THE

ARABIC
CALLIGRAPHY.
IN INDIA
Archaeological Surveyof India
Origin of the
Arabic Script
It was yd and 4thCentury A.D. when the Arabic script
started taking adefiniteshape. Itsbasicletters of alphabet
werelikesomeof their other Semiticcounterparts, consist
of consonants. Its script was derivedfromthe Nabataean
script which itself hadbeen derivedfromAramaic script.
It iswritten fromright to left quite different fromother
scripts.
Foliated Kufi and boldNaskh.from Adhai-din-ka-Jhonpda, Ajmer.
Arabic, PersianandUrdu languages arewritten inArabic
script.The people of Persia, when embraced Islam,
adopted the Arabic script for writing Persian language
whichwasearlier beingwritten inPahlavi script.
The most important factor in the evolution of the art
of Islamic calligraphy is the prohibition on depiction of
human or living beings in the tenets of Islam. So as a
result all the efforts of graphic artists and calligraphers
were diverted to make written words so beautiful that
they become capableto adorn their facades and interiors
of buildings, mihrabs, portals, cover and pages of books,
epitaphs, wall-hangings etc. inthis waytheArabic script
started developing
its own art of
calligraphy.
Earliest Arabic epitaph in Kufi dated age
471(1078A.D.) from Baliapatam, Kerala.
I
There are seven
major styles of
Islamic calligraphy,
among many
other varieties and
regional innovations
made in it over the
centuries, namely
Specimen of boldNaskh of Klwlji period from Mehrauii, New Delhi.
Kufi,Naskh, Thulth, Muhahhaq, Riqa, Diwani andNastaliq.
Epigraphs arethe most authentic and imperishable source
of history. Epigraphs also record the evolution of history
of development of the art of calligraphy. The calligraphy
has been done on paper, coins, seals, metal objects, copper
plates, armandarmours etc.
Islamic Calligraphy in India
After the advent of Islamthis art of calligraphy has gone
alongway fromwest Asian &Central Asian countries to
Indian sub-continent, to achievethe status of such an art
that without its mention the cultural history of medieval
Indiawill beconsidered asincomplete.
Indo- Islamic architecture, royal stationary, royal orders
Varmdns), coins, seals,wall hangings (was/is), fabrics, books
(inmanuscript form) etc. wereevidently influenced bythis
art.
When Muslimrulewasestablished inIndia in 12thcentury
A.D., the building activities, along with socio-cultural
institutions started taking shape on this soil and thus
started aprocessof innovation andblending experiments in
respect of art of calligraphy.And thus India of theperiod of
Muslim rulecouldclaimpossessionof someof the marvels
of calligraphyintheworld.
Another specimen of calligmphy of Bengal Sultans' time in 'Bow and Arrow',
Kufi
After the establishment of first Muslim Sultanate in
India at the end of 12thcentury, the tradition of adorning
monuments withlargescalecalligraphywasset.Wegetgood
specimenofKufi onmonuments of Sultanateperiod, which
were generally comprised of Bismillah, Quranic "\erses,
names of Allah etc. Epitaphs fromBaliapatnam (Kerala)
and Bhadreshwar (Gujarat) are the earliest examples of
SquareKufi.Facadeof Qjrwwatul IslamMosque near Qutb
Minar (NewDelhi) and Facadeof Adhai-din-ka-Jhonpda
Mosque, Ajmer aregoodexamplesof plaited Kufi style.
Chand Minar at Daulatabad Fort near Aurangabad with the epigraph of
Sultan Ahmad Shah Bahmani I1in Tughraform.
Naskh
Another popular stylewhich was flourishing sideby side,
was Naskhwhich totally ousted Kufi and had aswayover
the inscriptions till 16
th
century. Naskh was the most
popular stylefor executing inscriptions for the quality of
its consistency and facility of easy writing and reading.
Most of the inscriptions of the period of Turk Sultans,
Khaljis, Tughluqs, Lodis and early Mughals areexecuted
inthis style. All pre-Mughal coins carrylegends inNaskh
styleonly.
)rm copied from Malda, WestBangal.
I
A panel in Thulih styI.efrom Dargah of Shaikh. Salim Chishti at
Faiehpur ikri. Uttar Pmdesh.
Thulth
Thulth was though introduced in India right from the
14thcenturybut itnever ousted -askhcompletely. Thulth
wasmoredignifiedandmuchmoreartistic. It hadagreat
ornamental valuefor decorativebands oncentral mihrabs
of mosques medallions etc. Qutb Shahi and Mughal
calligraphers used thi style generou ly. Jami Masjid
Golconda, Taj Iahal Agra, among others, are the best
exampleof thi styles.Thegreatest beauty of this styleis
itsaccommodative&overlappingqualityandvisual value
which addseleganceandbeauty tothemonument.
