Why is Kerala called "God's Own Country"?

Younger generation will not know and older generations might have forgotten the history behind this. Here, below is the history.

When India got independence on 15 Aug 1947, the Travancore Kingdom didn't join the Indian Union Government. The Diwan of Travancore Kingdom announced in Ju 1947 that the Travancore kingdomwill be a separate country by itself.

During that period, the Travancore Kingdom was well developed with Public Transport, Telephone Network and Heavy Engineering Industries. The King took over all the expenses of the University. Above all, all Hindus were allowed to enter into all the temples, without any bias on the caste, which was prevalent throughout India at that point of time.

When the talks were on between the Indian representatives and the King Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, to make Travancore kingdom as part of the Indian Union, the King said, "This land doesn't belong to me but belongs to Lord Padmanabha Swamy and I am only the Custodian. If the Lord Ananthan asks me to do, I will oblige". The Indian authorities didn't believe this and considered King's statement was just to dodge the issue.

But the Travancore authorities showed a Palm Leaf written on 20 Jan 1750, signed by the then Travancore King Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma in favour of the Lord Padmanabha Swamy that the entire Travancore kingdom, which extended from today's Kanyakumari and Paravoor, belongs to the Lord.

This is the reason why Kerala is called "God's Own Country".  

* Note. The area north of Paravoor (Adjacent to the Ernakulam district) short of Palakkad district came

             under the King of Kochi. Palakkad and the north of it, the Malabar region came under the 

             Madras Presidency during the British Raj.

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                                 Adieu Tirur Amma

Lekha's younger sister's mother-in-law, Padmavathy Amma aka as Tirur Amma, passed into the mist of time this afternoon, around 12 o'clock. She had been bed-ridden for the past three months due to age-related illnesses and she suffered from diabetes. She was 85 years of age.

I remember her pleasant countenance, her eagerness to be with Lekha and me and the many conversations between us. She used to look forward to our visits to Tirur, which were quite frequent earlier. She was a simple and uncomplicated lady and I remember the enthusiasm with which she took us to her sisters - one at Tirur and the other at Vaniyankulam. 

I still cannot forget her last visit to 'The Quarterdeck' when she spoke about a lot of things to my mom and me. Her simplicity was very evident and all pervading. 

RIP Tirur Amme. My tears and prayers! You shall always remain in our hearts.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. It was a sunny day, all through, with no sight of rain.