X-Nico

30 unusual facts about Kerala


Ahichatra

Nairs and Bunts of Kerala and Tulu Nadu who claim Kshatriya descent from the nagas as well as Namputhiri and Tuluva Brahmins(Hindu philosophers Adi Shankara and Madhvacharya belonging to these communities) trace their origins to this place.

Appam

It is a staple diet and a cultural synonym of the Nasranis (also known as Saint Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians) of Kerala, India.

Banana chip

Fried banana chips, usually made in the Indian state of Kerala, and known locally as nenthra-kaaya oopperi or upperi, are fried in coconut oil.

Bonda

Keralites prefer the sweet one called Sugiyan, while the savoury version is common in the rest of India.

Communion of Churches in India

The name change to the Communion of Churches in India was declared a meeting of the delegates of the Joint Council assembled at Santhigiri, Aluva, Kerala from 7 to 10 March 2004.

Devan Nair

Nair was born in Malacca, Malaysia, the son of an Indian immigrant I.V.K. Nair, from Thalassery, Kerala.

Education reform

For example, in Kerala, India in the 1950s, increases in women's health were correlated with increases in female literacy rates.

Elections in Kerala

Panchayat Elections is a term widely used in Kerala, India, for the polls that are held to select the Local Self-government Representatives.

Goa Inquisition

In 1599 under Aleixo de Menezes, the Synod of Diamper forcefully converted the East Syriac Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Syrian Christians or Nasranis) of Kerala to the Roman Catholic Church.

Guru Gopinath Natana Gramam

Guru Gopinath Nadana Gramam is located in a place called Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala.

Holy of Holies

The Saint Thomas Christians (also known as Nasrani or Syrian Christians) from Kerala, South India still follow a lot of Jewish Christian tradition.

Jami'a Nooriyya Arabic College

Jamia Nooriyya Arabic College is a religious higher educational institute of Sunni Muslims of Kerala, India, founded by Ahamed Mohiyudheen Noorishah Jeelani.

Keralolpathi

The Keralolpathi (Malayalam: കേരളോല്പത്തി kēraḷōlpatti; literally 'Kerala's Origin') is a Malayalam work that deals with the origin of the land of Kerala.

Konkani in the Roman script

Konkani is a language that is spoken by 3.6 million speakers mostly on the western coast of the Indian states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

Kuruvilla

Kuruvilla (also spelt as Kuruvila) is a rare Christian First Name from Kerala, South India.

Kutuvantavida

Kutuvantavida in Malayalam / കുടുവ൯ടവിട / is a family name in the Malabar region of Kerala, India.

Ladakh International Film Festival

The festival was organized by Kerala-based filmmaker Melwyn Williams Chirayath and his business associate Meghna Dubey, partners at Monasse Films.

Madra

Bhagvatam Purana attests that the prince of Madra along with princes from Matsya, Usinara, Kosala, Vidharbha, Kuru, Srnjaya, Kamboja, Kekaya, Kunti, Anarta, Kerala was present at Samanta-pancaka at the occasion of the solar eclipse.

Narasimhavarman II

Kutiyattam, which is presently considered as the most ancient available form of Tamil dance drama and still in vogue in Kerala, uses some of his plays (like kailasodharanam) for subject matter and so does chakyar koothu another ancient Tamil dramatized worship service.

Palghat Anantharama Bhagavatar

He was a native of Palakkad, Kerala and was known for his powerful voice and individual style in singing.

Panampilly Nagar

Panampilly Nagar is a residential zone in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India.

Protestantism in India

Protestants in India are a minority in a predominantly Hindu country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and sizeable minorities in Kerala and various east coast and northern states.

Pygmy elephant

Recent claims have been made from the southern end of the Western Ghats (in the southern Indian state of Kerala) concerning a dwarf species of elephant called "Kallana," a team of elephant experts have not yet found evidence of their existence in the area.

Sivagiri

Sivagiri, Kerala where sage and saint His Holiness Sree Narayana Guru's tomb is located

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit

Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) is a research oriented Public University located at Kalady near Kochi in Kerala.

Thantri

Thantri or Tantri is the Vedic head priest of Hindu temples in Kerala and a very few temples of coastal Karnataka in southern India.

Thantris have the sole right to conduct certain core rituals in temples of Kerala and Tulunadu.

Tulu calendar

Tulu calendar (also known as Varsa or Vorsa) is one of the oldest traditional Indian solar calendars, generally used in the regions of South-West Karnataka and Northern Kerala, India.

