A three-day multilingual calligraphy exhibition and seminar named Miraj will be held in Bangalore from March 10 to 12, 2023.
The event will be held at Falcon’s Den, Prestige Falcon Towers, Brunton Road here in the city.
The exhibition and seminar will be first of its kind in Bengaluru, Syed Beary, Chairman of Bearys Group said in a press conference at the Press Club on Wednesday.
The event sponsored by Bearys Group is being organised by Institute of Indo Islamic Art and Culture ( IIIAC), Syed Beary who is also the Chairman and Managing Trustee of IIIAC added.
“More than 50 artists and experts from across the world will take part in this unique event. Calligraphy is a special art. It helps in maintaining balance between your mind, body and your thoughts,” he further added.
“Calligraphy finds its origin in Arabic. But Chinese and Japanese modern calligraphy are also significantly beautiful and pleasing to eyes. Even Indian regional languages have now adopted calligraphy and artists are exhibiting their skills and talents in their respective regional languages,” Syed Beary further stated.
Speaking about the exhibition, he said experts and artists from more than 10 countries including Turkey, Japan, Sudan, and Middle-East will take part in the event. Calligraphy experts in Urdu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and other regional languages will also be a part of the event.
“Seminars, Talks, and discussions on various aspects of calligraphy will also be held during this first of its kind three-day event,” he said.
Institute of Indo Islamic Art and Culture’s Principal Muqtar Ahmed also spoke at the press conference and said the exhibition will be inaugurated on March 10 at 10:30 am by Irfan Razack, Chairman and Managing Director of Prestige Group, Bangalore. The seminar will be inaugurated later at 3 pm by Maulana Mufti Sageer Ahmed, Ameer-e-Shariyat, Karnataka, snf Principal & Shaikul Hadees, Darul Uloom Sabeelur Rashad.
Zia Ulla Sharief, Chairman India Builders Corporation, Bangalore, Irfan Razack, Chairman, MD Prestige Group Bangalore, Shabeena Sultana, Consul of the Republic of Tunisia, Bangalore and Pusphamala N, Artist, Sculptor, Writer and Curator will be guests of honor during the inaugural event that will be presided over by Syed Mohamed Beary, Muqtar Ahmed said.
He also spoke about how expert calligraphers of multiple languages will grace the event and share their thoughts and experiences with the participants.
Efdaluddin Kilic, Turkey, Narjes Noureddine, UAE, Dr. Abdullah Fattini, KSA, Tagalsir Hasan, Sudan, Mohsin Ghareeb, Bahrain, Farid Abdur Rahim, Kuwait, Dr. Ali Rabbani, Iran, Yuko Takaji, Japan, Achyut Palav, Marathi, Poosapati Raju, Telugu, Narayana Bhattathiri, Malayalam, Suresh Waghmore, Kannada, Vinoth Kumar, Tamil, Nikheel Aphale, Hindi & Devanagari, Salva Rasool, Urdu are some of the experts who will hold talks on Calligraphy on the first day of the event.
The exhibition will remain open from 10:30 am to 8:00 pm on three days of the event.
The program schedule is as follows:
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / VarthaBharati.in / Home> Karavali / by Vartha Bharati / March 08th, 2023
Muqtar Ahmed at work. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
A 24-year-old with a global presence and her teacher are among a few keeping the art of Arabic calligraphy alive in India
Bee Bee Laisa, a final year Engineering student in Bengaluru, has a dream. The 24-year-old wants to transcribe a copy of the Koran in Arabic. “I have always been interested in art and drawing, but it was only when I started learning English calligraphy that I was introduced to the art form in Arabic, which would help me transcribe the holy book,” says Laisa.
And so began her journey in 2016, as a student of the Institute of Indo-Islamic Art and Culture (IIAC) at Richmond Street, Bengaluru, to learn Arabic calligraphy. Also known as khat, this centuries-old art form is held in high regard by Muslims because of its association with the dissemination of the Koran before the era of printing presses.
In the past five years, Laisa has mastered the decorative script thuluth considered one of the most difficult fonts, and naskh (used to write the Koran). Her talent has been recognised on several international and local platforms: her calligraphic artworks of Koranic verses and Islamic phrases have been exhibited in Japan, UAE, and Jaipur since 2017.
