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Kerala, God's own country is believed to have been created when the Hindu God Parshurama, bidding a farewell to his arms, asked forgiveness for his sins and threw his axe from heaven which landed on South India to form this narrow strip of land, surrounded by the rolling hills of the Western Ghats on its Eastern side and the Arabian Sea on its West coast.
Enclosed within is a criss-cross of backwaters, abundant wildlife, paddy fields, a rich land of cashew, coconut and rubber plantations and a variety of spices like cardamom, pepper, turmeric and ginger, making Kerala the spice capital of India.
Kerala is a 560-km long, narrow stretch of land. At the widest, Kerala is a mere 120-km from the sea to the mountains. Gracing one side of Kerala, are the lofty mountains ranges of the Ghats. And on the other side the land is washed by the waters of the blue Arabian Sea. The land is covered with dense tropical forest,
fertile plains, beautiful beaches, cliffs, rocky coasts, an intricate maze of backwaters, still bays and an astounding 44 glimmering rivers. Kerala's exotic spices have lured foreigners to her coast from time immemorial.
Earlier, Kerala was made up of three distinct areas. Malabar as far up the coast as Tellicherry, Cannanore and Kasargode with the tiny French possession of Mahe nearby (it was returned to India in the early 1950 's and is now administratively part of Pondicherry). This area belonged to what was once called the Madras Presidency during the British rule. The middle section is formed by the princely State of Cochin; the
third comprises Travancore, yet , another princely State.