If you're familiar with C++, I recommend to have a look at Boost::Python.
Sample program:
#include <boost/python.hpp>
#include <iostream>
void world()
{
std::cout << "hello world" << std::endl;
}
BOOST_PYTHON_MODULE( hello )
{
using namespace ::boost::python;
def( "world", &world );
}
Usage:
python -c "import hello; hello.world()"