Shashi Tharoor Calls Kerala a 'Poem Carved Into the Coast,' Celebrates Its Legacy of Coexistence

By A Staff Reporter

Kochi, Kerala: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday delivered a moving tribute to Kerala’s cultural legacy and spirit of inclusivity, describing the state not merely as a geographic entity, but as a living poem rooted in harmony and shared history.

Speaking at a public event in Kochi, Tharoor said, “Kerala is not merely a line on the map. It is a poem carved into the western coast of India, where the mountains rise like silent sieges of the Arabian Sea, whispering the stories of a thousand arrivals.”

Reflecting on the region’s distinctive past, he continued, “It is here in this slender strip of land we live in that the idea of peaceful coexistence was not only imagined, it was lived and it's been passed down like a sacred inheritance.”

Tharoor contrasted Kerala’s intercultural legacy with the often violent and divisive histories of other regions. “Unlike many lands where histories were written in blood and borders, Kerala's past is etched in conversations between cultures, creeds, strangers who became neighbours,” he noted.