Narayam

Narayam or ezhuthani is a writing instrument (stylus) used since antiquity in South India, Sri Lanka and other proximate regions of Asia.

In essence, the narayam is a long piece of iron with a sharpened or pointed end and fabricated to ergonomically fit into the writer's fist.

Narayam was the primary tool to scribe on palm-leaf manuscripts called thaliyola, the pre-treated leaf of an Asian palmyra palm.

Until the introduction of paper, the palm leaves remained as the primary medium for creating, circulating and preserving written articles in the region.

Through these holes, the individual leaves were kneaded together using threads, thereby forming a bound collection which is commonly known as a grantha (book), e.g. Guru Granth Sahib.