E-Paper
PuLa’s handwriting highlights digital font domain
Pune: The memories of multi-talented Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, popularly known as Pu La, will remain alive among his followers in the digital world.
Pune: The memories of multi-talented Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, popularly known as Pu La, will remain alive among his followers in the digital world.
City-based digital agency Be Birbal will launch the digital font of Pu La’s handwriting on June 12 — the death anniversary of on eof the most popular and adored multifaceted personality that Maharashtra ever had. Besides being a writer and humourist, Pu La was stage actor, script writer, composer, musician, singer, orator and music director.
The font, titled PuLa100, available for free download, is a digital replica of the legendary author’s handwriting and will let its patrons experience what they write in the penmanship of their favourite humourist.
Gandhaar Sangoram, founder-director, Be Birbal, said, “The idea to pay tribute to the legendary author by developing a digital font of his handwriting was conceived in his birth centenary year. Therefore, the name — PuLa100. The font is fruition of our one and a half years of efforts.”
The work to develop a digital font of Marathi author’s writing started as an in-house exercise with data sampling of the letters written by PL Deshpande procured from Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune. Later, a font expert was brought on board to finalise the font.
”Considering the huge following of Pu La across the world, creating a digital font of his handwriting was a task loaded with responsibility. The basic challenge was to capture the essence of his writing in the font”, said Sangoram.
“PL Deshpande’s handwriting had a flow derived from the speed of his thoughts and the curves of his letters is a visual testament to a hand trying to keep up with the mind. To take the physicality and tangibility of something as personal as someone’s handwriting, and making it digital and to immortalise the essence of that person, is our biggest achievement so far. Dinesh Thakur, Jyoti Thakur and Niranjan Abhyankar from IUCAA along with Kimya Gandhi contributed in the font development”, said Sangoram.
