Calligraphy artist Rajeev Kumar says he puts immense efforts into each of his works, which always makes it difficult to pick out a favourite. His first solo exhibition “Roshnai” that took place recently in New Delhi certainly reflected the artist’s hard work, putting the visitor too in a difficult spot to pick one piece over others. Dastakari Haat Samiti President Jaya Jaitly, inaugurating the exhibition at Mira Suites on Delhi’s Mathura Road, said, “My love for calligraphy and Rajeev’s unique approach has pulled me here today.”
A mechanical engineer who took up interior designing as a profession, Kumar, without any formal training in calligraphy, calls himself an artist ‘by heart’. From his days at HPCL where he worked as a civil engineer, Kumar says he has been devoted to his art and even left the job for it. “There are many people doing calligraphy as a profession and they are doing certificate writing and doing alright. But this was never my style. I did not want to put any financial burden on my art. That is why I started my own interior designing house. But now, I don’t take up new projects except for those whom I cannot say no to,” says Kumar.
Kumar calls his work a research and has found a way of expressing his deep thoughts in a medium beyond mere words. “The knowledge in India is immense. I have always wanted to get that knowledge in art forms, particularly in the form of calligraphy paintings.”
Every piece prepared by him has a different story. He makes his own tools and ink as per his requirement. “I haven’t taken any lessons from anybody. Only the books that I read about calligraphy, the grandmasters’ books and their works taught me how to achieve the work,” he highlights.
Among other works, “Roshnai” features “Gayatri Mantra”, which, he says, takes him back to his childhood. He remembers the sounds from the temple near his house, where he heard the sacred hymn but not in a linear fashion. His calligraphic interpretation strives to let the viewer feel what he heard coming from the temple.
He has used the colours of the morning sky to present this picture to represent the time when he heard the chants.
His paintings depicting “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” and “Aham Brahmasmi” were the other attractions of the exhibition.