Unnuneeli Sandesam

Besides the literary value of the work, it throws light on the geography of Kerala of that period.

Verukal

Verukal tells the story of a family of Tamil speaking Iyers who settled in Kerala.


2011 Sabarimala stampede

Amid a renewed debate after this stampede, Kerala High Court wanted to know whether or not the ‘Makarajyothi' is a man-made phenomenon, asking about the authenticity of the hallowed celestial light visible from Sabarimala.

Abraham Kovoor

After working briefly as a junior professor in Kerala, he spent the rest of his life in Sri Lanka, teaching botany in several colleges before retiring in 1959 as a teacher at Thurstan College, Colombo.

Adoor Prakash

He served as the Minister of Food & Civil supplies in the Oommen Chandy Ministry from 2004 to 2006.Presently he is the Revenue Minister of Kerala in the cabinet headed by Oommen Chandy.

Alattiyur, Malappuram

Govinda Bhattathiri, a legendary figure in the Kerala astrological traditions, was born in this village in 1237 CE.

Anti-Christian violence in Karnataka

The violence soon spread to Kolar, Dakshina Kannada and minor damage was reported from the state border of Kasaragod in Kerala.

Aripara Falls

Aripara Falls (alternate spelling: Arippara Falls) is a tourist spot in Anakkampoyil near Thiruvambady Town in Kozhikode district, Kerala.

Benny Behanan

Benny Behanan was born to O. Thomas and Chinnamma Thomas on 22 August 1952 at Vengola, near Perumbavoor in present day Kerala state, South India.

Bishop Moore College

Bishop Moore College is an aided college in Mavelikkara, Alappuzha district of Kerala, India.

Chavittu Nadakam

This form of play is prevalent among the Latin Christian community in the districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur of Kerala.

Cheriya Konni

Cheriya Konni is a small village in the suburb of Trivandrum district of Kerala, India, located 14 km from the Kerala Constituent assembly and 15 km from the Secretariat.

Dimapur

Besides the dominant Naga tribes who comprise about 50% of the city's population, other prominent groups include Dimasas, Bengalis, Assamese, Oriyas, Nepalese, Biharis, Marwaris, Punjabis and also Tamils and Keralites.

Edapally Rajas

Edappalli Rajas ("Kings of Edappalli", known to the Portuguese as Repolim and to the Dutch as Repleim) were the rulers of the late medieval feudal kingdom of Edappally (Elangallur Swarupam), which also included parts of Kallooppara, Karthikapally, Haripad, Cherthala, Vazhakulam,(muvattupuzha) in the present day state of Kerala, India.

Erickavu N. Sunil

Erickavu N. Sunil was born (on 15 March 1977) to K. Narayana Panicker and V. Saraswathi Amma in Haripad, Kerala, India.

Gandhi Nagar, Kochi

Gandhi Nagar is one of the two earliest (the other being Panampilly Nagar) planned housing colonies in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India.

Goans

Goans have been migrating all along the coast and across the world for the last six centuries because of many socio-religious and economic reasons, the diaspora are commonly known as the Konkani people, residing in the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala who do not refer to themselves as Goans.

Gurukula

By the colonial era the gurukula system was declining in India except in a few regions, such as Kerala, where the warrior Nair clan and their own military gurukula, called kalari, still maintained the tradition.

Horaglanis krishnai

Horaglanis krishnai, the Indian blind catfish, is a species of airbreathing catfish endemic to India where it is found in wells in the area of Kottayam in Kerala.

INS Magdala

The ship was a part of the 20th Mine Counter Measure Squadron (MCMS) and was placed under the Naval Officer-in-Charge (Kerala & Lakshadweep) at Kochi.

Jasuben Shilpi

Her sculpture works have been installed in Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttarakhand.

Kallooppara St. Marys Orthodox Church

Mary's Orthodox Church is situated at the heart of a small village called Kallooppara, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India.

Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology

The Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology (KCAET), the only Agricultural Engineering college in Kerala, is situated at Tavanur in Malappuram district.

Kerala Cricket Association

Instead of the star in the crest, a stylised image of Imperial Insignia of Sree Padmanabha's Shankha, which was the state emblem of the Kingdom of Travancore as well as state emblem of the State of Kerala, is used.

Kunchan

Kunchan Nambiar (1705–1770), 18th-century satirist from Kerala, who was the originator of Ottamthullal

Literacy in India

Kerala undertook a "campaign for total literacy" in Ernakulam district in the late 1980s, with a "fusion between the district administration headed by its Collector on one side and, on the other side, voluntary groups, social activists and others".

