For those with a yen for decorative handwriting, the Calligraphy on Stone Museum located in the Heilongjiang province in China is a major attraction. Tourists from Kerala now have another reason to make a beeline for the museum listed as a major cultural property of the People’s Republic of China.
The latest addition to the museum is a work by noted calligrapher Narayana Bhattathiri featuring Malayalam words carved on stone. The carving is the second one from India, the first being that of Rabindranath Tagore.
Mr. Bhattathiri said he had met the director of the museum in 2017 during a trip to South Korea to receive the international award for calligraphy. “He appreciated my work and asked me to come up with a Malayalam calligraphy exhibit for the museum.”
Installed in the park on the premises of the museum, the carving in typical Bhattathiri style features four lines from Jnanapana , the masterpiece of Poonthanam, the 16th century poet known for his devotional hymns and prayer songs.
Futility of conflict
Highlighting the futility of conflict in man’s life, it reads ‘ Koodiyalla pirakkunna nerathum, Koodiyalla marikkunna nerathum, Madhye ingane kanunna nerathu, Malsarikkunnathu enthinnu vridha’.
Many of the granite slabs in the park have engravings of quotes by great personalities. The museum also has a large number of indoor exhibits.