Bihari
India can boast of adding a new style to the world of
Islamic Art i.e. Bihari Style. A record fromKapadwanj
(Gujarat) of the time of Sultan Firuz Shah Tughlaq is
the best and rareexampleof this style. We do get many
manuscripts of holy Quran written inthis style.
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Mesmerising Thulth calligraphyjrom thefacade ofTaj Mahal executed
by Abdul Haq Shirazi during Muglwl Emperor Shahjahan' s time.
I
Bengal Style
The calligraphers from the court of Bengal Sultans were
so innovative that they gave anew dimension to Thulth
styleand created their own variety which verywell found
in the epigraphs of Bengal. The vertical strokes in this
variety are arranged in such a way that they resemble
the stems of coconut trees, a regional factor. The art
historians have designated it as'Bow and Arrow'style or
moving swans/boats against abackdrop of coconut trees
on the coast.
Elegant Nastaliq on the black throne of Mughal Emperor"Jahangir
kept at Agm Fort.
Nasta'liq
By the start of the 16
th
century the world of art saw a
very delicate cursive stylecalled Nasta'liq. It was Khwaja
Mir Ali Tabrizi (d.1416) who for the first time designed
anew styleof calligraphy by masterfully blending Naskh
and Taliq together;his able disciples who practiced and
propagated the Nastaliq style produced such a large
number of followers who contributed a great service
to the field of Nastaliq calligraphy during the time of
Safawids.
Islamic Calligraphy in India isgreatly influenced by the
Safawid calligraphers ofIran.
Leaving one or two examples, Nasta'liq was introduced
I
Nastaliq caUigmphy with floral backgroundfrom thefacade of
Jamaat Khanna in Jami Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri.
and popularized by Great
Mughals in India. Mughals
preferred Nasta'liq for writing
anything, except Quranic verses.
Farmans, epigraphs, coins, seals,
potteries, arms, manuscripts, etc.
were inscribed in Nastaliq.
Inscriptions on the Black
throne of Agra Fort, Epitaphs
of Khusrau Bagh, Allahabad
(Jahangir's period) Sarai Azam
Khan, Ahmedabad (Shah
]ahan's period) and Safdar lung's
tomb (later Mughal's period)
are the excellent specimen of
Nasta'liq style.
O rnamented wasli injine
Nastaliq being the example of
calligmphy on paper.
Thghra
Taghara means bird in Arabic and the
word Tughra is derived from this very
word. Tughra is aform of calligraphy
in which the names of Allah,
Quranic verses, king's name, emblem
of government etc. arewritten inbird
or animal formor beautiful geometric
arrangement. The Ottoman Sultans
Tuqhra in pear' s shape.
of Turkey used this form to write
their names and titles on the royal orders, documents,
stationery etc. In India also this tradition was adopted by
nearly all Muslim rulers.
Tughra is not aseparate style assuch. Kufi, Naskh, Thulth,
Nasta'liq etc. can be arranged in geometric designs, bird /
animal or floral forms to be called Tughra. It is generally
found in medallions, arms, flags, guns, coins, seals and royal
orders lfarmans). Some time amirror effect is also created
with the true and retrograde image written face-to-face.
Theretrograde calligraphy ismuch useful inengraving seals
and dies of coins.
Calligraphy in
Manuscripts
The art of Islamic Calligraphy is not limited to the stone
writings only.We get beautiful specimen of calligraphy in
the manuscripts of holy Quran, hand written books, poetic
collections, history chronicles, waslis (wall hangings),
farmans etc. These specimen arewritten not only in black
ink onwhite hand-made paper but foliaof opening pages
of these books, specially of the holy Quran, are highly
decorated with goldornamentation andcolour adorning.
Calligraphy on Coins
The other area which is highly influenced by the art of
Islamic calligraphyisthemedieval coinage.
TheMughal Emperors addedanewchapter inthemedieval
coinage by producing coins with elegant calligraphy on
them. Specially the coins issued by Akbar, Jahangir and
Shahjahan areconsidered the most beautiful coins of the
world onlybecauseof their calligraphy andlayout.
TheEpigraphy Branch at Nagpur infact dealswith Arabic
and Persian inscriptions. The medieval coins are also
examined inthis office.
The epigraphs copied m
Annual Report on
and historically
epigraphs are
photo plates
journal
Indica- Arabic
Supplement
a year are noticed in the
Indian Epigraphy
important
published with
in the research
Epigraphia
and Persian
(EIAPS).
Coin of Nawwab Usman Ali Khan the VII Nizam of Hydrabad.