INK OF DEVOTION | Bandipora girl brings out veiled artist in her

Bandipora, Apr 7:  The love for the Quran from an early age led Faiza Khan, 27, to script her journey as a successful calligraphy artist in north Kashmir's Bandipora district.

An M Sc in Mathematics from the University of Kashmir (KU), Faiza finds peace in scripting verses from the holy Quran on paper, delicately crafting each letter with feathery strokes of her brushes and pen.

“As a young girl the holy Quran fascinated me, I would move my fingers over the letters to feel how they were neatly written and in style I always admired to copy," Faiza said.

By the time she was in 12th standard, Faiza successfully matched the style, however, with little or no training she did not know how to move ahead.

Her studies kept her busy and she went on to enrol herself in college to pursue a B Sc and in 2017 cracked the entrance exams for postgraduation in Mathematics at KU.

“I had lost touch and wasn't actively involved in calligraphy by then,” she said.

However, by the 2019 COVID shutdown and with little to do, she got back into exploring the veiled artist inside her.

Faiza finally enrolled in a Diploma for Calligraphy in 2020 in Srinagar after completing Postgraduation. She says it gave her headway to explore and master the colossal art of letters and the variety of instruments used in it.

In the same year, Faiza wrote the entire Quran in just four months.

By the end of 2020, she would post snippets of her calligraphy works on social media, which earned her a modest fan following, and within a short time, orders began to come.

“In the beginning, mostly locals posted orders, and with time I have been receiving orders from other places in south Kashmir as well,” Fiza said.

Faiza, the youngest among her four sisters, says she has been able to financially support herself with calligraphy.

She also works in a private capacity at a local school as a tutor.

Her father, a retired government official of the Horticulture Department, and a house marker mother have been the unrelenting force behind her success.

“They have been my strongest support throughout, be it my education or getting into calligraphy, and achieving some sort of financial independence,” Faiza said.

She has not confined herself to calligraphy.

She also knows how to stitch and do Mehandi art and continues to experiment with different writing forms of calligraphy which include Naskh, Thuluth, Deewani, Kufic, and Dewani Jali.

For some years now Faiza has been providing online or home classes to teach those aspiring to become calligraphy artists.

Her reason was to help the financial independence of girls.

"Every one of us has something. Each of us is blessed with something or the other thing,” Faiza says suggesting youth and those struggling with jobs not to lose hope.

Faiza’s recent project includes writing Surah Yaseen on a 13-meter scroll paper in four days.

It includes English and Urdu translations of Farhat Hashmi.

Faiza says that writing the holy Quran gives her peace.

“It connects me to Allah. Each time I draw verses of the Quran with my hand on handmade paper, I feel connected to Allah,” she said.