Visiting Kerala, South India- God's Country

I have been in Kerala, South India for several days now. Kerala is famous for its authentic Ayurvedic medicine treatments and I am at a facility for one week for cleansing and rejuvenation.

I love Kerala. It is covered in coconut tree forests, banana and rubber plantations,  pineapple fields. It has lush and colorful flowers and foliage. The Arabian Sea on its west border and the Indian Ocean to the south provide some great beaches. I will take some beach time in a few days after treatment here.

 Homes in Kerala are resplendent with colorful flowers and greenery.

Super Huge Bamboo Plant/Tree

My Ayurvedic Clinic is on the Periyar River the biggest river in Kerala

The clinic has nice but small grounds. Focal point is the river.

The South Indian languages use completely different scripts than the Hindi script that I am fluent with.  South India is more well educated than the north and most everyone speaks some English. This is the script of the Malayalam language that is spoken in this part of Kerala. 

Beautiful gated homes are lovely to see along the streets. 

Men here were "skirts". A long piece of white or colorful cloth that they wear long or if they are working like the man below- they wear short. 

Christianity is prevalent here in South India. Missionaries were able to bombard the coasts of India with their "message" starting as early as the first century. 18% of the population in Kerala is Christian.

However this is not the staid and reserved Christianity of the West. The Christianity here is colorful, loud with festive music and large celebrations.

Village girls dressed up as Virgin Mary in white dresses at the local church.

Lights and loudspeakers blast the area at an outdoor Christian church service this afternoon.

A peaceful vignette from my walk today.