PALAKKAD: In the quiet heart of Koottanad in Palakad district, a bookseller has chosen to mark his son's wedding not with spectacle, but with the silent grace of literature.
Kurungattu Valappil Subair, the gentle soul behind the 35-year-old bookstall 'Books and Periodicals', has brought out a special collection of Malayalam short stories titled Sadaram, a book that breathes friendship, gratitude, and the scent of ink from a lifetime among words.
The book, a private edition, will be gifted to every family attending the wedding reception on Sunday.
The book includes original or specially permitted stories by some of Malayalam literature's popular voices -- T Padmanabhan, Shihabudheen Poythumkadavu, P Surendran, Manoj Jathavedaru, Santhosh Aechikkanam, E Santhosh Kumar, C Ganesh and N Pradeep Kumar.
"When I shared the idea, every one of them welcomed it warmly," says Subair, who also edited the book.
"They understood it wasn't just a book, but an extension of my life built on stories, characters, writers and readers."