South India: November Brief: Context

I will be mainly staying in Thiruvananthapuram (pop 800,000), with a tradition dating back to 1000BC. It lies on a small strip of land with plenty of coconut & palm trees, and it name means "City of Lord Anantha" (the serpent on which Lord Padmanabha/Vishnu reclines) in Sanskrit and Malayalam. It was a trading post for spices, sandalwood and ivory. Thiruvananthapuram is the Largest City in Kerala.The city is the state capital and houses many central and state government offices, organizations and companies. Apart from being the political nerve centre of Kerala, it is also a major academic hub and is home to several educational institutions including the University of Kerala, and to many science and technology institutions.

HISTORY

Thiruvananthapuram is one of the oldest cities in India, with periodic references in many Greek and Roman literatures. However the city's position came forefront when the Venad Dynasty came into power of Southern regions, after the Great Partition of Kerala Empire of Cheras in 14th century. Though Venad rulers had their capital at Kollam (70kms north of Thiruvananthapuram), the town was well considered as a major trading centre. The rise of new Venad King, Maharaja Marthanada Varma and subsequently formation of Travancore Kingdom in late 17th century proved a turning point for the city. The Raja, after formation of the kingdom by annexing many small states and feudal principalites, dedicated the entire kingdom to Lord Padmanabha, the presiding deity of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and crowned as Emperor, making the royal family to rule in the name of the lord. This resulted in making Thiruvananthapuram as the capital of new kingdom and the city started growing around the temple. In 19th century, the entire administration was brought to Thiruvananthapuram city from the Royal headquarters of Sree Padmanabhapuram Fort (50kms from Thiruvananthapuram city), which marked completion of first phase of Thiruvananthapuram city.

Travancore was one of the most powerful Indian Princely state during British Raj, with the kingdom becoming 3rd richest state among native states. Thiruvananthapuram city, under the royal patronage grew into a major academic, cultural hub of India, with many firsts to its credit. The Maharajas always cared to keep their capital, one of the most greenest cities in India, which resulted in many praises for the capital. As the power and wealth of Travancore Kingdom reached its peak during early 20th century, Thiruvananthapuram became a major prosperous city. With independence of India, the Travancore chose to ascend into India Union. After formation of Kerala state in 1957, it was decided to retain Thiruvananthapuram as the capital city.

Being a capital and administrative city, it remains to be one of the hottest political center in Kerala. The 3rd phase of the development came in early 1990s, when Kerala Government decided to establish Technopark- a large IT Park. The growth of Technopark as the largest Information Technology park in South Asia, made a major impetus for the growth of city. Today the city is on focus of making it as major IT/Bio-Technology hub.

The arterial road of Thiruvananthapuram is the 'MG Road' or the Mahatma Gandhi Road which lies in the north-south direction and connects almost all important attractions in the city.

CLIMATE

The city has a tropical climate and therefore does not experience distinct seasons. The mean maximum temperature is 34°C and the mean minimum temperature is 21°C. Humidity is high, and rises to about 90% during the monsoon season.

Thiruvananthapuram is the first city along the path of the south-west monsoon and gets its first showers in early June. However, pre-monsoon showers are common in April and May, accounting to about 35 cm on average. Annual rainfall is not very high compared to other districts of Kerala, but it is still a substantial 180 cm. The rainiest months are May, June, July, August, and October, but there are frequent showers in other months too between April and November. For travelers who wish to avoid the rain, the best period to visit is from December to March.

The winter temperature comes down to about 18°C at some places at high altitudes and summer temperatures can sometimes go as high as 35°C.

TALK

The native language of Kerala is Malayalam, which is a Dravidian language like Tamil, Kannada or Telugu. Most educated locals are also able to communicate in Hindi and English. The people are generally very helpful and friendly. Tamil is generally understood, though people may not be too fluent in the language.