Various racial strains have passed through Kerala virtually since the dawn of time and have left the state richer in its philosophy of of coexistence. Even in this modern time , with Kerala being India's only fully literate state, and having provided the nation with some of its eminent writers and satiric cartoonists, it comes to dwell in a time warp, where slow boats still coats along backwaters, the people dressed elegantly in white, and festivals are celebrated over many days with traditional gaiety.

One of the principal Hindu castes of Kerala is that of the Nairs, among two of the countries only societies that follow a matriarchal system that has brought women into social prominence. Kerala's Brahmins, the Namboodiris, till recently had a system in which only the eldest son could marry within the same cast. Since the others had to find wives outside the community, they disowned from family rights. These are now traditions of the past. 

But its not only the Hindus that make up the colourful mosaic of this land. The Jews, for example, came to Kerala when they fled the rule of Nebuchdnezzar in 587 BC. St.Thomas the Apostle came here in the first century AD; the Syrian Christians lived here in the 2nd century AD. Among the oldest of the Christian churches exists in Crangannore dating back to 400 AD. All these faiths have existed in complete harmony in Kerala. Today there are temples and Mosques, Churches and Synagogues and they form the cohesive warp and weft that has gone into the making of the fabric of Kerala.