welcome

Welcome to the Biggest
festival of calligraphy in India

Callifest India is an event dedicated to the promotion of Indian scripts and calligraphy. Conceptualized and curated by Achyut Palav and organized in association with Mr. Gopal Patel of Ink Drops, the 5-day event will witness participation by International Master Calligraphers, Indian artists and will be visited by people from all over India.

The purpose of the event is to bring into light the potential of Indian Scripts, which are phonetically superior and aesthetically rich with high degree of commercial applicability. Callifest India is dedicated to generate awareness about Indian calligraphy and at the same time help people have an outlet to attain their creative potential. It promises to be a celebration of the beauty, legacy and culture of Indian scripts through paintings, displays and installations. Students and aspiring artists will also be greatly benefitted by exhibitions, workshops, seminars, calligraphy demonstrations and lectures conducted by master calligraphers and experts from various fields.

Visit Callifest India 2022 and enjoy the wonderful, beautiful showcase of unique and incredible scripts.

mission

What Callifest India focuses on?

Art

Callifest India focuses on demonstrating the ability of calligraphy to blend with other art forms and displaying its strength through commercial application across media.

Culture

Callifest India promotes the learning of popular and lesser-known Indian scripts and bringing forth the cultural heritage of Indian calligraphy.

Education

Callifest India showcases the strength of scripts and calligraphy as a versatile art form to encourage young students to take up art, especially calligraphy.

Awareness

Callifest India aims to create awareness about the aesthetic beauty and potential of Indian scripts and languages. This encourages the viewing of a script as an element of design or art. Callifest India showcases a variety of Indian scripts, both in use and ancient, to make people aware of our artistic heritage and future possibilities.

speakers

The Speakers

Akshaya Thombre

Calligrapher

Ashok Hinge

Designer | Calligrapher | Visual Artist

Ashok Parab

Visual Communication Designer | Educator

Prof. G. V. Sreekumar

Professor and former Head of IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

Hiral Bhagat

Calligrapher

Inku Kumar

Founder – CalliArt

Dr. Manohar Desai

HOD - Communication Design (SID) | Calligrapher | Illustrator | Designer

Narayana Bhattathiri

Calligrapher – Malayalam Script

Navakanth Karide

Calligrapher – Telugu Script | Lettering Artist

Nikheel Aphale

Calligraphy Artist | Graphic Designer

Pooja Gaidhani

Calligrapher | Photographer | Founder and Director – Abeer Creations

Poosapati Parameshwar Raju

Artist | Calligrapher

Ms. Qamar Dagar

Pictorial Calligrapher

Raghunita Gupta

Chairperson - The Calligraphy Foundation, New Delhi

Rajeev Prakash

Calligrapher | Font Designer | Typographer | Art Director-Delhi Press

Sanjana Chatlani

Calligrapher | Lettering Artist | Designer

Subodh Poddar

Illustrator | Visualizer | Creative Director

Tarun Deep Girdher

Principal Designer, Graphic Design, NID - Ahmedabad

Jain Kamal

A Visionary Artist, Publication Designer, Educator & Design Thinker

schedule

Event Schedule

  • Day 01

    November 23, 2022

  • Day 02

    November 24, 2022

  • Day 03

    November 25, 2022

  • Day 04

    November 26, 2022

  • Day 05

    November 27, 2022

09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Sanjana Chatlani

Calligrapher | Lettering Artist | Designer

Calligraphy : Passion to Profession with Sanjana Chatlani

Presentation

In my talk I will share my current business model and how I have used calligraphy to meet the creative needs of corporates, brands, and clients—all while almost creating a new category in the world of personalization and gifting.

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Ashok Hinge

Designer | Calligrapher | Visual Artist

Shapes and Composition

Workshop & Demonstration

"Shapes and Composition" is the theme of my workshop. This workshop will demonstrate how shapes are played on paper/canvas or provided space, as well as how compositions are changed. The participants will actively participate in this so that they can learn and apply these things in their work.

03:15 PM - 05:15 PM

Pooja Gaidhani

Calligrapher | Photographer | Founder and Director – Abeer Creations

Ancient Opulent Modi Script

Demonstration

The Modi script has several features that make writing easier, such as minimising lifting the pen from the paper to dip in ink when moving from one character to the next. Some characters are "broken" Devanagari versions. Many of the characters in this script have a "circular" shape to them. Modi was thus a "cursive" style of writing in Devanagari script (Marathi). The curvature of the letters adds to the beauty of this script. It's a great example of font design. This presentation will concentrate on different eras, different writing styles in each era, and the characteristics of the letters of this beautiful script.

05:30 PM - 07:30 PM

Subodh Poddar

Illustrator | Visualizer | Creative Director

Dance Scape

Demonstration

This demonstration involves reciting a Tagore poem. A dancer performs. And I'm painting my calligraphic art.

09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Nikheel Aphale

Calligraphy Artist | Graphic Designer

Calligraphy: A Confluence of Design and Art

Presentation

I'm walking on the line between design and art. This presentation explains how I combined my love of calligraphy with my graphic design training. It is a collection of letterform explorations and their use on various mediums such as book covers, logos, textiles, home accessories, art, and so on. These are snippets from my calligraphy practise where I am constantly peeling back the layers of letters and they continue to amaze me with their inspiring beauty.

