Urdu calligrapher gives shape to a new font

In the world of Urdu, few can match Aslam Kiratpuri's feat. No, he has not penned tomes of poetry. His achievement is fundamental, concerning font, ligatures (syllables) and word-building. Father of a new Urdu font called Lahori Nastalique, Kiratpuri has revolutionized the way Urdu is typed on computers today. Importantly, his Nastalique has 40,000 ligatures, double the number created by Pakistan's Noorie Nastalique.

"It took Mirza Ahmed Jameel Noori of Pakistan 12 years to create his font, Noorie Nastalique, while I completed it in three years," says Kiratpuri, 58, seated at his small office in Nagpada. "I have called it Lahori Nastalique as part of a tribute to my calligraphy teacher Faiz Mujadid Lahori."

Kiratpuri, who began his career as a calligrapher in 1968, has worked with several Urdu newspapers and magazines in the city. "I always wanted to do something more meaningful than being a calligrapher who is not much in demand ever since Urdu began to be typed on computers," says Kiratpuri. He adds that since there were not more than 20,000 ligatures earlier, those who used computers to write Urdu were hamstrung as there were few options to form words.

In this work, Kiratpuri received help from Syed Manzar, a software engineer, and his own calligraphy student Rehan Ansari. "We worked day and night as we had to add 20,000 more ligatures to what Pakistan had produced," explains Kiratpuri.

A former president of Urdu calligraphers' Association in Mumbai, Kiratpuri is pained that, despite his remarkable achievement, neither the government nor private Urdu agencies have done anything for him. Except for some friends, who felicitated him at Anjuman-e-Islam and held an exhibition of his calligraphic creations two months ago, no Urdu body has even sent him a letter of appreciation.

A few months ago, at a seminar, Kiratpuri slammed the government for doing practically nothing to promote Urdu and development of its font. Dr Hamidullah Bhatt, ex-director of the HRD-run National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, was chairing the seminar and took offence at Kiratpuri's remarks. "He didn't like the fact that I questioned the government's sincerity towards promoting Urdu in his presence," recalls Kiratpuri. While Kiratpuri lives in virtual anonymity, pirated CDs of his font make brisk sales both in India and Pakistan.

Aslam Kiratpuri

Source: The Times of India