Najeeb Muhammad, the protagonist of the novel, is a young man from somewhere near Kayamkulam, Kerala state, recently married and dreams of a better work in any of the Persian Gulf states.
At the time of the 1850s breast cloth controversies, he had commanded all Channar women in his area to defy royal prohibition upon covering upper body and had bought and distributed upper cloths to all Avarna women in Kayamkulam market.
The school is one among the many institutions that are set by his name including those in Mavelikara and Kayamkulam.
A treaty known as the Treaty of Mannar was signed, by which Kayamkulam became a tributary.
The Headquarters of Kayamkulam Raja was at that time at Krishnapuram, very near to the Padanilam (which is hardly 1 km away from Oachira).