Events

10-06-09 06:06

Inauguration Ceremony

Vashi Gets a new School of Calligraphy, the 1st of its kind in India.

Mumbai- June’ 09

For the first time in India a school dedicated to the art of calligraphy is being started in June in Vashi (Navi Mumbai), the most developing suburb of Mumbai. It is an initiative of no other than Achyut Palav, who himself is a renowned calligrapher & designer. ‘Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy’ (APSC) is a venture which succeeds ‘Callifest’ which marked 25 years of Achyut Palav in this field.

It has been Palav’s mission in life to propagate this art to the masses. He believes that calligraphy is not an art that restricts itself to artists & art students, but instead is an art of a common man. APSC is founded with the aim to create awareness about the art & teach it in a scientific & methodical manner. This venture will also bring forth the lesser known forms of calligraphy & uses of typography & publicize the commercial viability of calligraphy in the modern day world. The school will aim at educating on the rich and vast heritage of the Indian scripts, art heritage, diverse cultures, & the influx of foreign cultures. There is a need to create a platform to artists (senior or junior) who do not have proper access, facilities & opportunity. It will have basic courses spanning 2 or 3 months with regular & customized forms & advanced workshops & will be complete with a library, calligraphy shop & a place dedicated for display of calligraphy artworks. The shop will stock calligraphy paintings & compositions & series, ceramic products like mugs, calligraphy on glassware, t-shirts, coasters, calligraphy tools etc. Here people can get their customized invites, name plates, signs & other personalized items done in calligraphy & design.

When asked what makes this school unique, Achyut Palav says, “Here we will emphasize on bringing into light as many national & international scripts & instructing in them under one roof. The advance subjects like ‘Study of Manuscripts’ & other interactive seminars with experts will add to the level we want to achieve. I have always aimed to unite India under the banner of Art & Calligraphy & APSC is my major milestone” Calligraphy is just not a hobby or an art form, but also a key that will help release locked creativity & relaxes like meditation. Achyut Palav explains, “We just need a broad mind, yearn to see beyond the certain rigidity of letters that has been embedded in our minds. There is a need to brush away the ignorance & familiarize this art. It is great way of unleashing blocked creativity & promotes out-of-the-box thinking. I have always experimented with calligraphy and proved it to be of great flexibility and of high commercial value. But I have strong belief in the beauty & the rich heritage of this art that it will not fade away. The changing scenario in India has been a proof of my faith.”