Language experts please excuse if you come across a board translating Kozhikode into two pictures - that of a chicken and a coat - or Kannankara into ‘Eyen Bank.’ The people of Chelannur are now used to these boards, thanks to the innovative ‘language’ experiments by ‘Stickran’ Sivaraman. Sivaraman runs an all-inone shop named ‘A to Z’ and has translated his family name ‘Kolodi’ into ‘Stickran.’ Sivaraman has been running his shop for the past three years, apart from selling application forms for all governmental and non-governmental purposes. His service doesn’t end there. He makes sure that whoever applies through him has received the respective services. “Whenever any application filed through me is returned, I ask the customer to return it. I will make the necessary corrections and ensure that the person gets the needed service,” says Sivaraman. Neighbouring shops and passers-by hail his business tricks. “Whoever passes by his shop will stop for a moment to think what is meant by the strange boards,” says Vinod, a resident. Now that the people are familiar with the boards and they know what is being sold inside, Sivaraman has reduced the number of boards. He sells everything that a small family needs, as he claims, from hay to almirahs and pots to sand strainers. “People ask for old kitchen items and show-pieces. I also keep the stuff needed for funeral purposes, except coffins,” says Sivaraman