Scripting art: Discover Arabic calligraphy with Zeenat Kulavoor

Zeenat with a print of Reluctant Fundamentalist. Pics/ Prajval Mendon

Zeenat with a print of Reluctant Fundamentalist. Pics/ Prajval Mendon

Does the Arabic script and the way it is used for design fascinate you? It is not unlikely to encounter fascinating calligraphy designs all around us and be left curious about how it works and the process behind it. The world of this art will open up for people in the city this weekend in a session with Zeenat Kulavoor, an Arabic calligrapher working with the script for over eight years now.

The participants will be shown a live demo on writing in the script, followed by a guided calligraphy session with Kulavoor. "In this session, they will be introduced to the world of calligraphy and the Arabic script. They will also be made aware of the potential of calligraphy and how people are exploring its possible manifestations in furniture, home décor and cinema in different parts of the world," she says.

Calligraphy by Zeenat Kulavoor

At the end of the workshop, the participants will also be given a small takeaway guide and a calligraphy kit so that they can continue to practise independently in the future. The kit will include paper, pen and ink that is suited for calligraphy. "The Arabic script is vast and we hope that the participants will learn the letters and the ten numbers in this workshop. After that, they can keep working on it," says Kulavoor, whose typography has been featured in the film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.