Molagu | Botanical Belonging

Columbus brought back chillies to Spain and Portugal from the land of the Aztecs. (Chilli is a word from the Nahuatl language that means "hot pepper"). However it was not very palatable to people in Europe so the enterprising Portuguese had a hunch it would do good business if introduced to India. Dots were connected and see how far this fruit has come. Fascinatingly the name adopted for chilli in India is a whole other story- locals didn't buy into naming it chilli, they gave it a rebrand calling it molagu/milagu in Southern India as the sensation upon tasting it resembled their much loved kuru molagu(in Malayalam) - black pepper. For the rest of India black pepper was known as Mirchi (or other similar derivative of the word) which stems from the name of the ancient Port of Muziris on the Malabar Coast. It is believed that Muziris was the gateway from where spices were traded as long ago as 3000 BCE and for centuries to come thereafter with the Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians and Romans predominantly black pepper. I did some dot connecting myself and I believe the northern regions of India were in agreement with the south and also anointed the chilli fruit with the same name they had given to pepper- Mirchi. Maybe black pepper got a rebrand thereafter as kali mirch to avoid any confusion.

Product description:

1. Fine art (Giclée) paper prints are printed on 310 gsm high quality archival paper. The surface texture of the print and vibrancy of colours lends an immersive depth to the painting. Note frame is not included.
2. Canvas prints are printed on high quality 400 gsm matt coated canvas with a fine and uniform surface texture which is then stretched over a custom wooden frame. These come ready to hang out on your wall!
3. Both canvas and fine art paper prints are acid-free and lignin-free which means they are highly age resistant. If given the right kind of love the painting can last you a few lifetimes.
4. Appearance of colours in the print and display image may vary slightly due to display calibration settings.