A review of the book 'The Legacy of Kerala' written by A. Sreedhara Menon.
The culture of Kerala is characterised by unique richness and variety in religion and philosophy, art and architecture, education and learning. This book attempts to give the reader a broad idea of the diverse aspects of the social life and culture of the people of Kerala in historical perspective. It has been designed to satisfy the needs of an average reader or visitor to Kerala who is looking for a handy volume containing the essential information on the salient aspects of Kerala culture.
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Coming up: A review of the book 'The Legacy of Kerala' written by A. Sreedhara Menon.
Namaste Friends. My name is 'Shinil Subramanian Payamal' and you are listening to the Historylogy podcast.
Before I proceed, a full disclosure: This book was bought with my own money and not been provided to me by the author or publisher.
Little bit about the author:
Prof. A. Sreedhara Menon (1925-2010)
Born on 18th December, 1925 at Ernakulam. Completed his M. A. Degree in History as a private candidate from the University of Madras with first rank in 1948. Went to Harvard University on a Fulbright Travel Grant and a Smith-Mundt Scholarship and secured a masters degree in Political Science from there with specialisation in International Relations. Worked in various capacities such as Professor of History, State Editor of the Kerala Gazetteers, Registrar of the University of Kerala and UGC visiting Professor in the University of Calicut. Held many other positions during his eventful career. Apart from compiling eight District Gazetteers of Kerala he has written more than 25 books in English and Malayalam. Died in July, 2010.
Let me read what is written on the back cover of the book:
The culture of Kerala is characterised by unique richness and variety in religion and philosophy, art and architecture, education and learning. This book attempts to give the reader a broad idea of the diverse aspects of the social life and culture of the people of Kerala in historical perspective. It has been designed to satisfy the needs of an average reader or visitor to Kerala who is looking for a handy volume containing the essential information on the salient aspects of Kerala culture.
The things covered in this book are:
Religious practices amongst Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Centres of Pilgrimage for Hindus, Christians and Muslims. Festivals celebrated by the people of the state.
Sports and Recreations, Folklore, Dance, The Theatre, Music, Painting, Architecture, Sculpture, Handicrafts, Education, Centres of Learning, Growth of Western Education, Libraries, Cultural Affairs, Newspapers and Periodicals, Ayurveda, Language and Literature, Malayalam Literature, Sanskrit Literature, Polity, Administration and Society.
Some of the ‘gems’ you will come across in the book are:
1. With the coming of Aryan religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Brahmanism from the north, there were striking changes in the Dravidian way of life.
2. The Sree Koodalmanikyam Temple in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur is believed to have been originally a Jain temple.
3. It is believed that some of the temples like Sree Vadakkumnathan Temple in Thrissur and the Shiva temple at Madavoorpara in Kazhakuttom near Thiruvananthapuram were at one time Buddhist shrines.
4. In the course of centuries Christianity was accepted in Kerala as an indigenous faith and it obtained substantial following among the people.
5. British rule in Kerala as elsewhere in India was not an unmixed evil, for it let loose progressive forces which hastened the process of socio-economic transformation and led to the birth of a new Kerala.
6. St. Francis Xavier has been called a great Christian missionary. The same St. Xavier who is famously quoted to have said:
“Hindu gods and their idols are as dirty as they are ugly and horrible to look at, and witnessing the destruction of temple idols gives me so much joy.”
The book is published by DC Books. DC stands for ‘Dominic Chacko’ and hence one should be prepared to read about the glorification of missionaries like St. Xavier and the Christian way of life in general.
And the one I really agree with is:
If Kerala is today ahead of the rest of India in point of literacy and educational standards as well as in the extent of medical facilities provided to the people, the credit for this consummation should go to the enlightened policies pursued by the (Hindu) rulers of the erstwhile princely States.
This book is a really small one which has a total of only 86 pages and obviously not meant for people looking for a detailed history of Kerala. As long as you know what to accept and what to reject then you will find this book handy. I give this book 3/5.
The book is available for around Rs. 110/- on Amazon India. I will provide the buy link in the show notes.
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