Curling calligraphy

Ferdous Ara Ahmed's work

Dr Abdus Sattar's work included lettering in burnt sienna on patches of white on a dark green setting. The main words Allah-Hu-Akbar were surrounded by more minute writings all over the work in brick red. There was more work in gray to offset the main calligraphy. Sattar is a professor in the Institute of Fine Arts (IFA), Dhaka University and had headed the institute not so long ago. He had his training in New York, USA. Syed Enayet Hossain's work was indeed dramatic and mind-whirling. It had letters intertwining one another so that the impact was that of blue and white against a black and gray background. The burst of pristine colours were combined with mauve, pink, yellow and white. Enayet has graduated in Fine Arts from Dhaka.

AHM Bashirullah's work used pastel colours such as soft sky blue, light mauve, brown and pink. Two lines of calligraphy in Arabic were imbedded in rows of abstract colours that reminded one of a garden of blue flowers. Bashirullah has done his BFA from the College of Arts and Crafts, Dhaka. Mohd Syful Islam's lettering was done in orange and deep blue against a backdrop of shades of pearly gray and smoky burnt sienna. Syful originally did his B Com from Rajshahi University. There was then the curling and circling calligraphy in gold and purple against a pale gray background. This was done by Professor Rezaul Karim, who had graduated from the IFA in 1963. It gave the effect of gigantic open pansies in a grotto.

Forej Ali from Netrakona, who has an MFA from IFA has inscribed the basic words, Allah and Mohammed, precious words for all Muslims. This was done against a modern background of earthy colours mixed with blue, which somehow reminded one of a traffic jam in the modern day streets. Ibrahim Mondol had interlaced lettering in burnt red, blue, red and yellow. They appeared like some leaves of a tree in a manicured garden.

Mohammad Abdur Rahim's work was a conventional collection of work in shades of gold, yellow-ochre and burnt sienna, with some of the lettering fading at the back and others interlacing in front. A sword, decorated by minute lettering was set on a background of simplified calligraphy in Mubasshir Mujumdar's work.

Ferdous Ara Ahmed's work was more thought provoking than many of the other entries. The brown and black words formed flower petals and leaves of lotus. Ferdousy Begum's work was neat and imaginative, bringing minarets of mosques to mind. Nisaruddin Zameel's work in bars of yellow on cobalt blue was also creditable. Aminul Islam Amin's swirls of green, offset by ruby red and hits of lemon yellow writings reminded one of overwhelming ocean waves. Shahidullah Bari, who has studied calligraphy in Riyadh also had a bejeweled effect.

Calligraphy is now recognised as a genre of its own in Bangladeshi painting.