An event to celebrate the art of beautiful handwriting

‘Miraj’, a three-day Multilingual International Calligraphy Exhibition and Seminar is a first-of-its-kind event that is happening in Bengaluru from March 10 to March 13. An intriguing element of the event is the representation of Indian vernacular language artworks

Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, has distinctive characteristics that set it aside from other arts. ‘Miraj’, a three-day Multilingual International Calligraphy Exhibition and Seminar is a first-of-its-kind event that is happening in the city from March 10 to March 13.

“More than 50 artists from eight countries are participating in this unique event,” said Muqtar Ahmed, Principal of the Institute of Indo-Islamic Art and Culture, who is also the organiser of the event. 

Apart from the display of calligraphy artworks, the event also included workshops and panel discussions. The event witnessed the presence of many calligraphy experts and artists across the world who shared their experience and knowledge of the art. “I am happy to see so many dedicated, young people in this exhibition who want to excel in this art. Soon, Indian Islamic calligraphy will be flourishing and be more successful,” said Mohammed Efdaluddin Kilic, a calligraphy expert from Istanbul, Turkey.

The panel discussions will include experts from UAE, Sudan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Japan etc. 

Another intriguing element of the event is the representation of Indian vernacular language artworks. It includes Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, etc. Nava Kanth Karide who claims to be the first to do calligraphy in the Telugu language, said, “I have a keen interest in calligraphy. When I visited various exhibitions across the world, I came to know that there was no calligraphy in Telugu. That pushed me to practise the same.” 

Various calligraphy artists and enthusiasts from all walks of life across the city were thrilled to visit ‘Miraj’. “There are various Arabic calligraphies displayed here. It is definitely a learning experience for budding calligraphers. This exhibition will also create interest in artists in learning the vernacular scripts,” Koeli Mukherjee Ghose, an artist and a calligraphy enthusiast said. 

The event will take place at The Falcon’s Den on Brunton Road and the exhibition will remain open for visitors from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.