But even when calligraphy was at its zenith, Kerala, and even South India, remained oblivious to it as ‘a form of art’, Narayana explains. “Our scripts were mostly written on palm leaf manuscripts, which has an inherent limitation. I.e. you can’t do certain strokes as it would tear the leaf. Which is in part why several of our Malayalam letters are round or oval in shape,” he says.

And by the time the craft made inroads in this region, the printing press had long found a foothold, thus relegating calligraphy to what Narayana describes as “poster works”.

But according to the artist, calligraphy is so much more, and he is thankful that the craft is seeing a resurgence. “I say this often, and much to the anger of several artists. Calligraphy has even a one up over painting,” Narayana says.

Elaborating further, he adds, “Painting artworks have colour, a style and a message. Calligraphy has these three and another element: lettering.” This, he says, holds the viewers attention for ever the slightly longer. Some lean on this aspect of calligraphy to make it political. And it has been used to such masterful effect in politics, especially in Kerala.