Periyar, Kerala, India

Let's stay in Asia for a bit longer, this time moving on to India. I don't know why I hardly ever receive any official Postcrossing cards from there - out of the 1,410 officials I've received, only three are from India. The card here is the latest one of them, and I received it in June 2009! It doesn't even look like India is *that* rare a country anymore, at least if you look at the postcard IDs. Oh well, maybe one day...


IN-7635

Periyar is the longest river in the state of Kerala, India, with a length of 244 km. The Periyar is known as the lifeline of Kerala; it is one of the few perennial rivers in the region and provides drinking water for several major towns. The Idukki Dam on the Periyar generates a significant proportion of Kerala's electrical power.

Kerala is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.

The state has an area of 38,863 km2 and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the south and southeast, and the Arabian Sea[note] on the west. The city of Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities. According to a survey by The Economic Times, five out of ten best cities to live in India are located in Kerala. Kerala is a popular tourist destination for its backwaters, yoga, Ayurvedic treatments and tropical greenery.

Kerala has the highest Human Development Index in India, comparable with that of first world nations but with a much lower per capita income. The state has the highest literacy rate in India with 99 percent. The state recently became and is currently the only one to have banking facilities in every village. A survey conducted in 2005 by Transparency International ranked Kerala as the least corrupt state in the country. Kerala has witnessed significant migration of its people, especially to the Persian Gulf countries during the Kerala Gulf boom and is heavily dependent on remittances from its large Malayali expatriate community.