Design Course
Lucknow Calligraphy
The Decorative Art of Writing
by
Tools and Raw Materials
Raw Material: Quitabat is mainly done on paper or stone. Therefore artists use different handmade paper and precious and semi-precious stone to do the calligraphy. Mainly used stone is Jade, this stone is good for heart, and therefore, verses written on it are highly respected. Artists use fine handmade paper which are either imported from different countries or made in India using different techniques and materials.
Tools: Calligraphy is done either by carving on stone or by writing on paper. For carving various carving tools like chisels and hammers are used. These tools were traditionally made by the artists themselves according to their need. With change in time and with easy availability calligraphers now use industrial tools which are either hand or machine operated. For writing on papers traditionally the artist uses stylus made out of Sarkanda, (Saccharum spontaneous) also called as elephant grass. These styluses are traditionally called as Qulam, which are useful in achieving desired results. It helps in obtaining perfect balance between the structure and flow of various circular word forms. Different types of qualm used are:
• Kamish Qalam (made out of Sarkanda)
• Java Qalam (after the name of the island Java)
• Dashti Qalam
• Jali Qalam
The tip of the Sarkanda was cut in an angle mostly at 45 degrees. The angle decides the thickness of the lines. Sarkanda pens were replaced by G-nibs and now with availability of different calligraphy pens the traditional Qalams are losing their hold.
