Few days ago, Defense Public Library hosted a week longer workshop and exhibition on Calligraphy. I read the steamer on my way and marked the days for a quick look-up!

So on one fine day, i went to explore the exhibition. In this part of the world, calligraphy is usually associated with writing Quranic verses in Arabic only. However, God-knows-why, I was expecting calligraphy in Urdu and English as well but there was not to single piece of work demonstrating these two languages. Other than that, the exhibition was show-casing some of the finest work by the students and the experts of this subject. The pieces were selling between PKR 3,000/- to PKR 45,000/-.

Unfortunately, i didn’t take any picture but the idea was great. In Lahore, the galleries ask for a very high price on renting the space and they also get a certain commission on every piece sold. Young and emerging artists find it difficult to stuck their money while displaying their work which may or may not click to the larger audience. I understand that the art is expensive at all times but the new talent needs a platform to take that leap of faith. So i liked that idea of using Public Library space (it was huge though) to allow young minds unleash their potential.

So what I liked about the work? Hmmm, some of the pieces had a very fresh perspective on displaying Quranic verses. Especially, there was one painting in Green (which had all shades of green) and from a distance looked like a macro-picture of a very plant but actually there were numerous verses written all over. God, it was so beautiful.

Then there was another piece in which the artist had somehow given the ink-splashing effect in writing just Allah in Arabic and wow – it took my breath away!

This exhibition somehow rekindled my interest in writing with the pen because a good hand writing leads to better calligraphy. Its been ages since we have all moved towards the ball-points (gel pen) and trust me, they are the killers of good hand-writing. As i approached different bookshops, i was told that in the schools, writing with fountain pen has diminished and hence, the vendors of our time (such as Hero) is no more. Now this was my pen at school and i loved it. We used to buy it for PKR 15/-. It was cheap, affordable and offered an all new experience for a good hand-writing.

Source: www.pensindia.com

This pen, ladies and gentlemen, is totally extinct from the market. Both the shopkeepers and the students confirmed that we the shift from fountain to gel-pen, the poor demand for this pen led to its total annihilation. I was seriously very disappointed.

The other pen, that i used to work, was Dollar. Quite surprisingly, that pen still exists but with some changes. In our times, we could see the ink tank (it was transparent) and i would cut the nib with the scissor to for better writing result. This was the pen of 1990’s and it was great for heading purpose.

This model is no longer available. I think our educational institutes should move back to the old principles as a good hand-writing is an art and if somebody is naturally talented to take it to the next level then we must provide this platform at an early age.

I did buy few fountain pens to get started with this although i wasn’t too happy with the purchase. Although, there is not much room for writing stuff on paper now in my lift (thanks to laptops and mobile phones) but i have made a point to write my To-Do List with a fountain pen.

Sometimes, the convenience factor kills the novelty. I have no idea how educational institutes of other countries are working but this one is really a disappointment (to me at least).

You can see how soothing is below video with some awesome handwriting skills.

Till then, adios!