The first town in India to reach full literacy: Kottayam, now under an orange rain alert

Background

Kottayam, under an orange rain alert in this spell, is in central Kerala with Kottayam town as its administrative capital.
The district administration records that Kottayam Town was the first town in India to have achieved 100% literacy, in 1989.
The district is bounded by the Western Ghats to the east and by Vembanad Lake and the Kuttanad paddy fields to the west.
It is nicknamed the land of letters, legends, latex and lakes.
Its western side, next to the Kuttanad paddy fields, is the part that floods when the rivers run high.