Kerala

A Charming Myth Explains the Creation of Kerala, the narrow state running 560 km (350 mi) along India's western coast. Parashurama, an avatar of Vishnu, performed a series of penances to atone for a grievous sin, and the god of the sea rewarded his devotion by reclaiming Kerala from the deep.

In 1956 the Malayalam-speaking states of Kochi and Travancore joined with the district of Malabar to form Kerala. The new Indian state became the first place in the world to adopt a communist government in a free election, an event that caused global speculation. Today this tropical enclave between the western mountains and the Arabian Sea is one of India's most progressive states, with a literacy rate of well over 90% and a life expectancy far higher than the Indian average. Even in the shabbiest backwater "toddy shop," where locals knock back glasses of potent coconut liquor, you'll find a copy of the day's newspaper. However, despite Kerala's very real accomplishments, unemployment remains endemic. Its citizens depends to a large degree on remittances (money sent from abroad). To be able to provide for their families back home, many Keralan men must leave to work in the Persian Gulf.

The Malayalis make up India's most highly educated population; many are conversant in English, Hindi, and Tamil, as well as Malayalam. In the nearly three millennia before the 1795 establishment of British rule, Phoenicians, Arabs, Jews, Chinese, and Europeans came in droves, attracted by the region's valuable cash crops: tea, rubber, cashews, teak, and spices—most notably black pepper and cardamom.

Since Independence, people have begun using the place names that were used prior to British colonization. The British had a strong presence in Kerala, so name changes are particularly germane here; hence Alleppey/Alappuzha, Calicut/Kozhikode, Cochin/Kochi, Quilon/Kollam, Trichur/Thrissur, and Trivandrum/Thiruvananthapuram. Official maps and tourist brochures reflect these changes but both the Anglicized and Malayalam names are still commonly used.

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