Marar lived the perfect rags-to-riches story of dedication and hard work transforming a Class 6 dropout into the owner of one of the most popular publishing houses in the State
Marar lived the perfect rags-to-riches story of dedication and hard work transforming a Class 6 dropout into the owner of one of the most popular publishing houses in the State
Hundreds paid homage to N.E. Balakrishna Marar, founder of Touring Book Stall (TBS) and Poorna Publications, who passed away in Kozhikode on Friday. The body was kept at his home in Puthiyara in Kozhikode for the public to pay homage.
Marar, who celebrated his 90th birthday a day before his death, lived the perfect rags-to-riches story of dedication and hard work transforming a Class 6 dropout into the owner of one of the most popular publishing houses in the State.
Born in Kannur, Marar reached Kozhikode in 1947 and worked as a newspaper boy who sold books in the afternoon. As he started taking books on a cycle to people’s doorsteps, the name ‘Touring Book Stall’ was given to it. He set up a small bookstall on S.M. Street in the city in 1957, which became a favourite haunt of writers and booklovers alike. TBS developed into a five-storey building at Muthalakkulam in 1988, featuring study guides, laboratory equipment, stationery, and gift products besides books. The bookstall that once came to the readers’ doorstep on a cycle later started delivering them by air.
Marar founded Poorna Publications in 1966 with the help of his friends and various writers in the city. It has published more than 7,000 books so far, including the maiden works of some of the most accomplished writers of each generation. Marar is considered a godfather to many of them and a supportive friend for many others.
He also bagged a number of awards such as the award for the best publisher in 1990, 1996, and 1997, besides the Rotary Vocational Excellence Award in 2000. His autobiography Kanneerinte Madhuryam (The sweetness of tears) bagged the Abu Dhabi Shakti Thayat Award in 2008.