Little Flower Public School

Field visits are organised for all classes, including to Kanyakumari, Kerala, Madurai, Vishakapatnam, Mekedatu, Western Ghats, Goa, Ooty, Kodaikanal, Hampi and Hyderabad.

M.E.S. Ponnani College, Ponnani

M.E.S Founder Dr. P. K. Abdul Gafoor,Former Kerala ministers E. K. Imbichi Bava and C.H. Mohammed Koya have major role in establishment of this college.

Madhu Omalloor

Dr. Madhu Omallur (aka P. Madhusoodanan Pillai), a cartoonist and journalist was born on 28-10-1954 at Omallur, Pathanamthitta District in Kerala.

Malabar large-spotted civet

In 1987, two skins were obtained near Nilambur in northern Kerala, an area that is dominated by cashew and rubber plantations.

Meenmutty Falls

Meenmutty Falls, Thiruvananthapuram, a waterfall in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala

Neralattu Rama Poduval

Neralattu Rama Poduval or Njaralathu Rama Poduval (1921–1996) was an exponent of the ashtapadi/sopanam music form practised in Kerala in southern India.

Neyyar

Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, a sanctuary in the southern state of Kerala in India

Nirakazhcha

Nirakazhcha tells the story of an Italian painter who visits Kerala to recreate the magnificent Raja Ravi Varma paintings.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple

As trustees of the temple, the Travancore Royal family have challenged the Kerala High Court's decision in the Supreme Court of India.

Pallana

The special remark of pallana is, here is the eternal resting place of great poet Mahakavi Kumaran Asan the true representative of cultural renaissance in Kerala who is introduced the new form of poetry called’Khandakavia’ to Malayalam.

Pazhaya Suriyani Pally

Pazhaya Suriyani Pally (loosely translated as Old Syrian Church) is located at Chengannur, 117 km north of the Kerala state capital Thiruvananthapuram on the MC Road.

Perunna Subrahmanya Swami Temple

This is the first temple in Kerala which was opened to all Hindus (irrespective of the caste), as per the order of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma of Travancore kingdom.

Peruvanam Pooram

Although the more popular Thrissur Pooram can be accredited with bringing major changes to the conduct of Poorams in Kerala, the Peruvanam Pooram claims a rich history, and it has witnessed a lot of innovations/additions, some of which form the core of temple festivals in Kerala.The first performance of the Panchari melam is said to have been performed for the Pooram of Urakathamma Thiruvadi, at the Peruvanam Pooram.

Phyllanthus emblica

According to Hindu tradition, Adi Shankara of Kerala composed and recited the Kanakadhara stotram in praise of Mahalakshmi to make a poor Brahmin lady get wealth, in return for a single amla presented to him as bhiksha on an auspicious dwadashi day.

Piranoor

Up to 1956, this area was a toll gate between the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, so this area is known as Border (பார்டர்).

Poonjar

Raghubir Singh, the famed National Geographic photographer, has published photographs of this temple, nestled in the foothills of the high ranges of Kerala, in National Geographic.

Seal of Kerala

The current emblem of Kerala was adopted in 1960 when Pattom A. Thanu Pillai's government came to power after removal of communist government by Indian Central Government.

South Zone cricket team

It is a composite team of players from six first-class Indian teams from southern India competing in the Ranji Trophy: Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Hyderabad, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Malayattoor

St. Thomas founded churches in different places in Kerala including Kollam, Kodungalloor, Nilakkal, Niranam, etc.

Vilayil Fazeela

She started her career with V. M. Kutty who is a well known 'Mappilappattu' singer and writer in Kerala and married Mohamed Ali.

Vira Varma

Vira Varma and his nephews, Ravi Varma and Kerala Varma (Pazhassi Raja) rose to prominence in turbulent days that followed Hyder Ali's invasion of Malabar in 1774.

Vishuva Sankranti

Maha Vishuva Sankranti is similar to the New Year festivals observed elsewhere in India such as Baisakhi (Punjab), Bihu (Assam), Juir Sheetal (Mithila), Naba Barsha (Bengal), Bisu Parba (Tulu Nadu region in Karnataka), Vishu (Kerala), and Puthandu (Tamil Nadu).

Visitor attractions in Thrissur

Situated near the banks of Nila, this museum was the residence of the poet who built Kerala Kalamandalam, a centre of training in Kerala arts.