Assistant Professor

Amity School of Fine Arts

Amity University

 Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India  

Abstract

Creative expression is integral to the human being, be it poetry, music, sculpture, or painting, and immortalizes views in every form. Beautiful carving and engraving on stone. Seals, Wood, and walls bear testimony to this. Which is called calligraphy. The word oriented from “The Greek” words “Kallos” means “Beauty” and “Graphein” means “To-Write. “So, the literary meaning of the calligraphy is simply the art of writing or expression of oneself through the stylized compositions of letters by using Qalam or pen of reed. This research paper is directly dealing with the investigation of rich manuscript calligraphic art in the Mughals era and also focuses on its historical values with a comparison of the modern era.

More of that it speaks about how the modernization of technology hampered and loses the value and demand of this historical art form. So, the modest attempt to create an awareness of metaphysical, aesthetical, structural, spatial, and technical consternation of the Akshara’s Furthermore helps to preserve and promote this precious heritage script of Islamic Calligraphy under the section of "National Manuscript Preservation Act 1972".  

Keywords: Aesthetical, Akshara’s, Calligraphy, consternation, Heritage, Kallos, Metaphysical, Modernization, Graphein, Qalam, Reed, Structural, Spatial.

1. Introduction:

India has a rich literary history but its writing culture is in decline. Although it began its voyage in Arab countries in the fifth century A.D., this indigenous art style blossomed in various fields under the patronage of the Mughals emperor. When the Mughals were at their greatest, this lovely calligraphy was used on nearly everything, including clothing, glassware, coins, weapons, ammunition, paintings, monuments, and manuscripts. The primary ancestors of the Indian calligraphic style were Egyptians and Arabs, from whom the distinctive art of khattati originated in the Arab peninsula and Iran. They compose letters and verses from the Holy Quran using creative patterns and original forms. This is a spontaneous expression of dedication, devotion, and credit to the supreme and most holy art form in Islamic culture.

But with the invention of printing and the typewriter, this art was affected and the artistic presentation of words was restricted to scribes and professionals or artists. Earlier before the invention of technology, most books were published by executing skilled and mater calligraphers called Katib in their neat and beautiful handwriting. So, calligraphy flourished in two forms. One of the highest forms of artistry and others for professional use in publication.

In India, the early forms of calligraphy are found in the ancient civilization of Indus. These writings depicting the file of that period are yet to be deciphered but the beautiful seals are also a precious source of information and examples of early art. Bear testimony to the development of handwriting. In India, the art of calligraphy flourished during the medieval period and become an out and standing feature of medieval architecture.

The gates and pillars and roofs of most of the mosques, mausoleums, and palaces were decorated with a stone engraved with Qur’anic verses and poetry in beautiful calligraphy to quote a few Taj Mahal of Agra and Qutub Minar of Delhi are the finest illustrations of the art. Besides this manuscript such as Babar Nama, Hamza Nama, and Aaine-e-Akbari we have found an excellent piece of classical calligraphy which is the prime source of my research. Unfortunately, it loses its dignity and identification over the span of time.

1.1.Background Idea:

The artistic age which dawned in India with the accession of Akbar gave the greatest impetus to the development of calligraphy as an architectural ornament as well as the art of writing manuscripts. Expert calligraphers, who came from Iran, were liberally patronized by Akbar. Abdul Fazl, his court historian, has given a faithful account of the art of writing which in his estimation, was superior to painting. In Ain-34 under the heading ‘The Arts of Writing and Painting’ he noted.

“What we call form leads us to recognize a body; the body itself leads us to what we call a notion, an idea. Thus, on seeing the form of a letter, we recognize the letter or a word, and this again will lead us to some idea. Similarly, in the case of what people term a picture. But though it is true that painters, especially those of Europe, succeed in drawing figures expressive of the conceptions which the artist has of any of the mental states, so much so that people may mistake a picture for a reality: pictures are much inferior to the written letter, inasmuch as the letter may embody the wisdom of bygone ages, and become a means to intellectual progress.

