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A majority of the people of
Kerala are Dravidians, who also inhibit most of the southern part of India.
Hinduism is the principal religion with considerable percentages of Muslims
and Christians. The craftsmen of Kerala here can pick up the humblest and
meanest bits of material and imbue them with magical mastery. Woodcarving
is the most important of craft forms that this state has developed. Kathakali
is a 300-year-old dance form developed exclusively in Kerala combining
the performing art forms of opera, ballet, masque, and pantomime. The dance
is a beautiful blending of color, dance, music, drama, and expressions.
In a sense, a lot of the fame that the state has gained is mainly due to
the popularity of this dance form. Other dance forms of Kerala are Krishnanattom,
Mohiniyattom, Thullal, Koodiyattom, Kolkkali, Thiruvathirakali, Kakkarishi
Natakom, Oppanna, and Chavittunatakom. Panchavadyam, Nadanpattu, Omanathinkal
Kidavo and many more music forms have evolved over the centuries in Kerala.
Beautifully situated in the
midst of coconut groves on the southern banks of the vast Ashtamudi Lake,
the Lake with Eight Creeks, with its shore level promontories of red laterite
and china clay, Quilon is a picturesque town, and its commercial activity
seems a world away. Cashew nut is its main business now, but medieval sailors
from east and west came to Quilon in search of spices, timber, fauna, ivory
and textiles. The Chinese established a trading settlement here as far
back as AD 9. They also exchanged envoys during the time of Kublai Khan,
and left behind a heritage of fishing nets fixed to poles, cargo boats
covered with thatch, and many
shards of exquisite chinaware
that have been excavated in and around Quilon.
Chinnakkada, the busy bazaar
that is the heart of Quilon, the Thiru-mullavaram beach and the park and
beach at Kochupilamoodu are places to visit in this town associated with
the origin of the present Malayalam era in AD 825. So is the Roman Catholic
cathedral, the history of which goes back to the creation of the first
Roman Catholic See in India, when Friar Jordan's was consecrated Bishop
in 1530.
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