu
One of the long-standing martial art forms in India, Kalaripayattu has its roots in Ayurveda and Yoga. Knowledge here for sure is getting us a step closer to understanding embodied cognition. Let us learn!
The work below was a trial on bringing back certain memories from my childhood and depicting the art of Kalari (which is not sth I practice or know about).
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