Around 15 years ago, singer and music composer Gandhaar Sangoram lost his grandfather. A music critic and writer, he left behind a bunch of old letters that turned into a treasure for him. "When I started to read them, I could sense my grandfather-s presence around me. It was as if he was standing right there. And I realised much of it had to do with the fact that they were handwritten. Handwriting is like a fingerprint; you cannot replicate it," he says. A few years later, the thought led him to create a font, in memory of a different inspirational figure who shaped his childhood—Purushottam Laxman Pu La Deshpande.

Sangoram, now 30, has created and launched a font to commemorate the birth centenary year of Pu La, one of the greatest icons of Marathi culture. Titled simply PuLa 100, the font is a digital replica of the legendary author-s handwriting and will let patrons experience what they write in their favourite humourist-s penmanship. "Four years ago, I started Be Birbal Digital Media Pvt Ltd., when my career in composing was going well. The idea came to me when I, along with some Marathi actors, was staging a play. We thought of creating something fun on social media, and started a hashtag, which got 13 lakh hits. Even after starting my agency, doing something for Pu La was always on the cards," Sangoram says.