For Faiza Mehraj the COVID lockdown has been a blessing in disguise. She wanted to learn Calligraphy but she had no time until the lockdown last year when took the opportunity to learn calligraphy- an artistic practice of handwriting.
Faiza Mehraj, who is presently working as a teacher at Faiz-e-Aam Secondary School-a sister concern of Dar-ul-uloom Rahimya Bandipora developed her interest in calligraphy during the period of lockdown. “I started drawing during lockdown and received appreciation on social media that kept me going.
Faiza- a post-graduate in Mathematics is doing Kufic calligraphy- one of the oldest calligraphic form of the Arabic script. The style gained prominence as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration.
It consists of a modified form of the old Nabataean script, developed from the Nabataeans of Iraq alphabet in the city of Kufa, from which its name is derived.
The Kufic script is characterized by angular, rectilinear letterforms and its horizontal orientation. There are many different versions of Kufic script, such as square Kufic, floriated Kufic, knotted Kufic, and others.
Faiza has learned all these scripts and is drawing it on canvass besides writing Quran in the same script. She said she was always passionate about the art of calligraphy. “I started this art during the period of lockdown as I was able to manage the time during that period,” she added.
“Calligraphy is part of our culture. It connects us to our roots. Calligraphy is flourishing now and the young generation is inclined towards this art,” says Faiza