training in many of Kerala's traditional arts including Kathakali.
The general cuisine of the people is Keralite cuisine, which is characterised by an abundance of coconut and spices. Other South Indian cuisines, as well as Chinese and North Indian cuisines are popular. Fast food culture is also very prominent in the city.
Thiruvananthapuram has numerous libraries, the prominent ones being the State Central Library (Trivandrum Public library, Est. 1829), the University Library, Thiruvananthapuram Children's Library, Manuscripts Library and the Centre for Development Studies Library. The British Library (Est. 1964) was located very near to the Government Secretariat adjacent to the YMCA Hostel
