A Rail Travel Across The State of Kerala

This is a journey that I had done recently across the the state of Kerala, Southern India. I live in the district of Trivandrum also called as Thiruvananthapuram, which is the southern most district of Kerala State where I was born. I had a wonderful opportunity to travel across the State of Kerala to a place on the other side of the state or northern most part of the state, which is the district of Kasaragod. So it is a cross Kerala travel or it can be called as the trans-Kerala travel.

Photo credit: maps.newkerala.com

The travel was by train and we boarded the Netravati Express that starts from the Trivandrum Central Station. We departed from Trivandrum at morning around 9:00 a.m. and we arrived at Kasaragod around 11:00 p.m. about a full-day journey. The journey was very pleasant and enjoyable, a wonderful experience to get a birds eye view of many places in Kerala.

Kerala State is topographically shaped like a shoestring just like the country of Chile on the western South America. Just like Chile situated on the west of the continental South America, Kerala is situated on the western edges of the peninsular Indian land mass and similarly on the western slopes of the Western Ghats, just like the Andes ranges of the Chile. Likewise, it is also bordered along its western side by an ocean, the Indian ocean similar to the Pacific ocean of Chile. Like Chile being often called as the shoestring country, being a state Kerala can also be called as a shoestring state because of its shape.

The State of Kerala is a wonderful hot place on the south western region of India along the Indian Ocean coast. Kerala is also called as Keralam in native tongue, the land of the coconuts. It is bordered by the states of Karnataka on the north and northeast and Tamilnadu on the east and southeast. It is a small plain carved along the western edges of the the Western ranges of India, the Western Ghats. To the west is the Western Ghats that runs the entire length of the state with a small pass in Palghat district.

The Western Ghats rise on average about 1500 meters above sea level in height, and its highest peak being Anamudi around 2695 meters high. The other important peaks are Nilgiri Hills, Palni Hills etc. Towards the west lies the Indian Ocean, which straddles across the entire length of the state. The entire coastline is around 590 km in length and any place in Kerala is not more than 125 km from the coastline. Between the western ranges and the eastern shorelines of the Indian Ocean lies the narrow stretch of hills and plains of Kerala.

The Western Ghats of Kerala is the lifeline for the State, which enriches a number of rivers that flows from the western slopes of the Western Ghats mountains. It is one of the old fold mountains which has considerably worn down due to the action of weather as well as by man. Western Ghats acts as a barrier for the moisture in air and the clouds to precipitate its water content as rain and mist along the slopes of the Ghats. The higher the height of the ranges, the more precipitation it receives from the clouds as well as the moisture laden winds from the Indian ocean and more it sustains water in the dry summer months. Unfortunately a lot of human activity is denuding and destroying the ranges along the entire length, which affects the water flowing capacity along both sides of the ranges.

The weather of Kerala is hot and humid equatorial tropic climate, however it is somewhat cool during the months from December to February. It is evergreen with lush green vegetation for most part of the year, with a small dry season during summer months. There are rains on the months of January till June to August from Southwest monsoon and September to December from Northeast monsoon. The rains feed a number of rivers, canals, lakes, and estuaries.

Most of the land is tropical wet evergreen forests with thick green vegetation cover with a diverse of flora and fauna. The typical tree is the coconut tree which is seen in almost all places in Kerala. The important animal species is the Indian elephant, which is an important animal of Kerala. The symbolic bird of Kerala is the Great hornbill. The symbolic flower of Kerala is the Golden Shower tree flower.

Nutritional Benefits of Papaya

Papaya is the yellow-colored fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family caricaceae.  It is also called as the paw paw fruit or common man's fruit. It was originally found in the tropical Americas; from Southern Mexico and Central America, to the South American tropics. This fruit is revered by the Latin American Indians and they called it the "fruit of the angels." The papaya is a large tree like plant that grows from a single stem and grows to a height of 5 to 10 meters. The top of the trunk is connected with spirally arranged leaves and fruit stem. The trunk is softer in structure and it is scarred with the attachments of the leaves and fruits where it once borne. The stem is unbranched mostly. Papaya is now grown in the tropical countries, it grows rapidly fruiting within 2 to 3 years. It grows well in well drained soil and in hot and humid weather.

 

Papaya is a spherical to pear shaped fruit that can be about 5 to 20 inches long. The ripe papaya has an yellow color and it is orange color admixed with green while it ripens. The papaya trees bear fruit year round. The flesh of papaya fruit is rich orange in color. The flesh is soft, butter-like consistency and tastes deliciously sweet in flavor. Inside the fruit, there is a cavity where papaya seeds are encased. Papaya seeds are edible, although it is somewhat bitter. Papaya is mostly eaten when ripe. It is also eaten green or about to ripe, in which the enzyme papain is more active. Raw papaya is cut to pieces to make salad and rice dishes. Ripe papaya is also used to make juice.

Nutritional Profile

Papaya is a rich source of vitamin C, beta carotene, B vitamins such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, patothenic acid, dietary fiber etc. It also contains minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, sodium etc. Papaya fruit as well as the tree is rich in an enzyme called papain, which is useful in digestion.

 

Nutritional Benefits:

Immune booster: Papaya is rich in immune boosting, antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E etc. Vitamin C is essential in promoting cell integrity and normal cellular functions. Vitamin A is important for growth and development, maintenance of immune mechanisms, and good vision.  Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant, which is involved in scavenging and preventing the propagation of free radicals in tissues by reacting with them.

Promotes Digestion: Papaya contains digestive enzyme papain, which helps to break down the food without extra digestive process required from the body. The enzyme papain helps to digest protein and aid in the absorption of nutrients. Because of the ability to digest protein, papain is used as a meat tenderizer.

Prevent Heart Disease: Because of the presence of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E these act as powerful antioxidants preventing the oxidation of cholesterol. Oxidation of cholesterol causes it to stick to the blood vessel walls forming plaques that prevent the flow of blood or even blockage of the blood vessels causing heart attacks and strokes. The fiber in papaya also helps in lowering the cholesterol levels. The folic acid content in papaya helps in converting the harmful homocysteine to its inactive constituents, thus preventing blood vessel damage.

Anti-Inflammatory Effect: Papaya contain protein digesting enzymes papain and chymopapain which have shown to reduce inflammation and increase the healing from burns. The antioxidants found in papaya such as folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E also helps reduction of inflammation. It also helps pain relief in inflammation.

Promotes Bowel Movement: Because of the high water content, presence of enzymes, and soluble fiber, which allows proper bowel movement.

Cancer Prevention: Timely elimination of bowels, and the presence of folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E help to reduce the risk of colon cancer. Papaya's fiber content is able to bind with the cancer causing substances in the colon and prevent them from affecting the  intestinal walls. The antioxidant nutrients such as the folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E provide protection for colon cells from free radical damage.

Prevention of Arthritis: The high content of vitamin C and other antioxidants in papaya provide protection against inflammatory conditions such as arthritis.

Skin Treatment: Regularly taking papaya helps in maintaining a soft and smooth skin. Application of raw papaya finely grounded and applied to face for 25 minutes helps in reduction of pimples and blemishes on the face. Similarly it is used in relieving the sores and cracks on the skin. Papaya helps in reduction of aging marks on the skin. It is also used in the treatment of burns and wounds. Mashed papaya is applied to the area of the wound which helps to aid healing.and prevent infection.