The Moplah .

Here is the painting of 'The Maplah'. It is done in oil on board.The moplahs of 'malabar are muslims who are the descendents of the Arab traders who came to malabar coast during 9th cen taking advantage of the 'fast trade routes' they discovered using the monsoon winds. They were welcomed by the Samoothiripaad(Zamorin-anglicised) for the revenue they brought.The arabs were given liberal concessions ,and they married local women.The Moplahs of today are the offsprings of this mixed race.They also purchased children from lower castes-mainly fishercommunity(mukkuvan) to convert to Islam and use in their boats.(read some where that zamorin had made it compulsory that one child from each mukkuvan family should be given for convertion to Islam !!) Here is a moplah with his skull cap ,trade mark scarf(which he would spread on the ground for 'namaz'.and the beedi tucked behind his ears.This is the moplah gentleman who used to run the friendly neighbourhood 'chaya kada' at Koothuparamba.:-)