The Malayali people

The Malayali people (also spelled Malayalee; Malayalam: മലയാളി) are the inhabitants of Kerala or their descendants. They are not a homogenous group; but are defined by their use of Malayalam. While the majority of Malayalis belong to Kerala, significant populations also exist in other parts of India, the Middle East, Europe and North America. According to the Indian census of 1991, there were 28,096,376 speakers of Malayalam in Kerala, making up 96.6% of the total population of that state. Hence the word Keralite is often used in the same context, though a proper definition is ambiguous.

Women in Kerala

Women in Kerala are able to be educated and have the opportunities that education affords them such as participating in politics, keeping up to date on news, reading religious texts, etc. Every Kerala girl or woman above the age of six can read and write. Women are largely educated and daughters are thought to be as prized as sons. Christian missionaries also influenced Malayali women in that they started schools available to girls from poor families.
Kerala has been praised for its treatment of women because of characteristics such as these. Kerala's women have become doctors and pilots, Supreme Court justices, ambassadors of India; they have shone in sport, in politics, in the armed forces

Malayalee wedding

Malayalee wedding is full of excitement and fun. In a traditional wedding, a search for the right candidate is initiated as soon as girl and boy attain the marriageable age. Horoscope matching is of prime importance. Compatibility for the couple is seen by calculation done by some astrologer. If the horoscope matches, then an auspicious date is selected.
Close relatives and friends participate enthusiastically in every ceremony and share joyous moments. There are no rigidities in the Malayalee wedding.
An engagement ceremony is held where elders make the announcement to the family members and relatives about their ward?s engagement. It is popularly called ?Nishayam?. The prospective bride and groom are not part of this ceremony.
After this, various preparation are started in the house of boy and girl. Special sweets are prepared and decorations are done to give a new face to the house.
On the wedding day, a special feast is organized and served to the guests at the bride?s house. Bride is made to sit facing the east and served a traditional five course vegetarian meal.

The success of the Sari

The success of the Sari is attributed to its total simplicity, practical comfort, and sense of luxury a woman experiences when she wears one. A sari is an outfit which reveals as much as it hides. How to wear a sari is an art which require practice. A Sari properly draped transforms a woman to become graceful, stylish, elegant and sensuous. But a clumsily draped Sari brings down the look of the Sari and spoils the whole appearance of the woman.

The pavada

The pavada has almost vanished from the Malayali girl's wardrobe. This traditional pleated dress has been replaced by jeans, trousers and salwar kurtas.

IF THE songs, `Pavada prayathil' and `Pavadai davaniyil', were to be written today, the lyrics would not be the same.
For, the pavada has almost vanished from the Malayali girl's wardrobe.
This pleated traditional dress has been replaced by jeans, trousers, salwar kurtas, midis and skirts.
In Kerala, only the `bold' wore the salwar kurta two decades ago. And then came the invasion of the electronic media and salwar kurtas found their way into the hearts of Malayali girls.
If you want to see Malayali girls in pattu pavada-blouse sets today, then you have to be invited to a wedding. Or you should visit a temple or wait for November 1 (Kerala Piravi Day).
The pavada has its western counterpart: the skirt. What had flowed down over the ankles during the Victorian era has, over the years, transformed itself to the midi, the mini and the micro skirts, all of progressively decreasing length. Micros and minis may be the rage in Indian metros, but Thiruvananthapuram is yet to catch up with this trend.
Traditionalists, however, need not worry. A few still prefer the pavada. "I wear jeans, skirts and salwar kurtas to college," says Saumya, a student of Engineering "But I do wear pavada and half-sari (davani) occasionally. I recently got a pavada stitched. But it's unrealistic to think that pavada will be worn as it used to be 15 to 20 years ago. But things have improved from the way it was five years ago, when the pavada or the half sari was hardly seen."
On a whim, Saumya's mother bought her a Kancheevaram pavada recently.
"Wearing pavada and blouse to college is very uncomfortable and inconvenient. Getting on and off buses, in heavy pavada, is very difficult. It is a decorative outfit, and not a functional one. Hence, it is best to wear it on select occasions. I buy it only once a year, during Onam, and that's the only time I wear it; that is, if there are no marriages to attend," says Siddhi Devi, a B.Com student .
She prefers jeans and salwar kurta, as they are "very convenient to wear". But she is quick to add, "This does not mean I dislike pavada and blouse."
Even mothers don't want to force the pavada on their daughters. Says Usha, mother of 14-year-old Sharada, who studies in Holy Angels Convent, "Of course, the pavada is very beautiful and traditional, but I don't compel my daughter to wear it. And it is not like she never wears the pavada. We get her one for Onam, weddings or other occasions. At times, she herself demands that she wants to wear it to some function."

half sari

The woman wears a half sari, which was an inevitable part of traditional south Indian fashion. These days it is seldom worn by Kerala girls. It comprises of a long skirt and a blouse with the upper covering of a davani (a shawl).

Sari From very ancient times

Sari From very ancient times sari has been closely associated with the women of kerala and it still forms the major mode of dress even today. A 5 meter long cloth, It is worn together with a small blouse .It is however a tough job to learn to wear a sari in a proper manner and one needs to practice a lot. Sari is the official dress in various ceremonies like wedding, engagement and during various festivals in kerala. Kerala's sari market is now flooded with sari like Kancheepuram Silk, Banaras Silk. Sari decorated with traditional works, zardosi work, ariwork, Lukhnow work, sequins work, thread work, embroidery work.

Set-Saree A Keralite Malayali woman

Set-Saree A Keralite Malayali woman dressed in a set-saree which is worn as a "Quasi" - mundum neriyathumThe set-sari is worn as a garment that closely resembles the mundum neriyathum though it is not considered as a true mundum neriyathum by classic definition. This is because the setu-sari consists of a single piece of cloth while a traditional mundum neriyathum consists of a two piece cloth. Otherwise, the set saree closely resembles the mundum neriyathum and is often worn by Malayali women as a quasi mundum neriyathum.

Mundum neriyathum

Mundum neriyathum is the traditional clothing of women in Kerala, South India. It is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the saree which covered only the lower part of the body . In the mundum neriyathum, the most basic traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the saree denoted in malayalam s 'Thuni' (meaning cloth), while the neriyathu forms the upper garment added very recently to the mundu.The mundum neryathum consists of two pieces of cloth, and could be worn in either the traditional style with the neriyathu tucked inside the blouse, or in the modern style with the neriyathu worn over the left shoulder.

Kerala Sex Ratio

Kerala Sex RatioKerala is the state with highest Female sex ratio. Kerala has 1036 females per 1000 males. All India average is 933 females per 1000 males. (Source: 1991 Census of India)