“Calligraphy” a very rare and skilful art form attracts only adroit people. A contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as, “the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skilful manner”. Amazed by the stylized design of a wedding card and the calligraphy done for it, Rahil Malik started practicing calligraphy about ten years ago. Starting from writing the names on school projects in his initial years, he is now a freelance calligrapher and has received appreciation for his work by many.
Rahil Malik who is here with us today for our 7th version of Friendly Fridays is currently pursuing B.Arch. from the Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi.
ED Team: Hi Rahil! Welcome to Friendly Fridays! Your love for ink and pretty designs got you where you are today! We’re intrigued to ask, how did it all start?
Rahil Malik: Hi, I started doing calligraphy when I was in class 8th. I saw a wedding card that caught my attention. I started wondering how that writing and designing could be done.
It is from then that I was inspired and started downloading fonts from word documents and started practicing it. I was appreciated by my friends and teachers for my work. My parents asked me to stop in class 12th due to studies. In the first year of college I had a subject of visual art that included calligraphy. I cleared my calligraphy exam with flying colours and decided to make a living out of calligraphy.
ED Team: Why did you choose calligraphy when you can design amazing structures like The Empire State Building by doing architecture?
Rahil Malik: I could be an architect by chance but I would surely love to be a calligrapher by choice. My love for this art can’t be described in words.
ED Team: Who influences and inspires you towards this piece of art?
Rahil Malik: Hussain Massoudy from Iraq, I came across his works while browsing the internet. I was inspired by his work and visited his page. He uses brush, cardboard and transparent paints to create his work of art.
Julien Dreton from France does calligraphy with light which is mesmerising. At present there is not even a single calligraphy artist in India. I want to bring this art form to India.
ED Team: How supportive are your parents for you in this field?
Rahil Malik: Though my parents appreciated the Islamic calligraphy that I did, in class 12th they asked me to stop and focus on my studies. Since I live away from parents now so I do calligraphy whenever I can. I even got an opportunity to exhibit my work at Moments mall, Keerti Nagar and once even in my own college. Also I will exhibit one at MF Hussain’s art gallery.
ED Team: Woah!!, MF Hussain…that’s a really big name, Do you think that in this era of printing, calligraphy as an art form has a bright future?
Rahil Malik: When you use the font anywhere, they are designed by some calligraphers only. Now a day’s fine arts are being mixed with calligraphy and the product is beautiful. Something that cannot be done using a computer as it will be difficult to do it with precision.
Writing letters has died in this modern world however calligraphy stays.
ED Team: In India there is not much awareness about the fields of work that a calligrapher can enter, would you like to throw some light on it?
Rahil Malik: The field of calligraphy is enormous, it includes designing. Visaam Shaukat mixes calligraphy with architecture and there are many more such fields. Even to decorate Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar calligraphy in marble is done.
ED Team: How was your experience when you first displayed your work? How did people respond?
Rahil Malik: When I started, I just wrote names on different projects. The teacher admired how I wrote them; she even asked whether the names were printed or handwritten. So such a response boosted my morale. Also I displayed my works in a calligraphy exhibition where I got a good response and one of my works was sold there.
ED Team: What motivates you to work as a Calligraphic artist?
Rahil Malik: This is a royal art; is interesting to note that Noor Jahan and even Jahangir were great calligraphers. I feel that we must work towards revival of this royal art.
ED Team: What do you have to say about Friendly Fridays?
Rahil Malik: I feel it’s a very good initiative and is successfully promoting young talents by providing them with a platform to exhibit their work. Also through such a platform the art will flourish and people will know about it.
ED Team: What is your core belief in life?
Rahil Malik: I believe with hard work one can do anything. Calligraphy is a tough art and not God gifted, it requires a great deal of practice to learn it and attain perfection in it.
So, this was all about Rahil Malik and his beautiful art. He is an amazing person and we wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
Check out hi Facebook Page below:
https://www.facebook.com/MalikInLoveWithPen?ref=bookmarks
Cheers!
Team ED
