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29 unusual facts about Kerala


Bonda

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

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Some regional variants in Kerala replace the potato with tapioca (Tapioca Bonda) or sweet potato and some onion, hard boiled egg (Mutta Bonda), masala, minced meat and other ingredients.

Clofazimine

One of the only suppliers of clofazimine's active pharmaceutical ingredient in the world is Sangrose Laboratories, located at Mavelikara in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Devan Nair

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

Elections in Kerala

Elections in Kerala are regularly held to fill government officials at all levels of government in both Kerala and India as a whole.

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.

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.

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.

Kairali

Kairali literally means "originating from 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.

Leif Frode Onarheim

From 1965 to 1967 he worked at the Indo-Norwegian Project on development aid in Kerala.

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.

Malayalam calendar

Malayalam Calendar (also known as Malayalam Era or Kollavarsham or Kollam Era) is a solar and sidereal calendar used in Kerala, India.

Mallya

Mallya or Mahale, is a common surname among Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat Brahmins across the Konkan coast from Maharashtra to Kerala.

Mohammed Eeza

He was a son of the social and religious reformer of Kerala Vakkom Moulavi.

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.

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.

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.

Pazhuvil Church

This church is one of the famous pilgrimage centers in Kerala.

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.

Shelley Malil

Shelley Mathew Malil (born in Kerala, India; December 23, 1964) is an Indian-born American actor.

Sivagiri

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

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.

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

Unnuneeli Sandesam

The work was written in the 14th century AD, when transport and communications were very limited in Kerala.

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


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.

Angana P. Chatterji

In this, Chatterji worked with Indian People's Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights, with Mihir Desai, Retired Chief Justice K.K. Usha of Kerala, Sudhir Pattnaik, Ram Puniyani, Colin Gonsalves and others.

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.

Basel Evangelical Mission Parsi High School, Thalassery

The school, managed by the North Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India, was upgraded to a high school by Rev. C. Mueller who came here to assist German missionary Hermann Gundert.

Bijendra Rai

On 5 December 2013 it was announced that Bijendra has signed up with Eagles F.C. of Kerala on loan for 2013-14 season along with Nadong Bhutia, Avinabo Bag, Jagroop Singh, Bisheshwor Singh, Biswajit Saha, Ramandeep Singh and Govin Singh.

Bishop Moore College

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

Chavara

The public sector companies like KMML ( Kerala Minerals and metals Ltd)and IRE (Indian Rare Earths Ltd) are located in kerala.

Cherian Philip

In 2006, he contested as CPM – Independent candidate for Kerala Assembly Elections from Kallooppara and lost to Joseph M Puthussery (KCM -Kerala CongressMani.

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.

Divya Prabha Eye Hospital

Dr. Suseela Prabhakaran, the founder Director of the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kerala State, India, founded the hospital.

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.

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.

Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala

The case originated in February 1970 when Swami HH Sri Kesavananda Bharati, Senior Pontiff and head of "Edneer Mutt" - a Hindu Mutt situated in Edneer, a village in Kasaragod District of Kerala, challenged the Kerala government's attempts, under two state land reform acts, to impose restrictions on the management of its property.

Kunchan

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

Lakeshore Hospital

Lakeshore is a Super-speciality Hospital located at Kochi in Kerala, India.

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.

Mala Synagogue

The Mala Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in the India, located in Mala in Thrissur district of Kerala State.

Manjanikkara Dayara

It is situated at the top of the hillock in Manjanikkara, near Omallur, Pathanamthitta District, in South Kerala, India.

Manjula Chellur

In 2013 the Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, consisting of Chief Justice Chellur and Justice Vinod Chandran, ordered the state government to submit a statement regarding the high-profile rape case against the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, P. J. Kurien.

Mappila dialect of Malayalam

Often, the Malayalee Muslim community of Malaysia and Singapore and few of them in Kerala write Malayalam using Arabic Script.The dialect is extensively spoken by Muslims in the North Malabar region of Kerala i.e. in the districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Palghat, Wayanad, Trichur, Kannur and Kasaragod.

Matrilocal residence

Examples of matrilocal societies include the people of Ngazidja, the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of Chaco Canyon, the Nair community in Kerala in South India, the Moso of Yunnan and Sichuan in southwestern China, the Siraya of Taiwan, and the Minangkabau of western Sumatra.

Millbourne, Pennsylvania

A number of residents originate from Kerala, a south-western state of India and there is a major Keralite arts and culture fair held annually nearby in Upper Darby.

Mysorean invasion of Kerala

Hyder Ali first marched to present day Kerala in 1757 as per request of King of Palghat who was a long-time military foe of the Zamorin of nearby Kingdom of Calicut.

Navigability

Kollam-Kottapuram (in Kerala) stretch of West Coast Canal (410 km) along with Champakara canal and Udyogmandal canal in February, 1993 as National Waterway 3

Neelalohithadasan Nadar

In 1999 he assaulted forest officer Prakriti Srivastava and in 2000 assaulted IAS and Chief Electoral Officer of Kerala Nalini Netto.

Niranam Orthodox Diocese

Niranam Diocese is a diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church located at Niranam, Kerala.

Ollur railway station

Ollur Railway Station has given big contributions to the growth of Thrissur District and Central Kerala.

P. C. John

John was born in 1876 (1051 Malayalam Year) at Kumbanad, Kerala to Padinjattedathu Chacko of the Kumbanattu family.

P. K. Abdu Rabb

Abdu Rabb was born to Muslim League Leader and former Deputy Chief Minister of Kerala Late K. Avukader Kutty Naha and Kunhibiriyam Umma.

Palayam

Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala

Peruviruthy

Poruvazhy Peruviruthy Malanada Temple is a temple dedicated to Duryodhana, is located in Poruvazhy Village of Kunnathur Tehsil in the Kollam district of Kerala, India.

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.

Ramesh Chennithala

Ramesh Chennithala (Malayalam:രമേശ്‌ ചെന്നിത്തല) (born 25 May 1956, in Chennithala, Mavelikkara, Kerala, India) is an Indian politician.

Sacred Heart Malankara Catholic Church, Mylapra

Sacred Heart Malankara Syrian Catholic Church or referred as S H Church is located in the village of Mylapra, near Pathanamthitta on the road side of the Main Eastern Highway in the Indian state of Kerala.

T. V. Gopalakrishnan

Tirupanithurai Viswanatha Gopalakrishnan (born 11 June 1932 in Thripunithura, Kerala) is a Carnatic and Hindustani musician from Chennai.

Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

Born in the village of Thakazhy, in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district of Kerala, he started to write stories when he was a schoolboy.

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).

Yaqu'b Mor Anthonios

During 1975-1979 he completed his Seminary Course from the Malecruz Dayro, Puthencruz, Kerala and Syriac studies under Joseph Sir, Paulose Mor Athanasius Metropolitan (Kadavil Thirumeni II),Yakob Mor Themothios Metropolitan (Thrikkothamangalam), R. V Markose, and Skariya Cor-Episcopa.