The Calligraphy Foundation organised Akshar Mahotsav in the Department of Design, Delhi Technological University on the occasion of World Calligraphy Day. The Akshar Mahotsav is part of the Foundation’s awareness campaign. Rajeev Prakash Khare, Honorary Member TCF, Art Director Delhi Press, Prof. Ranganath M. Singari, HOD Department of Design, Tarundeep Girdher, Honorary Member TCF & Activity Chairperson, NID Ahmedabad, Raghunita Gupta, Chairperson The Calligraphy Foundation, Abhishek Vardhan Singh, Co-founder TCF organised the event.
The two most crucial things needed in our industry are awareness and education, according to Raghunita Gupta, Professional Calligrapher and Chairperson of the Calligraphy Foundation. She went on to say that the goal was to organise an event where calligraphers could gather, communicate, and exchange, which would build our community. She also praised the Department of Design for their ongoing assistance with this occasion.
At the event, guests included Rajender Singh, an additional session judge for New Delhi, Dinesh Goswami, an executive member of the Supreme Court Bar Association for New Delhi, Tilakraj Malik as well as Saharsh Jauhari, Saurabh Kumar, Deepika Malik, and Rajan Malik.
The introduction, application, and celebration of calligraphy were all part of the day-long event. This event drew about 400 calligraphers from around India. Experts and amateurs from across the country attended the event, hoping to meet others interested in the field. One of the event’s biggest draws was the awareness segment, which featured an exhibition of the works of calligraphers from around India, with a specific emphasis on regional scripts, where the Guest of Honor signed his name in Urdu with a brush.
Master Calligrapher and Font Designer Rajeev Prakash Khare remarked, “Akshar speaks, and one must connect with them in order to understand them.” Abhishek Vardhan Singh, Calligrapher and Co-Founder of The Calligraphy Foundation, exhibited a stunning blend of history and calligraphy during the inaugural event. He created a calligram using Indus Script and discussed the origins of the script.
When informed of the need for awareness, Saharsh Jauhari stated that “calligraphy should be allocated a category under our country’s conserved history.” Prof. Ranganath M. Singari spoke extensively on the need of education and awareness.
The workshops included the principles of calligraphy, basic tools, and letterforms. Mentors attending the session included Ekta Chahar, Chetna Morkhade, Dr. Yogendra Velichharla, Tanvi Saraiya, Gitika Jain, Ravi Bhatia, and Sadhika Gupta. Multilingual Scripts (Devanagari, Gothic, Brushpen, Arabic) were presented live by Rajeev Prakash Khare, Abdul Kareem (Kareemgraphy), Inku Kumar, and Lalit Mourya. Senior calligraphers, such as Harish Kumar, were there and praised the team’s efforts.
Ayush paper, Manuscript co., Sona Paper, Cosmo paper, Syahi co., Krishna inks, Designfist, ADI community, Art affair, and Eman bakehouz all contributed to the success of this programme.