Calligraphy in the present age has become the most venerated form of Islamic art. And contemporary artists through their art creating a new heritage of calligraphy. The calligraphers work demands more perfection as there is no chance to make a mistake or a careless stroke. Most of the calligraphers wishes and tries to carve their way to touch the heights of intellect.
The calligraphers and painters of the modern era give more attention towards painterly calligraphy rather traditional one. They got influenced by calligraphic work done in other countries of the world and start drawing and painting the words freely and creatively without strictly following the traditional styles but of course this type of calligraphic work is governed by the principles of balance and proportion, rhythm and unity.
Painterly calligraphy became famous in 1950s; Hanif Ramay was the true pioneer of this technique. He was followed by Shakir Ali, Sadequain, Aftab Ahmed, Aslam Kamal, Bashir Moojid, Shafique Farooqi, Ismail Guljee and others. Islamic calligraphy is our religious as well as cultural heritage. Basically Islamic calligraphy is associated with geometric art. The same arcs and loops, ovals and circles, vertical and horizontal lines are used as designs world over. The basic geometrical forms remain the same in all works of artists. They choose the most appropriate form they like to use in their calligraphic paintings.
Proverbs and passages from the Holy Qur'an are the major sources of Islamic calligraphy. There are many types of scripts practices the world over for calligraphy but the most preferable is Khat-e-Kufi. In the modern world Khat-e-Kufi, Khat-e-Tuluth, Khat-e-Nastaliq, Khat-e-Naskh, Khat-e-Diwani, Khat-e-Diwani Jali, Khat-e-Riqa and Khat-e-Reham are used by the calligraphers. But Khat-e-Suls, Khat-e-Naskh and Khat-e-Nastaliq are more famous among calligraphers.
During centuries-long heyday calligraphy became increasingly decorative and ornate. Images of flowers and plants, geometric and mathematical designs were inserted and interwoven with the words of the Holy Qur'an. Recent works in calligraphy appears in square and circular shapes, highlighted by bright red, orange, blue, ochre, cloudy white - that is all festive colours that are eye catching.
The viewers appreciate and praise these paintings. Calligraphy is done by using various types of mediums, including oils, acrylics, watercolours and pastels decorated with bright colours, glitters and Islamic motifs. Modern calligraphy ranges from functional hand lettered inscriptions and designs to fine art pieces where the abstract expression of the hand written piece may or may not supersede the legibility of the letters. This mode of calligraphy became popular among the masses and got a lot of praise and encouragement. Our modern artists whose calligraphic works are much appreciated include Ahmed Khan, Arif Khan, Asad Faruki, Mashkoor Raza, Mussarat Arif, Tariq Javed and Zulfiqar Ali. nadeemzuberi71@gmail.com