People of Kerala: an Amazing Race of People

•People of Kerala: An amazing race of people, following a unique lifestyle-the perfect blend of traditional, time-honored practices and progressive, innovative trends. •Kerala Food: A delectable cuisine, unique to the region which involves the locally available ingredients such as coconuts, seafood, rice etc. •Performing Arts: An interesting combination of dance, music, theater and mythology. Apart from the famous folk dances viz. Kathakali, Koothu and Mohiniyattom, a tradition of ritual arts are such as Theyyam, Kummattikkali and Mudiyettu has also been kept alive •Kerala Music: Like the rest of South India, Kerala’s classical music is essentially Carnatic, raag – taal based music. It is also famed for Sopanam. Music is an integral part of the every day life. There are the traditional folk songs for occasions such as marriages and childbirth and also the devotional songs such as Ayyappanpattu and Maripattu. A number of musical instruments including wind and string instruments, percussions are played and practiced in Kerala. •Kerala Painting: Other than the unique art of body painting for specific dance forms such as Kathakali, Kerala has a rich style of oil paintings.

While the state identifies with the rest of India in its use of henna to paint parts of the body such as hands and feet, Kerala has also its singular art forms of floor drawings and paintings (Kalamezhuthu). •Kerala Handicrafts: Among the variety of handicrafts produced in Kerala, the more renowned are sandalwood items, woodcraft, handlooms and metal work (especially brass and copper). •Kerala Martial Arts and Sports: Sports and Martial Arts take prime importance in the life of a Malayali. Not only are sport competitions (such as rowing competitions) part of the Festival customs, there is, in Kerala, a tradition of martial arts training. Many of these are holistic physical development systems and are tauht in combination with ayurveda, accupressure, herbalism etc. •Malayalam Literature: Though the origins of are generally traced to Tamil, due to its affinity to the classical language, Malayalam has evolved and is a vast ocean as it stands today. The prose, poetry and plays are appreciated by critics worldwide. •Malayalam Calendar (Kollavarsham): The Malayalis use a calendar called the Kollavarsham in which the year starts from Onam in mid September.