Zoomorphic calligraphy and other aspects of the muslim enrichment of Indian culture

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 11:40 am

Hindus had a great culture. A lot of work was done in literature, philosophy, science, medicine, etc. However, there were lacuna in some aspects of pre-Islamic Indian culture. This thread is devoted to the enrichment of Indian culture by muslims. I will be sharing my thoughts and i encourage others to do so as well.

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The first point to note is that hindus had no interest in calligraphy. One reason for this could be that the Indic scripts did not lend themselves well to calligraphy. In contrast, muslims had a keen interest in this subject. The fact that orthodox islam prohibited painting any living creature (although this injunction was often violated as for example in the portraits we have of the mughal emperors and other muslim kings) meant that calligraphy emerged as an acceptable form of cultivating one's artistic skill. Particularly impressive are the zoomorphic calligraphy illusions. It seems as if the artist is saying 'Up yours' to the muslim orthodoxy by writing in such a way so as to create the illusion of an animal or human through letters. For some really beautiful zoomorphic calligraphy illusions, see here:

http://www.moillusions.com/2006/06/zoomorphic-calligraphy-illusions.html

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With respect to calligraphy, i would like to make one other comment. It is said that many of the different fonts we see on our computers were first implemented by Apple as a direct consequence of Steve Jobs having attended and enjoying a calligraphy course.

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 11:51 am

zoomorphic tiger together with some explanation of the figure.

http://www.sakkal.com/calligraphy/arabic_zoomorphic_tiger_calligraphy.html

by MaxEntropy_Man Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:27 pm

Rashmun wrote:Hindus had a great culture. A lot of work was done in literature, philosophy, science, medicine, etc.

and mathematics

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:27 pm

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:
Rashmun wrote:Hindus had a great culture. A lot of work was done in literature, philosophy, science, medicine, etc.

and mathematics

thank you. Max, please share your thoughts on zoomorphic calligraphy. How do you find it?

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:38 pm

A good site on zoomorphic calligraphy (check out the readers' comments):

http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2006/06/zoomorphic-calligraphy.html

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:55 pm

Another useful site:

http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00xcallig/calligraphy_index.html

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:43 pm

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:47 pm

Zoomorphic calligraphy and other aspects of the muslim enrichment of Indian culture Salima_tiger_layout

The text starts from the head (#1) and rotates clockwise to end at the head (#13)

The Persian text and its Arabic translation are shown on my Facebook page here.
The English translation is: Salimah, my love, remember the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you.

http://www.sakkal.com/calligraphy/arabic_zoomorphic_tiger_calligraphy.html

by Guest Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:34 pm

i wish to know whether there is any existence of images of hindu gods and goddesses drawn through arab/persian calligraphy like we have images of various animals, insects, plants, and humans.

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