Folios of palm leaf manuscripts.Many manuscripts were written on palm leaves, even after Indian languages were put on paper in the 13th century. Both sides of the leaves were used for writing. Long rectangular strips were gathered on top of one another, holes were drilled through all the leaves, and the book was held together by string. The palm leaf was an excellent surface for writing with a brass stylus, making possible the delicate lettering used in many of the scripts of southern Asia. Whether the script became angular (as in Devanagari, Bengali or Assamese) or rounded (as in Telugu, Malayalam or Kannada) depended on the original materials and instruments used by scribes and artisans in each region of India.

13th century