Scripted Dialogues – A calligraphic conversation

Is a dedicated calligraphy artist based in Bangalore, has carved a niche for himself in the art world, particularly in Kannada calligraphy. His journey began as a personal effort to enhance his handwriting, but the admiration and encouragement from friends who were captivated by his work inspired him to pursue calligraphy more seriously.

For Mohan, the art of calligraphy is not just a creative outlet but also a bridge to literature. He frequently incorporates lines from popular literary works into his designs, using them as a medium for artistic expression. Recently, his focus has shifted toward experimenting with tagging styles and handstyles, showcasing his innovative approach to the craft. Over the years, his exceptional contributions to Kannada calligraphy have earned him widespread recognition and numerous accolades.

Nikheel Aphale is a Mumbai-born calligraphy artist, uses the Indian script Devanagari in his contemporary abstract paintings. Deeply connected to its sounds and visuals since birth, Devanagari represents his cultural identity. His paintings tell stories about divinity, spirituality, and humanity, inspired by Nirakar Aakar (formless form) translating intangible into tangible. Nikheel’s work moves beyond traditional calligraphy to imperfect, asemic writing to reveal a new visual vocabulary by modulating letters’ structures.

Nikheel’s career highlights include speaking at TEDx, displaying his work in India’s new parliament building, and receiving the ‘Excellence in Calligraphy’ award at the Jikji International Calligraphy Exhibition, South Korea. He has been invited to speak at various calligraphy festivals and to teach at design colleges across India. Nikheel’s work has been featured in various international platforms and prominent publications like Vogue, Juggernaut, Platform, Kyoorius, Letter Arts Review, and Typism, as well as on NDTV. His art has been exhibited globally and is held in private collections worldwide. Nikhil currently lives and works in Bangalore, India.

Born and raised in Chandannagar, Hooghly district, West Bengal—a town with a rich historical legacy as a former French colony. A versatile illustrator, art director, and Bengali calligrapher, with expertise in book cover design, graphic design, and children’s as well as adult book illustrations. Passionate about Indian folk art traditions, including Alpana and Pata Chitra. Deeply inspired by the artistic and cultural legacy of Rabindranath Tagore and Shantiniketan, as well as the graphic design and illustrations of Satyajit Ray. He still lives in Chandannagar.

Sudeep Gandhi is a Designer by profession, Calligraphist by Soul, an Artist as a whole. With over 11 years of experience, he proudly calls himself Your Brand Companion. Having worked with renowned clients such as Cadbury, Big Bazaar, Faber-Castell, and Bank of America, he has also worked with leading advertising agencies. His passion for Lettering and Calligraphy has not only inspired him to conduct workshops at prestigious art colleges and events but also earned him a place as a TEDx Speaker.

Honored with the “Excellence in Calligraphy” award at the Jikji Exhibition 2024 in South Korea, Sudeep’s ultimate goal is to master and practice all Indian scripts along with their languages, fostering awareness of India’s rich linguistic heritage. He lives in Mumbai.

Sanjeev Kumar is a visual artist currently working as a Typeface Designer at the Indian Type Foundry. With a deep passion for alphabets, he explores experimental calligraphy across various Indian languages, challenging conventions by employing unconventional methods and materials. His work engages with scripts such as Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Odia, Kannada, Bangla, and Malayalam, allowing him to better understand and familiarize himself with these writing systems. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Art from the College of Art, New Delhi, and lives currently in Ahmedabad.

Prof. Tarun is a design educator, mentor and graphic designer with a passion for letterforms, printed ephemera and letterpress. He is currently teaching as Principal Faculty in the Graphic Design discipline at National Institute of Design Ahmedabad, where he teaches Letter Design, Print Production, Typography, besides mentoring graduate and post graduate students on their independent projects. His personal practice is focused on Gurmukhi calligraphy (script used to write Punjabi).

A keynote speaker at the international TypoDay conference and International Calligraphy Festival of Kerala, He has been regularly conducting workshops on letterpress & relief printing, calligraphy and letterform design etc. – both at NID and various design festivals. His research interests include Calligraphy, Gurmukhi script and Indigenous Visual Culture. He is the honorary co-founder of the Typography Society of India and founder-curator of the popular @35daysofgurmukhi on instagram.

Qamar Dagar is a professional contemporary pictorial calligrapher. She combines Hindi and Urdu scripts using letters of both alphabets as art material giving visual interpretation to a chosen theme. She belongs to the world-renowned Dagar family of Indian classical (dhrupad) musicians.

Recipient of NARI SHAKTI SAMMAAN by the President of India, Women’s International award, Pioneer Artist Award, she is dedicated to the preservation and popularization of the ancient art of calligraphy in both its traditional and contemporary avatars. She is founder Director of Qalamkaari Creative Calligraphy Trust (2011), Delhi, and has organized and curated International Calligraphy festivals “Qalam-Aatma” in Delhi and Jaipur. She is also former Joint secretary of Dhrupad Society.

She is committed to working towards making Indian contemporary creative and traditional calligraphy known the world over as an important visual art. She is a Project participant of Russia based MVK Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy, Moscow.