Calligraphy alphabet sampler by Bee Bee Laisa. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
It is a huge leap forward for Laisa, whose father works as a banana delivery vehicle driver in Bengaluru. Laisa says calligraphy has helped improve her concentration and also use her drawing skills in her Civil Engineering classes.
“Calligraphers can’t have any dot or line out of place; this has helped me present spotless drawings for my coursework as well,” she says.
The school uses traditional materials to teach the art, including wooden or reed pens (qalam) and inks from plant-based resins. As per tradition, strands of raw silk are placed inside the inkpot (likka), to help regulate the amount of ink on the qalam tip, and also to prevent spills onto the paper.
“We use a paper called muqahar for the final version. Though it is commercially available, calligraphers also learn how to prepare their own muqahar sheets,” says Muqtar Ahmed, the principal and tutor at of the IIAC.
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Built to be timeless
The process of making muqahar was perfected in the 17th Century by Turkish calligraphers, and Arabic calligraphy students still learn it today.
Paper is stained with natural dyes (like tea or floral decoctions) and then coated with a tempering mixture of alum crystals dissolved in egg whites. It is then burnished to get a glossy finish.
“Muqahar paper, if made correctly, can last up to 700 years,” says Ahmed.
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Devoted to the art
Ahmed is the man guiding Laisa in her mission. He has the distinction of being the only Indian to have earned his Ijazah (Masters diploma) in Arabic calligraphy from the Turkey-based Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), under the auspices of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He has trained over 500 students through the school’s weekly courses, and has started online classes during lockdown.
“Calligraphy takes a long time to learn, and one only gets better with continuous practice,” says Ahmed.
His own encounter with the art form is a tribute to his tenacity. As an Intermediate school graduate in a small village in Telengana, he started learning Urdu and Arabic calligraphy and decided to make his career as a scribe for an Urdu publication in Bengaluru, in 1990.
Arabic calligraphy by Muqtar Ahmed. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
“I used to write entire pages of articles in the column style, before the computers came in,” he says.
Most of the commercial calligraphy that was done for Urdu and Arabic journals before automated printing lacked the aesthetic values of the original art form, he says.
“I’d like to revive Arabic calligraphy among young people and show them how this can not only be an art but also a way to remember the divine in our life,” Ahmed says.
When he lost his job in 1994, Ahmed decided to research how other calligraphers, especially those outside India, were sustaining their craft. He set up a small commercial press to keep his home fires burning, and kept looking out for masters in calligraphy.
“I realised that it is not a language transforming tool, but an art that has a different respect globally,” he adds.
Among the people who helped him were Washington-based Syrian font designer and calligrapher Maamoun Sakkal, and Mohamed Zakariya, the first Westerner to earn calligraphy diplomas from IRCICA in Turkey.
In what sounds like an incredible process today, Zakariya, who is based in Virginia and does not use electronic communication, tutored Ahmed over postal correspondence for three-and-a-half years.
“I used to send my completed exercises from Bengaluru, and he would reply with his comments and corrections by post. Mr Zakariya didn’t charge me any fees for the tuition, and I feel very fortunate to have been his student,” says Ahmed.
Zakariya also introduced Ahmed to his own master Hasan Chalabi from IRCICA, who invited him to Turkey in 2008. After several visits to Istanbul to learn the art, Ahmed earned his Masters degree in 2013.
Paying it forward
“My professors advised me to start teaching calligraphy in India after I graduated, so that I could rekindle the old majesty of the art. When Mr Syed Mohamed Beary [a local real estate developer] heard of this, he sponsored the establishment of the institute in Bengaluru, and put me in charge of it. I’m glad to see that though it is a very difficult field to excel in, at least 15 of our students are being recognised for their calligraphy,” says Ahmed.
Ameerul Islam and Abdul Sattar, two of his students, have set up a branch of the institute in Hyderabad. IIAC’s curriculum covers the Arabic scripts riqa (for newcomers), naskh and thuluth and nastaliq in Urdu. Learning any two scripts thoroughly is ideal for a calligrapher, says Ahmed.
