If you spend time in Kerala you will end up outside, and possibly inside, a temple. This class explains what you are seeing, what the words mean and how to behave, so the visit is an experience rather than a puzzle. FIRST, THE ASKING Some Kerala temples restrict entry to Hindus, and some have dress requirements. Always ask. അകത്തേക്ക് വരാമോ? May I come inside? Nobody minds the question. Everybody minds the assumption. THE BUILDING If your image of an Indian temple is a tall carved tower, that is the Tamil Nadu tradition and Kerala looks nothing like it. A Kerala temple is a walled compound: low, steeply pitched tiled or copper roofs, heavy timber, a great deal of empty swept ground. From outside it resembles a large traditional house — built by the same carpenters, in the same climate, out of the same materials, on the same roof logic. ഗോപുരം the gateway — here a modest gate-house · മതിൽ the compound wall ബലിക്കൽപ്പുര the pavilion with the offering stones കൊടിമരം the flagstaff, often copper-clad, where the festival flag is hoisted നമസ്കാര മണ്ഡപം the pavilion before the sanctum ശ്രീകോവിൽ the sanctum — small, freestanding, often circular or square with a conical roof. Only the priest enters. പ്രദക്ഷിണവഴി the circumambulation path — walk clockwise, shrine on your right കൂത്തമ്പലം the temple theatre for Koodiyattam · ഊട്ടുപുര the dining hall · കുളം the temple tank Kerala is one of very few places in India that builds ROUND shrines, and the circular sanctum with a conical roof is one of the region's architectural signatures. Nobody is entirely certain why. THE PRACTICE ദർശനം darshan — the act of seeing the deity and being seen. This is the central action. There is no congregation and no sermon. You go, you see, you are seen, you leave. പൂജ the ritual worship · ദീപാരാധന the lamp offering — the most beautiful moment to witness പ്രസാദം the blessed offering distributed after. Take it in your right hand and eat it; refusing is genuinely rude. ചന്ദനം sandalwood paste · ഭസ്മം sacred ash · തീർത്ഥം the sanctified water, received in the right palm and sipped വഴിപാട് an offering made for a specific purpose, booked and paid at the counter തൊഴുക to worship with joined palms · പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുക to pray തന്ത്രി the chief priest · പൂജാരി or ശാന്തി the priest of the daily worship ദേവസ്വം the board that administers temples THE BEHAVIOUR, PLAINLY Footwear off, outside, always. Dress conservatively — at traditional temples men remove the shirt and wear a mundu, women wear a saree or salwar. No photography inside without explicit permission, and many temples forbid it entirely. Walk clockwise. Touch nothing. Be quiet. Do not use a temple as a photo location; it is a working religious site. The same principle holds at Kerala's churches and mosques: ask, cover, be quiet. Quizzes below. Dr. Reshmi R Nair — SpeakMalayalam.