Kerala is a state in South India, occupying a narrow strip of India's south western coast. Kerala has a rich history of art and culture. The project titled Keralam – A Green Symphony- is a musical drama , depicts a brief history of the state's origin, its varied culture, its beauty, land mark destinations and “Nadan pattukal” that prevailed from time immemorial. The project aims to send out a strong message to the Malayalee community who tend to distance themselves from our traditions and culture. It is also an effort to instil in all of us the need for a unified effort to preserve the cultural diversity of Kerala. The musical developes with Paananar, a Kerala traditional story teller, reciting colourful stories about the creation and history of Kerala to the children based in the UK. Some of the main areas covered in this musical drama are briefly described below.

Creation of Kerala– The Parasurama saga
According to the legend, Parasurama, the son who killed his mother in obedience to his father, atoned for the crime of his massacring of the Kshatriyas by doing penance for years. To protect the Brahmins from their enemies, Parasurama decided to create some land and donate it to the Brahmins. Accordingly, he threw his battle axe from
Gokarnam; the weapon fell in Kanyakumari. All the sea between Gokarnam and Kanyakumari became dry land which the hero gave to the Brahmins. That is Kerala.

King Mahabali and Onam
Onam celebrates the visit of King Mahabali (Asura king) to the state of Kerala each year. The king was greatly respected in his kingdom and was considered to be wise and extremely generous. It is said that Kerala witnessed its golden era in the reign of King Mahabali. Everybody was happy in the kingdom, rich and poor was equally treated, and there was no poverty, sorrow or disease in the reign of King Mahabali. But this golden age came to a tragic close when Mahabali was expelled from his kingdom by Vamana, the dwarf incarnation of Vishnu. His grateful subject's request that their former ruler might be permitted to visit the land once a year, was granted. The festival falls in “Chingom”( the harvest season) and the occasion became one of the jubilation throughout the land, reminiscent of the prosperous times of Mahabali

Kathakali
Kathakali is the classical dance-drama of Kerala, is rooted in Hindu mythology. Kathakali has a unique combination of literature, music, painting, acting and dance. This spectacular classical dance drama based on the guidelines laid by sage Bharatha's natya sastra, is over 500 years old. The costumes and makeup are ornamental,
elaborate and designed to give a superhuman effect. The actors enact the story through the mudras (hand gestures), graceful movements and facial expressions.

The arrival of British
Indian trade links with Europe started in through sea route only after the arrival of Vasco da Gama in Calicut, India on May 20, th 1498. By the early 17 century the Dutch, British, and French began to challenge the Portuguese for the Indian trade. The pioneer English man to arrive in India was Mr. Ralph Fitch in 1583. He was welcomed by King Sammothiri of Malabar . The king later signed a trade treaty with the British . In return the British promised to clear the Dutch from Calicut and Kodungalloor areas. In 1600 the British East India Company was chartered, and within a century it had trading posts at Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta (then called Fort William). Through a combination of outright combat and deft alliances with local princes, the East India Company gained control of all European trade in India by 1769.

Swathi Thirunal and Omanathinkalkkitavo….
Swathi Thirunal was the Maharaja of the state of Travancore and he reigned from 1829 until his death in 1846. The famous poet and composer Iraiyamman Tampi wrote a song “Omanathinkalkkitavo nalla komalathamarappuvo”, about Swathi Thirunal when he was born. This song still remains the most famous lullaby in Malayalam.

Christianity and Kerala
The tradition of Kerala Syrian Christians is that in 52 A.D. St Thomas, the Apostle of Lord Jesus Christ (Thomas Sleeha) landed in the port of Muziris in the island of Maliyankara (Kerala). He was one of the twelve disciples of Lord Jesus Christ. The Syrian Christians of Kerala constitute the most ancient Christian community of India.

Thrissur Pooram
Thrissur Pooram is the most colourful and spectacular dance festival of Kerala celebrated in the month of April-May at Thrissur. The spectacular pageant of fully ornamented elephants, Panchavadyam and Pandimelom are the major attractions of Thrissur pooram. . The pooram festival is also well known for the magnificent display of fireworks The festival was introduced by Sakthan Thanmpuran (1775 – 1790) also known as Maharaja of Kochi. Perhaps, there is no other festival in Kerala that draws such an unbelievable number of people to a single event

Muslims in Kerala – Malik Ibn Deenar
Malik Ibn Deenar is famous for being the first to bring Islam to India. It is believed that in 644 A.D he and 12 of his trade associates landed in Kerala and continued the trade between India and Arabia. The King of the time, Cheraman Perumal brought Malik Ibn Deenar to his palace after came to know the surprising trade practices of these Arabs. At the end, the King forthwith abdicated his throne and left with him for Arabia.

Vallamkali
Vallamkali is the most enchanting facet of the festival of Onam. The event is promoted as a major tourist attraction of the state of Kerala.

A C T O R S
Paananar - Vijayakumar S Rappai Appuppan - Haris S J Maha Raja - C K.Sujathan Samoothri -Jolly Koya, Minister –Ajith S Irayimman Thampi,Brahamanan, Son of Paananar - Premkumar Translator - Pradeep Bhadan -Subhash Jesus, Friend of Paananar, Minister –Muralidharan Pillai Thomassleeha,Brahamanan – Sajeem Ismail Herban, Minister – Sundeep Sundaresan Ammathampurati – Rejani George Kadhakali - Manoj Siva Chinnu - Ashiya Najeeb Paru – Sreena Nair Abdullah – Azhar Haris Kannan -Ben jacob Kochu Rappai – Pranav Pradeep Ammu Kutty –Angela Chalamana Sangeetha sadasu: Jayaprakash Panicker, Dr.Parameswaran & Latha Menon Vallam kali:  Kent Malayalee association Mahabali: Mohanan Karikkakom
D A N C E R S
1.Anju 2.Prajitha 3.Sushana 4.Reshma 5.Ragini 6.She Geeta 7. Eleanora 8. Shilpa 9. Shibi 10.Ashwarya 11.Radha 12.Latha 13.Sheela 14.Pushpa	15.Shereena 16.Sheena 17.Lilly 18.Gayathri 19.Diana 20.Bindu 21.Athmaja 22.Renisha 23.Maria 24.Jessica 25.Athira 27.Aneka 28 Akshara 29.Vinod 30.Nisha	31.Keerthika 32.Aarani 33.Liji 34.Nivya 35.Swarup 36.Lakshmi deepa Raju
Script & Lyrics: Vayalar Santhosh Varma Music:Perumbavoor: G.Ravindranath Singers:M.G. Sreekumar,Unnimenon,Kavalam Sreekumar,Madhu Balakrishnan,Biju Narayanan,Vidhu Prathap and Manjari Costume design: Pattanam Rasheed,Indran Jayan Dance Choreography: Ms. Chitra Lakshmi
Direction: Abhilash Sudhakaran Lighting: Prasanth & Manoj Make up: Sujath kilimanoor, Ravi Eastham, Pradeep Pillai & Anil Varkala Transport: Murali Eastham Event Management: Prakash Ramaswamy, Sundaresan Bhaskaran, Manu Chand, Najeeb Abdul