Malayalam

Malayalam means "mountainous country" -- and that mountainous country is the formerly communist, nearly 100% literate Indian state of Kerala. Kerala sits at the very southern tip of India and is home to kathakali, a highly complex classical dance accompanied by sopaanam singing and a small orchestra that also provides special effects. In the film industry, the classically trained Yesudas is probably the best known playback singer, while composers Vayalar-Devarajan provided decades of melodies for lyrics by the likes of Sreekumaran Thambi, Ysaf Ali Kechery, and P. Bhaskaran. Folk traditions include nadanpattukal, a kind of singing specific to laborers working in rice paddies, and such instrumental traditions as mizhayu and panchayadyam.