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  "path": "/2026/06/13/palakkad-gap/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-13T10:30:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://srikanthperinkulam.com",
  "tags": [
    "newsletter",
    "🔗"
  ],
  "textContent": "Rishi’s most recent newsletter sent me down a rabbit-hole on the Palakkad Gap - the lowest and most significant mountain pass in the Western Ghats in India. It all makes sense now - The weather patterns, our ancestral migration, the language effect…\n\nAnd then the word _Kerala_ was derived from _Cheralam_. The Cheras Dynasty ruled this part of India then and the Palakkad Gap was instrumental in the Chola Dynasty engaging with the Cheras. Malayalam evolved from a western dialect of Old Tamil and was heavily influenced by Sanskrit. The words _Pattar_ and _Bhat_ evolved from sanskrit word _bhaṭṭa_! And the word Malayalam is most likely derived from _mala_ and _alam_ - language of the mountainous region.\n\nThis is all so fascinating! 🔗",
  "title": "Palakkad Gap"
}