Calligraphy competition organised in Srinagar to promote art form among youth

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], April 16 : A calligraphy art competition was recently organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Srinagar with an aim to promote the art form among the younger generation.
The art competition, organised by a local NGO "Shama" on Thursday, saw the participation of 14 people, mostly girls. The art of calligraphy was introduced in Kashmir by a saint Sharaf-ud-din Bulbul Shah in the 14th century. The new generation uses the latest techniques to make different art on papers and some artists take the help of computers for doing the artwork.

Bisma Ayoub, the organiser of the competition, said, "I started an NGO named 'Shama' recently and as its first event, a live calligraphy competition is held to give promotion to the talent of calligraphy artists. People should recognise their faces. As a token of love, we will also give prizes in the competition. The first price is Rs 6000."

"In social media, I have seen many calligraphy artists and competitions, but I felt a competition should be done on the ground. We will also promote other lesser-known art forms in the future," she said.

Umar Javaid, a participant, said that she likes calligraphy very much. She uses calligraphy to decorate her house. "Calligraphy items in my home have been made by me. It is been three months since I am into this artform...I learned everything myself."

Haniya Bhat, a participant, said, "I am very happy to be part of this competition. For today's competition, I have written an Ayat."
Saba Lateef, another participant said," Calligraphy is one of Kashmir's traditional artforms but it had disappeared from the fore, I feel that coronavirus has brought some life into calligraphy. This is a very good initiative."