The history of Kerala is shrouded in legends. The myth that Parusarama reclaimed the land called Kerala from the sea by throwing his mace may suggest that several parts of the land were made habitable by the receding sea. There are no records to show who the rulers of Kerala were before the Christian era. It is believed that the ‘Ayi’ Kingdom flourished in the south in the early centuries of the Christian era and the chera kingdom in central Kerala in later centuries. With the coming of Europeans, Kerala society, which had already imbibed several external influences, began transforming into the present modern, cosmopolitan society.