Kozhikode (Malayalam:കോഴിക്കോട് [koːɻikːoːɖ] ( listen)), also known as Calicut, is a city in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the third largest city in Kerala and the headquarters of Kozhikode district.

Kozhikode has had a long and illustrious history- that of resplendent trade, poignant invasions and liberation struggles. Calicut was dubbed the "City of Spices" for its role as the major trading point of eastern spices during the Middle ages and probably as early as Classical antiquity. Kozhikode was once the capital of an independent kingdom by the same name and later of the erstwhile Malabar District.

During the Sangam period, the land where Kozhikode now stands was an uninhabited region of the Chera Empire. This land, part of the larger Tamilakam partly fell within the Kudanad (Western land; west of Kongunad) to the south and partly within Puzhinad (Marshy tract) to the north. The dominion of the Cheras extended till present day Vadakara, beyond which was the kingdom of Eli (Ezhi). The ports of Chera empire played an important role in fostering trade relations between Kerala and the outside world. According to scholars, Tyndis or Tondi (present day Kadalundi or Ponnani) to the south of Calicut was a flourishing seaport. During the 9th century, this region became a part of the Second Chera Empire. The Cheras (also known as Perumals) ruled the territory until 1102 CE.

The Kunhali Marakkar or Kunjali Marakkar was the title given to the Muslim naval chief of the Zamorin (Samoothiri) , Hindu king of Calicut, in present day state of Kerala, India during the 16th century. There were four major Kunhalis who played a part in the Zamorin's naval wars with the Portuguese from 1520 to 1600. Of the four Marakkars, Kunjali Marakkar II is the most famous. The Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defence of the Indian coast, to be later succeeded in the 18th century by the Maratha Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre.

The title of Marakkar was given by the Zamorin. It may have been derived from the Malayalam language word marakkalam meaning ‘boat,’ and kar, a termination, showing possession.

The four key Kunhali Marakkars:

According to tradition, Marakkars were originally Muslim marine merchants of port Kochi who left for Ponnani in the Zamorin's dominion when the Portuguese fleets came to Kingdom of Cochin. They offered their men, ships and wealth against the Portuguese to the Zamorin of Calicut-the king took them into his service and eventually they became the Admirals of his fleet.

Pinarayi Vijayan (Malayalam: പിണറായി വിജയൻ) is a politician and a former minister of Kerala, South India. He is currently a politburo member and the state secretary of Kerala State Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).

He was born on 21 March 1944 in a poor family in Pinarayi in Kannur district. He is married to Kamala and has two children, Veena & Vivek.

Pinarayi Vijayan entered politics through student union activities and eventually joined the Communist Party in 1964. He was president and secretary of the Kerala Student's Federation (KSF) and also served as the president of Kerala State Youth Federation (KSYF). During that period, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, Pinarayi Vijayan was imprisoned for one and half years .Later he was elected the president of the Kerala state co-operative bank. And during emergency he was arrested and tortured by police. He got elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970. He was re-elected in 1977, 1991 and 1996. He was the Minister for Electric power and Co-operatives in the E.K. Nayanar ministry from 1996 to 1998. In 1998 he became CPI(M) state secretary. He was elected to the politburo of CPI(M) in 2002.

Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ðɐ ˈɣɐmɐ]) (c. 1460 or 1469 – 24 December 1524) was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India. For a short time in 1524 he was the Governor of Portuguese India, under the title of Viceroy.

Vasco da Gama was born in either 1460 or 1469 in Sines, on the southwest coast of Portugal, probably in a house near the church of Nossa Senhora das Salas. Sines, one of the few seaports on the Alentejo coast, consisted of little more than a cluster of whitewashed, red-tiled cottages, tenanted chiefly by fisherfolk.

Vasco da Gama's father was Estêvão da Gama, who had served in the 1460s as a knight of the household of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu and went on to rise in the ranks of the military Order of Santiago. Estêvão da Gama was appointed alcaide-mór (civil governor) of Sines in the 1460s, a post he held until 1478, and continued as a receiver of taxes and holder of the Order's commendas in the region.

Mehdi Hassan Khan (Urdu: مہدی حسن خان ) is a Pakistani ghazal singer and a former playback singer for Lollywood. He is famously known as the 'King of ghazal' (Urdu: شہنشاہِ غزل). He has ruled the Pakistan film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, and Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the Government of Nepal.

Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1934 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla, near present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab. After the Partition of India, 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.