In Delhi, artists display traditional craft to promote Urdu, calligraphy

"Peers Emerging Artists 2017", exhibition in Delhi featured artworks by emerging artists from India

A katib (calligrapher) by profession, Mohammad Galib sits calmly in his quaint shop in old Delhi, amidst piles of books on Urdu calligraphy.

Galib, 55, who is struggling to keep the traditional art form alive, which was once the pride of his community, was photographed by Mumbai-based artist Sagar Shiriskar for an art residency.

Titled "Peers Emerging Artists 2017", the exhibition at the Khoj Studios, that came to a close yesterday, featured art works by five emerging artists from across India.

Being the last member of Delhi's calligraphy brigade that is shrinking in numbers, Galib made for an intriguing subject for Shiriskar, who clicked the scribe at work in over fourteen frames.

"Till date, he writes certificates in beautiful calligraphy and what attracted me was that he is the only remaining person doing this work.

"With calligraphy being computerised, the 'katibs' of old Delhi have been shrinking in number with time," the photographer told PTI.

The four-week residency also resulted in several thought provoking sculptures and models by other participating artists who showcased different aspects of urban life in their works.

Taking cue from his home town of Ponda in Goa, where he witnessed safety drills near busy temples, Sahil Naik, in his works, explored the urban neighbourhood here, as sites of trauma.

The city's Khirkee extension proved to be a perfect muse for the 25-year-old artist, who projected the vulnerability of the space to "man-made catastrophes" in a miniature model of Khirkee.

"When I came to Khoj, I saw that the congested, dense area of Khirkee is vulnerable. I investigated urban neighbourhoods as sites of trauma, largely bringing to conversation the nature of housing structures, their proximity and thereby their vulnerability to man-made catastrophes," Naik said.

Aimed at providing mentorship to young artists, the programme in its 14th edition, is attempting to create a platform for young artists to dialogue, experiment and exchange.

If Tanya Kundu, 28, captured the changing character of the Khirkee area in her photographs and videos, 27-year-old Vrishali Purandare used clay sourced from the potter's colony here to make a comment on land mining.

"I am documenting the glimpses of the locale and their lives to understand why this place is distinct," Kundu said.

Curated by senior artist Mario D'Souza, the jury that selected the participants comprised of Arunkumar HG, Gigi Scaria, Rakhi Peswani and Rohini Devasher.

"Peers has been one of Khoj's pioneering programmes and continues to create a network of young artists from various art, architecture, media and design disciplines and put them in spaces of interaction with the larger creative community," D'Souza said.

Ashish Dhola, 23, the youngest of the lot, created a sensor-controlled kinetic mic that turned in the direction of the viewer on its own.

"The idea is that whenever one person begins to start a political discussion, whether in metro, bus, train or even roadside, others join in too, even if they are strangers. That is the power of politics," he says.