Kerala, the land of greenery, has had a unique tradition of culture, literature and the arts all along. It has developed through the centuries its own typical art forms, both classical and contemporary as well as folk art and culture including folk music, folk dance and folk rituals. The State is rich in its cultural heritage and has been making attempts to preserve it. Each region of Kerala is gifted with its own culture and is known to be the forerunner of a typical art form

Malayalam literature is the traditional school of literature in the state of Kerala. The Malayalam literature belonging to the district of Ernakulam is an integral part of the culture of the city of Kochi. Malayalam literature is also the literature of Kochi, as Kochi happens to be a prime industrial city in Ernakulam district of Kerala. Therefore, all important aspects on Malayalam literature form a significant part of the literary history of the city of Kochi.

Cherusseri Namboodiri is the person who gave a new turn to Malayalam literature. He initiated pure Malayalam literature in the text ‘Krishna Gatha’ in the initial part of the 15th century. This was followed by a mixed form of Malayalam literature, which was an amalgamation of verse and writing with a liberal usage of Sanskrit words.

The ‘Ramacharitham’which is as old as 1300 AD is supposed to be the most ancient written document in Malayalam. Hence, his contribution is a significant part of the basic information on Malayalam literature and Kochi.

Towards the beginning, Malayalam literature followed the ‘Mani-pravalam’ style. The ‘Mani-pravalam style’ was continued by the writers of Malayalam literature until the time of Cherusseri Namboodiri.

The post 18th century Malayalam literature is generally termed the modern phase of Malayalam literature. In the 18th century, a new type of literature became popular, which is a form of dance-drama called the ‘Thullal’. The later part of the 19th century saw many translation works, along with dramas, essays on a variety of subjects, novels, journals and poems.

Actually Malayalam literature of this part of Kerala has its linguistic origin in the family of languages called the Dravidian language family. The Old Tamil literature of the Sangam era may be termed the immediate predecessor of the Malayalam literature of today.

The culture of Kerala is a blend of Dravidian and Aryan cultures. During the 10th century, Kerala was a part of great Tamil heritage region known as Tamizhakam and was greatly influenced by the Dravidian culture. Many of the art forms of Kochi and in Kerala such as Vilasini Nrithyam are derived from its neighbouring cultures. The art forms exclusive to the state include Koodiyattom, in which Chakyar is the main actor who performs the ritualistic Koothu and attam inside the temple Koothambalam; Kathakali, which is a combination of five elements of fine art viz. Bhava (Expression), Natya (Dance), Abhinaya (Enactment) , Sangeetha (Song) and Thaala (Instrument); Ottamthulal in which a single actor wears colorful costumes, recites verses in Malayalam and performs acting and dancing; Mohiniattam which originates from the words ‘Mohini’ meaning an enchantress and ‘aattam’ meaning body movement; Chakyar Koothu in which ‘Koothu’ is indicative of gesticulations and facial expressions combined with sloka recitation in Sanskrit followed by story telling.

Kochi and the surrounding districts are also famous for the percussion ensemble of Panchavadyam in which hundreds of artistes use five different types of wind and percussion instruments to perform a harmonious concert lasting three to four hours. Thayambaka is a solo performance comprising the chenda (drum), ilatalam (cymbals), itantala (treble) and valanthala (bass).

The cuisine of Kochi consists of some truly savourable salivating delicacies in its bag, majority of which are mildly flavored and very scrumptious. Most of the dishes categorized under Kochi cuisine are quite light and do not pose any health hassles. The delicious culinary delicacies of Kochi offer great diversity in both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. Especially during festival season, a lot of variety can be found in meals and snacks. Traditional meals on plantain leaves are served on these occasions. A typical ‘sadya’ consists of boiled rice along with an array of sweet, sour and spicy vegetarian main and side dishes namely sambar, avail, kaalan, olan, erissery, pulissery, pachadi, kichadi, koottucurry, stew and thoran, along with assorted pickles, chips and pappadam.The meal is complete with the serving of the mouthwatering pradhaman or payasam.

The bananas form an integral wing of the cuisine of Kochi for the simple reason that bananas are grown in sumptuous quantities in these parts. Thus, this amazingly tasty fruit has made its way into a good number of the dishes of Kerala. One of the very famous dishes here that has become universally popular is the hot, crisp banana chips made out of finely sliced rounded banana pieces deep fried in pure coconut oil, named ‘kaya varuthathu’. ‘Pazhapulincurry’ is a hot and sour curry made from ripe bananas cooked in a gravy of coconut paste, chillies and spices. ‘Pazhapulissery’ is got by blending boiled bananas with yogurt and chilly-coconut paste. Yet another culinary delight is the sweet ‘sarkaravaratti’ which is prepared by plunging bananas into a thick sauce of melted sugar and frying it.

Bananas in grated and mashed form, blended uniformly with dough prepared from rice flour are used in making the typical Kerala 'Puttu’ which, taken alongwith stew or any spicy pulse curry, is a popular choice for breakfast. Coconut and coconut oil are generously utilized in many of the common and exotic vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes of Kochi.

Sea food is another speciality of the city of Kochi. Some of the popular marine cuisine from Ernakulam and Kochi are 'Meen Vevichathu' (boiled fish), ‘Meen Varuthathu’ (fish fry), ‘Meen Pollichathu’ (steamed fish) and ‘Meen Curry’ (fish cooked in spicy gravy). Stuffed mussels, prawns curry, fish molee, ‘Karimeen Thullichathu’, mango fish curry and fish vada form some of the more exotic items prepared in these parts.

Thus, it can be seen that the Queen of the Arabian Sea in Kerala claimed of a unique history of art and culture throughout. Kochi, alongwith the suburbs in Ernakulam, with its industrial parks and technological advancements, has now become the commercial capital of Kerala.

Places in plenty, unlimited scenery, land of love and cultural beauty…..what else could describe God’s Own Country?