“And, indeed, in the eyes of the friends of true beauty, a letter is the source from which the light confined within it beams forth; and in the opinion of the far-sighted, it is the world-reflecting in the abstract. The letter, a magical power, is spiritual geometry emanating from the pen of the invention; a heavenly writ from the hand of fate; it contains the secret of the word and is the tongue of the hand. The spoken word goes to the hearts of such as are present to hear it; the letter gives wisdom to those that are near and far. If it was not for the letter, the spoken word would soon die, and no keepsake would be left to us of those that are gone by.

Superficial observers see in the letter a sooty figure; but the deep sighted a lamp of wisdom. The written letter looks black notwithstanding the thousand rays within it, or it is light with a mole on it that wards off the evil eye. A letter is the portrait painter of wisdom; a rough sketch from the realm of ideas; a dark night ushering in day; a black cloud pregnant with knowledge; the wand for the treasures of insight; speaking, though dumb; stationary and yet traveling; stretched on the sheet, and yet soaring upwards”[1]

Abul Fazl describes various styles of the art of writing which were then known: “The difference in the form of a letter in the several systems, lies in the proportion of straight and round strokes: thus, the Kufic character consists of one-sixth curvature and five-sixths straight lines; the Maqali has no curved lined at all; hence the inscriptions which are found on ancient buildings are mostly in this character.

“In Iran and Turan, India and Turkey, there are eight calligraphically fonts are in trends which is like by mass of peoples. Six of them were derived in A.H. 310 by Ibn-i-Muqlah[2] character viz., Tauqui, Muhaqqar, Naksh, Raihan, and Riqa. Some add the Ghubar and say that this seventh character has likewise been invented by him. The Naksh character is ascribed by many to Yaqut, a slave of the Khalifah Mustasim Billah (the last Khalifa who was killed by Hulagu in 1258) A seventh kind of writing is called ‘Taliq’ which has been derived from the ‘Riqa’ and Tauq’. It contains very few straight lines and was brought to perfection by Khajah-Taji-i-Salmani who also wrote well the other six characters. Some say that he was the inventor, the eighth character which I have no mention in the Nastaliq: it consists entirely of round lines. They say that Mir Ali of Tabriz, a contemporary of Timur derived it from the Naskh and the Taliq; but this can scarcely be correct be corrected, because there exist books in the Nastaliq character written before Timur’s time.”[3] Abul Fazl proceeds to mention famous copyists and calligraphists of the age. They came from Iran, i.e., from Shiraz, Tabriz, Mashhad, Qazwin, Heart, and Nishapur. One hailed from Baghdad. Among the contemporary masters of calligraphy, he named Maulana Abdullay, the private secretary of Sultan Abu Said Mirza who was an expert of Taliq; Maulana Dervish; Amir Mansur; Maulana Ibrahim of Astarabad; Khajah Ikhtiyar; Munshi Jamaluddin; Muhammad of Qazwin; Maulana Idrees; Khajah Muhammad Husain Munshi and Majesty the Emperor (Akbar). He was master of Taliq.[4] Among the famous masters of Nastaliq he named Maulana Sultan Ali of Qayin, Maulana Sultan Ali of Mashhad, Maulana Hijrani, and Maulana Mir Ali; Muhammad Amin of Mashhad; Mir Hussain-i-Kulanki; Maulana Abdulhay; Maulana Dauri (Sultan Bayazid from Heart); Maulana Abdurrahim; Mir Abdullah; Nizami of Qazwin; Ali Chaman of Kashmir and Narullah Qasim Arsalan were other renowned calligraphists of his age.[5]

It may thus be noted that most of them were artists from Iran who immigrated to India in search of better prospects. The Mughal court liberally patronized them and it was they who worked on various projects of Akbar of book-writing and translation. A few calligraphists also came from Kashmir. They too were excellent artists. They completed, sometime excelled, their Iranian colleagues. Abul Fazl observes:

“His Majesty shows much regard to the art, and takes a great interest in the different systems of writing; hence a large number of skillful calligraphists. Nastaliq has especially received a new impetus. The artist who, in the shadow of the throne of His Majesty, has become a master of calligraphy is Muhammad Hussain of Kashmir. He has been honored with the title of ‘Zarrin-Qalam’, the gold pen. He surpassed his master Maulana Abdul Aziz; his maddat and dawair[6] shrew everywhere a proper proportion to each other and art critics consider him equal to Mullah Mir Ali.”[7]

Though he was himself illiterate, Akbar has a great liking for the collection of books, and his library is said to have contained about thirty thousand masses, many important works was translated into Persian, and copies of others were made. The calligraphists of the court were thus constantly engaged in producing a mass of original writing and translated and copied works. Expert calligraphists were also appointed as tutors to princes to train them in the art of good handwriting and we hear, in later times specifically, that some of them, e.g., Shuja and Aurangzeb, were good scribes.

