Artists are globally considered as the best expressionists- because of their power of diving deep inside of all the available art forms, surpassing the barriers. Among all the available ways of using 'ink' to express the unspoken verses through artistic and sophisticated manner- Calligraphy is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful art forms related to the verses, which has age-old heritage in multiple languages. However- artists of this tremendous sector do not get proper opportunities to polish their talent, as the country does not have enough qualified mentors on this particular genre.

Luckily, there is someone like Mahbub Murshid, a direct student of art maestro S M Sultan- who cared for this art, and successfully made a name as one of the renowned and respected calligraphers in Bangladesh. With having two decades of experiences as a prolific calligrapher, he participated in many national and international exhibitions and conducted many workshops on both Arabic and Bengali Calligraphy over the years, as well as trained many enthusiastic learners who became successful calligraphers after being properly guided from the very best.

Now a question often floats around- is Calligraphy completely shackled with the label of being a religious artform? The answer can actually explain the value of it, in the present world. Apart from religious art, Calligraphy can beautify wedding invitations, event invitations, font design and typography, original hand-lettered logo design, brochures and announcements, graphic design, cut stone inscriptions, specially commissioned customized arts and even memorial documents. For years now, it has also being used for props and moving images in the entertainment industry. Also, the beautifully written transcripts and testimonials, birth and death certificates, maps etc. - all of these are indebted to this specific form of art. Therefore, people are getting interested in this genre day by day.

To inspire and train the promising calligraphers across the country, Mahbub Murshid orchestrated a five-day special workshop from December 27-31 at the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. "The winter breeze and cold could not stop the participants at all- as we got a massive response. This is the 7th edition of this workshop- still, this type of huge response always thrills us to care and celebrate this art more and more. From a distance, people may think it was a religious festival, which is not correct- and this illusion is actually the beauty of it because we are flourishing the freedom of colors in this arrangement, where every stroke of a brush full of color can call out a name, out of inner gratitude", Programme Coordinator of this special workshop and calligrapher Sultana Mimi expressed her heartfelt joy regarding the venture to Dhaka Courier.

Mahbub Murshid's M M Foundation organized the five-day-long workshop consisting ten classes, with the assistance of Sultana and her teammates- Jamil Ahmed, Sanjida Tamima, Mahmudul Hasan and Usama Haque.

Leave a Comment

Recent Posts