PALM LEAF Across eastern and southern India
Before paper, palm leaf or Ola was the most popular material used for writing and painting in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Indonesia. In India, they have been used for more than 2,000 years. Scribes recorded much of India's literary and scientific heritage on these, etching letters carefully into the dried leaf, at an angle from the grain, to avoid splitting the leaf. The leaf was also used as a surface for paintings. In the right climate and in undisturbed conditions, palm leaf manuscripts can last up to three or four centuries
The process: Different parts of the country used diverse processing techniques. In Orissa, palm leaves were made flexible with seasoning