Specimens of good handwriting were collected and preserved like miniatures; some of them were provided with beautiful borders in painted designs and bound in a single volume.[8] Jahangir’s famous ‘Muraqqa-i-Gulshan’ testifies that a specimen of good handwriting was as much appreciated in medieval times as a good painting.

2. The Hunter and the Blackbuck

Illustration to the Anwar-i-Shaili, 978 Hijra/1570

Size: 22.2 X 33.3 cm

Collection: The School of Oriental and African Studies, London

In his early years, Akbar loved reading fables and animal tales. Ibn-al-Muqaffa collated and translated into Arabian tales from the Panchatantra and Hitopadea, two ancient Sanskrit texts, in the eighth century. In the fifteenth century, Husain Waiz-i-ibn 'Ali al-Kashifi translated this well-known Arabic version, Kailash was dimrah, into Persian as anwar-i-Suhaili. This well-known work was produced in a number of illustrated manuscripts in the Persian and Islamic cultures. The Mughal artists (as well as those at Ahmadabad) created at least five copies of Anwar-i-Suhaili or its alternate title, Iyar-i-Danish, that were lavishly illustrated.

The school's copy, which is clearly dated 978 Hijra/1570 and contains 27 exquisitely crafted miniatures, is a crucial resource in the study of the early evolution of the Mughal style. It was created during the development of the Hamza project. Although none of the illustrations are credited, they are all of a rich and opulent nature not found in the large paintings of the Hamzanama.

They also brilliantly blend Mughal realism with Persian conventionalism. The hunter and the scurrying blackbuck are shown in this piece of art prepared to trade arrows. Large patches of green, white, blue, orange, and gold color the sky. The trees and blooming flora are more properly shown, despite the rivers' simulated turbulence, stony banks, and the boulders arranged in coulisses adhering to established Persian custom.

Figure 1(Footnote: -Dawn of Mughal Painting by Ashok Kumar Das, p.no.14)

3. Zainab signals to her lover Zayd from the balcony of a house

Illustration to the Khamsa-i-Nizami, c. 1585-90

Composed by Basawan; the painter’s name lost

Size: 8.7 X 15.8 cm.

Collection: The Keir Collection, Richmond Surrey (No.V. 20)

His is one of 35 miniatures from an exquisite copy of Nizami's Khamsa that was penned in Yzad, Persia, by 'Ali ibn Mubarak al-Fahraji and finished in 1506. When Muhammad Sharif, the son of Khwaja 'Abd-us-Samad, was active and Farrukh Beg had begun working for the Mughal studio following his arrival in 1585, it was chosen by the studio for illustration. When the studio was busy finishing the work of illustrating the great Razmnama and Ramayana manuscripts, now in the City Palace Museum, Jaipur, Robert Skelton correctly dated the illustrations between 1585 to 1590.

In the painting, a young, attractive Zainab is seated on the balcony and is gesturing to her lover Zayd, who is dressed in a blue jama and is standing beyond the courtyard wall. The celebration for Zainab's marriage is taking place in the courtyard. The bridegroom, who is wearing a crimson jama, is sitting with Zainab's father and two other people as they enjoy the performance of a female dancer to the beat of two drummers. The main background's hills and buildings are painted in multicolor, while the sky and far-off hill are painted in gold and green, respectively.

By going beyond the text's boundaries, Basawan has used the full folio. It is obvious that the text within the small region has been employed to give the impression of depth. By completing his works for the Ramayana, Darabnama, Raznama, and Diwan-i-Anwari during the same time period, he had already demonstrated his mastery of every genre of painting.

Figure 2.Footnote:-Dawn of Mughal Painting by Ashok Kumar Das, p.no.18

4. Babar celebrating his conquest of Hindustan

Illustration to the Panama, c 1589-90

Right half of a double-page composition by Ramdas

Size: 13.8 X 24.6cm.

Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Grown Copyright)

 No. I. m 275-1913

The Waki 'at-i-Babari, Babar's autobiographical memoirs, were transcribed into Persian at Akbar's request by 'Abd-ur-Rahim Khan-i-Khanan and handed to him on November 24, 1589. Ellen Smart has deduced that the first illustrated copy was produced before the end of 1589 based on the four whole or fragmentary manuscripts mended quickly after one another. The current miniature was selected for the imperial copy from the Io8 extant specimens of potential I93 miniatures.

The painting, which is on the right side of a double-page composition, shows the celebration that followed Babar's victory against Ibrahim Lodi in Agra in 1528. It was held there in a garden. Babar called his Persian and Turkestani relatives, who joined Persian Shah envoys, and organised camel and elephant contests, wrestling, and music for them. Here, Babar is receiving gifts from the guests as he sits on a throne beneath a canopy.

The painter Ram Das took fifty days to complete the picture as mentioned in an interesting note written on its margin. The portrait of the founding father of the Mughal dynasty is remarkably lively. The venue of the party-a garden at Agra was newly laid by Babar himself-is in keeping with his love for gardens, the absence of which caused grief in his mind at the outset of his stay in India.

Figure 3 Footnote: -Dawn of Mughal Painting by Ashok Kumar Das, p.no.20

Conclusion

Calligraphy is known as beautiful and in Arabic it also means “art of the pen and the geometry of the script. Despite the diversity of the Islamic world Islamic calligraphy is a major element that influenced Islamic art in addition to spiritual value Islamic calligraphy and inscriptions on architect value Islamic calligraphy and inscription on architectural monuments served as historical document calligraphy was an art form that adopted every imaginable art media such as paper wood, metal, glass, stone, ivory and letter this art form is considered a form of worship and played a major role in Islamic culture.

Tools and techniques are more or less the same everywhere yet in each country or geographical region Islamic calligraphy has its own course of development so the calligraphic development of each country may be studied separately. In order to understand the regional peculiarities of a particular style contributes to the total knowledge of their development all over the Islamic world.

References

1. Das. A.K, Dawn of Mughal Painting, Vakils, Feffer and Simons Ltd; First Edition, January 1, 1982.

2. Schimmel. A., The Empire of the Great Mughals History, Art and Culture, Reaktion Books, 2004.

3. Siddiqui. A. R, The Story of Islamic Calligraphy, Sarita Book House, 1990.

4. Dr. Malik. M, History of India, New Saraswati House India Pvt Ltd.

5. Welch. S. C, The Emperors' Album Images of Mughal India, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987.

6. Blair. B. S, Islamic Calligraphy, Edinburgh University Press, 19 January 2020.

7. Rahman. P. I. S.M, Islamic Calligraphy in Medieval India, University Press, 1979.

8. Welch. S. C, India Art, and Culture, 1300-1900, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.

9. Wheelhouse. A. B, Thinkers of the Islamic World A Journey Through Key Scientific and Literary Texts, Paul Holberton Publishing, 2018.

10. Wheelhouse. A. B, The Rhythm of the Pen and the Art of the Book Islamic Calligraphy from the 13th to the 19th Century, Paul Holberton Publishing, 2017.

11. Wheelhouse. A. B, A Library of Manuscripts from India, Sam Fogg Limited, 2016.

Footnote

1. Ain-i-Akbari, H. Blochmann), Vol. I, (Calcutta, 1884), pp.96-97.

2. In A.H. 320 according to Al-Gayet, ante, ft.n.11.

3. Ain-i-Akbari, pp. 99-101

4. Ibid., p.101

5. Ibdi. pp. 102-3.

6. By maddat (extensions) calligraphists mean letters like and by dawair (curvatures) letters like and

7. Abul Fazl, op.cit. pp. 102-3, Mir Ali al-katib came from Mashhad. It was he who introduced Nastaliq into India (cf.Ernst Kuhnel and Hermann Geozt, Indian Book Painting (London 1926), P.59. “He is wrongly described as the inventor of Nastaliq; he was, however, one of its greatest pioneers; he dies in India in 1529,” cf. Ibid. p.59

8. Ernst Kuhnel & Herman Goetze, op. cit., p.58