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Kerala (Kēraḷaṁ,
Malayalam:
കേരളം)
Kerala is one of
the ten 'Paradises Found' by the National Geographic Traveler,
for its diverse geography and overwhelming greenery. It is a
land much acclaimed for the contemporary nature of its cultural
ethos, and much appreciated for the soothing, rejuvenating
paradise that it is. Geographically, Kerala is a narrow fertile
strip on the southwest coast of India, sandwiched between the
Lakshadweep Sea and the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats with
their dense forests and extensive ridges have sheltered Kerala
from many mainland invaders and the long coastline has
encouraged maritime contact with the outside world - a contact
that has resulted in an interesting blend of cultures.
Kerala is a state on the Malabar Coast of southwestern
India. To its east and northeast, Kerala borders Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka respectively; to its west and south lie Arabian Sea
and the Indian Ocean with the islands of Lakshadweep and the
Maldives, respectively. Kerala envelops Mahé, a coastal exclave
of Pondicherry. Kerala is one of the four states in South India.
First settled in the 10th century BCE by speakers of P
cxroto-South Dravidian, Kerala was influenced by the Mauryan
Empire. Later, the Cheran kingdom and feudal Namboothiri
Brahminical city-states became major powers in the region. Early
contact with overseas lands culminated in struggles between
colonial and native powers. Finally, the States Reorganisation
Act of November 1, 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood. Social
reforms enacted in the late 19th century by Cochin and
Travancore were expanded upon by post-Independence governments,
making Kerala among the Third World's longest-lived, healthiest,
most gender-equitable, and most literate regions. However,
Kerala's suicide, alcoholism and unemployment rates rank among
India's highest. The etymology of Kerala
is widely disputed, and is a matter of conjecture. It may derive from Sanskrit
keralam, means 'the land added on', with reference to its mythical and
geographical origins. Another prevailing theory states that it is an imperfect
Malayalam portmanteau that fuses kera
('coconut palm tree') and alam ('land' or 'location' or
'abode of' ). Natives of Kerala—Keralites—thus refer to their land as
Keralam. The most reliable theory is that the name is originated from the
phrase chera alam (Land of the Chera). Kerala's tourism industry,
among others, also use the phrase God's own country.
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American literary notables who lived in Paris
from the end of World War I to the beginning of the Great Depression
included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and
Gertrude Stein. African-American expatriation to Paris also boomed after
World War I, beginning with black American veterans who preferred the
subtler racism of Paris to the oppressive racism and segregation in parts of
the United States. In the 1920s African-American writers, artists, and
musicians arrived in Paris and popularized jazz in Parisian nightclubs, a
time when Montmartre was known as "the Harlem of Paris." Some notable
African-American expatriates from the 1920s onward included Josephine Baker,
Langston Hughes, and, after World War II, Richard Wright, James Baldwin,
Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker. Another famous group of expatriates was the
so-called Beat Generation of American artists living in other countries
during the 1950s and 1960s. This group included Allen Ginsberg, William S.
Burroughs, Harold Norse, Gregory Corso and Gary Snyder. Later generation
expatriates included 1950s jazz musicians such as Steve Lacy, 1960s rock
musician Jim Morrison, and 1970s singer-songwriter Elliott Murphy. Preceding
the Beats by several years, and serving to some extent as a point of
pilgrimmage for many of them was the American expatriate composer and writer
Paul Bowles, who spent time in Europe in the 30s before relocating to
Tangiers, Morocco in 1947, where he lived until his death in 1999. Many
American fashion designers have notably become expatriates in France and
Italy to design for existing European design houses or to enhance their own
collections. These fashion designers include Marisol Deluna, Tom Ford,
Patrick Kelly, and Marc Jacobs. Colorado-born actor, singer and songwriter
Dean Reed never achieved great success in his native United States, but
later achieved great popularity in South America, especially Argentina,
Chile and Peru. He appeared in several Italian "spaghetti westerns" and
finally spent much of his adult life in German Democratic Republic, but
never renounced his USA citizenship. He was an immensely popular celebrity
in Eastern Europe until his death in 1986. During the later half of the 20th
century expatriation was dominated by professionals sent by their employers
to foreign subsidiaries or headquarters. Starting at the end of the 20th
century globalization created a global market for skilled professionals and
leveled the income of skilled professionals relative to cost of living while
the income differences of the unskilled remained large. Cost of
intercontinental travel had become sufficiently low, such that an employers
not finding the skill in a local market could effectively turn to
recruitment on a global scale. This has created a different type of
expatriate where commuter and short-term assignments are becoming the norm,
and are gradually replacing the traditional long term. Private motivation is
becoming more relevant than company assignment. Families might often stay
behind when work opportunities amount to months instead of years. The
cultural impact of this trend is more significant. Traditional corporate
expatriates did not integrate and commonly only associated with the elite of
the country they were living in. Modern expatriates form a global middle
class with shared work experiences in multi-national corporation and working
and living the global financial and economical centers. Integration is
incomplete but strong cultural influences are transmitted. Middle class
expatriates contain many re-migrants from emigration movements one or two
generations earlier. In Dubai the population is predominantly expatriates,
from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines, with
only 3% of the population made up of Western expatriates. In dealing with
expatriates, an international company reckons the value of them and has
experienced staff to deal with them, and often has a company-wide policy and
coaching system that includes spouses at an earlier stage in the
decision-making process, giving spouses an official voice. Not many
companies provide any compensation for loss of income of spouses. They often
do provide benefits and assistance. The level of support differs, ranging
from offering a job-hunting course for spouses at the new location to full
service partner support structures, run by volunteering spouses supported by
the organization. An example of an expatriate led project can be found in
the Gracia Arts Project of Barcelona.
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