Bee Bee Laisa. Photo: Special Arrangement/THE HINDU
Bee Bee Laisa’s aim of transcribing the Koran is shared by her teacher. “In fact it is the ultimate goal of every Arabic calligrapher,” says Ahmed. “But it is a huge project, because there are at least 600 pages to be transcribed. If we do something with our hands, it is priceless,” he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Nahla Nainar / February 19th, 2021
Bengaluru-based calligrapher Muqtar Ahmed is on a mission to revive the art of Arabic calligraphy in India. At the Indo-Islamic Art and Culture (IIIAC) in Bengaluru, he has trained 500 youngsters so far.
Muqtar Ahmed believes that there is no script as beautiful as Arabic in the world. (Facebook)
Arabic calligraphy is worship for Muqtar Ahmed, an Indian calligrapher who has made a mark for himself at a global level. Hailing from a remote village in Telangana, and currently based in Bengaluru, Muqtar is on a mission to revive this dying art in India.
As beautiful as pearls, his works attract attention even if one is not familiar with Arabic. According to him, the aesthetics and refinement are the specialities of Islamic art. “Writing the Quranic verses and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Mohammad) is worship. These works are sawab-e-jaria (continuous reward),” says the calligrapher, who believes that there is no script as beautiful in the world.
Muqtar believes his efforts have started yielding results as his disciples are carving a niche for themselves at a global level. The only Indian to obtain an “Ijazah” (Master’s diploma) from the Istanbul-based Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Muqtar is grooming young talent at the Institute of Indo-Islamic Art and Culture (IIIAC) in Bengaluru.
Institute of Indo-Islamic Art & Culture about 11 months ago
He has so far trained 500 youngsters, including students and professionals coming from varied backgrounds at the institute. A Japanese girl is among the three foreigners who learnt Arabic calligraphy under him. Muqtar, whose calligraphic works adorn mosques and even private jets abroad, is happy that the institute is getting global recognition for the high standards set by it in Arabic calligraphy.
Three of his students bagged top prizes at a national-level calligraphy competition organised in New Delhi last year by Yayasan Restu, a Malaysian organisation. Ameerul Islam and Abdul Sattar of Hyderabad won the top honours and were selected for an 18-month training programme in Malaysia.
About 400 people from calligraphy institutes across the country participated in the competition. “For the first time, people in India saw what real Arabic calligraphy is,” said Muqtar, who has participated in many exhibitions in different parts of the world.
Institute of Indo-Islamic Art & Culture about a year ago
According to him, the art in India has been in continuous decline after the end of Mughal rule. He pointed out that the calligraphy work in India was never recognised globally, as it was nowhere near the international standard.
Ameerul Islam and Abdul Sattar are now teaching calligraphy at the institute’s Hyderabad branch, which was opened recently. The talented youth, who have participated in competitions in various countries, are training more than 20 students.
Muqtar, who plans to open another branch of the institute in Lucknow, believes that with more youngsters evincing interest in Arabic calligraphy, the art has bright future in the country. The “ijazah” obtained by Muqtar in 2013 may have fetched him a good job in the Arab world, where Islamic art is greatly valued. But he stayed back to revive the art in India, where it once enjoyed royal patronage.
One of his works was purchased by the then governor of Madina in 2011 when he participated in the international exhibition in the holy city in Saudi Arabia.
Interested in calligraphy from his school days, Muqtar migrated from his village in Medak district to Hyderabad to learn the art. He them moved to Bengaluru where he started working for a Urdu daily. Rendered jobless after the newspaper replaced calligraphy with computers in the early 1990s, Muqtar started writing wedding cards to make a living. “It was not my goal. I wanted to go deep into the art,” recalled the artist, who improved his art under renowned international calligraphers Mamoun Luthfi Sakkal and Mohammed Zakariya of the US, and refined it further under the guidance of Turkey’s Hassan Chalabi and Dawood Biktash.
Muqtar, who uses special, handmade pens for his writings, said he achieved precision with perseverance. “Even a small piece of calligraphy takes several hours. You have to write a letter hundreds of times to achieve accuracy,” he said.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Lifestyle> Art and Culture / by Indo Asian News Service / April 08th, 2018
