State of India - Kerala

Area: 38,863 sq km

Population: 2,90,98,518

Capital Of City: Thiruvananthapuram

Languages: Malayalam

How You Know: Arundhati Roy, the first Indian to win the Booker Prize for her book 'God of Small Things' grew up in Kerala, the state in which her novel is set. The novel is a poetic tale of Indian boy-and-girl twins, Estha and Rahel, and their family's tragedies. Says Arundhati "A lot of the atmosphere in 'God of Small Things' is based on my experience of what it was like to grow up in Kerala. Most interestingly, it was the only place in the world where religions coincide, there's Christianity, Hinduism, Marxism and Islam and they all live together and rub each other down...I think the kind of landscape that you grew up in, it lives in you. I don't think it's true of people who've grown up in cities so much, you may love building but I don't think you can love it in the way that you love a tree or a river or the colour of the earth, it's a different kind of love."

History: God's Own Country, as we call Kerala, is India's southernmost state, located on the shores of the Arabian Sea. The word Kerala means 'The land of coconuts', and everywhere in the state one can see acres of coconut groves. But coconut is just one of the products of this fertile land. Kerala is a major producer of rubber, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves cardamom, ginger, cocoa, cashew, arecanut, coffee and tea. The Vallamkali or boat race is typical of Kerala. It is a major event coinciding with Onam (a state festival) and is celebrated with great pomp and show. The Vadakkunnatha Temple at Trichur celebrates Pooram festival in April every year with an impressive procession of decorated elephants and display of fireworks.