"Kerala" is a charming painting by the Indian modern master M F Husain depicts a svelte woman amidst luxurious green vegetation, flanked on her left by a coconut tree. The present work, painted a year after Husain visited Kerala, contains all these elements that he had found so captivating; the dark-skinned nubile woman signifiying the matriarch and the tropical foliage and tranquil setting. He has used a mosaic like approach in his application of paint, with multiple patches of reddish brown earthy tones to emphasise the woman’s multi-faceted skin tone and vibrant greens for the verdant undergrowth.