That’s Kerala's tourism motto. It’s been the most pleasant area of India I’ve visited, with a vibrant local culture lacking the noise and filth ubiquitous elsewhere. Keralan women adorn their braids with flowers, the streets are paved, and in place of cows there are churches. Keralans are doing well for themselves, if the nature of advertisements seen in towns is any indication: jewelers, silk vendors, optometrists, dentists, English teachers, etc. Keralan scenery is some of the best in all of India (which isn’t saying much) from the tea estates in the Western Ghats to the famous Keralan backwaters (far overrated in my opinion). But don’t mistake: the emerald of India is its cultural diversity, not its landscapes…
One of the families I stayed with in Kumarakom are direct descendants of a group of Iraqi Roman Catholics, 72 families, who emigrated to India following religious persecution in AD 352. Today the descendants exceed 200,000 individuals, many of whom still reside in South India. At least with this family, a strict adherence to arranged marriage within the lineage continues, and both husband and wife were passionate proponents of the custom.