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Poosapati Parameshwar Raju

Artist | Calligrapher

In Divine Rhythm

Demonstration & Workshop

In the slow and lucid movement of his steel brush, Parameshwar Raju emulates the rhythm of the beginning, continuation, and another beginning, the progression of his calligraphic strokes in thin-thick and thin rhythm; a metaphor of life transforming from being tender at the onset and then strengthening during its course in time, meandering like a river, creating significant forms.

03:15 PM - 05:15 PM

Narayana Bhattathiri

Calligrapher – Malayalam Script

Malayalam Calligraphy

Demonstration

Malayalam is a language spoken by approximately three and a half crore people in Kerala, India's southernmost state. Despite its more than 1500-year history and status as a "distinguished language," Malayalam lags far behind in the field of calligraphy. Malayalam, like other Indian languages, has a large number of vowels, consonants, and collocations. Furthermore, Malayalam has very beautiful letters, and that beauty shines through in its writing, lending itself to any writing style. As a Malayali, this is a source of great personal pride for me.

05:30 PM - 07:30 PM

Akshaya Thombre

Calligrapher

Co-Existing with Calligraphy

Demonstration

As humans in this world, we coexist with nature, various cultures, religions, and languages. Hence, we coexist with various scripts, and calligraphy does as well. It coexists with a variety of scripts, letter forms, designs, and writing styles. So here I'd like to show the beauty of various elements from various Indian scripts coming together to form a unified design composition.

09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Dr. Manohar Desai

HOD - Communication Design (SID) | Calligrapher | Illustrator | Designer

Bharat ki Lekhan Samagri

Lecture & Presentation

The presentation and demonstration focuses on the writing materials of India and the application of Devanagari letter characters on canvas. The journey of research in the area of calligraphy will also help students to parallel study the script and its detailing by using various research methodologies. This session surely helps students to understand how the past was very rich and advanced for developing their writing materials and surfaces.

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Tarun Deep Girdher

Principal Designer, Graphic Design, NID - Ahmedabad

MA BOLI — Learning to Learn

Lecture & Presentation

I will talk about my experiences and what I've learned while working on the Gurmukhi script in this session.

03:15 PM - 05:15 PM

Hiral Bhagat

Calligrapher

Form and Space

Workshop

Writing that is illegible reinforces the possibility of an image to capture meaning through its visual character. In this workshop I will focus on calligraphy as a process of image making. In the process of study, participants will learn to modify essential calligraphy strokes and letterforms by applying various operations to achieve visual language. These generated letter forms can be arranged using principles of formal composition to create an image. The participants will explore some of the factors such as combination, arrangement, size and weight of the letterforms, the balance between black and white, the speed of writing and the writing instruments that influence the form of calligraphy.

05:30 PM - 07:30 PM

Inku Kumar

Founder – CalliArt

Devanagari Compositions with Brush Calligraphy

Demonstration & Workshop

In this session I will demonstrate the basics of Devanagari letters with a brush pen and how to experiment with different brush pens, such as ‘Fibre Tip, Nylon Tip, and so on.’

02:00 PM Onwards

Om Thombare

(8 Years)

Dev Patel

(13 Years)

Calligraphy Demo for Children by Children

Demonstration

Japanese Calligraphy Demonstration by Om Thombare (8 Years), 2:00 PM Onwards

Gujarati Calligraphy Demonstration by Dev Patel (13 Years), 3:30 PM Onwards

09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Ashok Parab

Visual Communication Designer | Educator

My Lipi Yatra

Lecture & Presentation

In this presentation, I will be discussing Indian Language Scripts (Ancient and Modern) with demonstrations.

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Prof. G. V. Sreekumar

Professor and former Head of IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya - A Calligraphic experience(Lecture)

Towards Meaning and Expression: Experiments with Thematic Calligraphy(Workshop)

Lecture & Workshop

This talk examines the multisensory, philosophical, and spiritual experience of calligraphy. We begin by considering calligraphy beyond its expression as an art form, focusing on a deep understanding of meaning, relationships with tools, materials, and styles with content. This talk will also look for connections between calligraphy and semantics. It will also discuss the spiritual aspect of calligraphy. The workshop is titled "Towards Meaning and Expression: Experiments with Thematic Calligraphy." This workshop is not limited to any particular language or tool. Instead of focusing solely on aesthetic brilliance, the goal of this workshop is to experiment with theme-based calligraphy and find expressions based on meaning. A specific theme will be presented, and participants are encouraged to comprehend its significance before proceeding.

03:15 PM - 05:15 PM

Ms. Qamar Dagar

Pictorial Calligrapher

Pictorial Calligraphy
A spiritual practice and the freedom of expression it offers

Lecture & Demonstration

An Interactive session with a short calligraphy demonstration along with creative time for participants to work / create.

05:30 PM - 07:30 PM

Navakanth Karide

Calligrapher – Telugu Script | Lettering Artist

The Golden Letters

Demonstration & Workshop

I believe that much can be said without speaking. The Da Vinci's Monalisa, the Vodafone Zoo Zoo, or any thunder that heralds the arrival of a strong gale could be the source. For me, art through letters would be a more efficient medium. In writing, for example, it's not about the words I use; it's about the font style I develop and use to communicate thoughts and convey underlying emotion. I wanted to be more formal here and demonstrate my sincerity in hand making arts with Telugu letters.

09:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Rajeev Prakash

Calligrapher | Font Designer | Typographer | Art Director-Delhi Press

Callitech is the demand of the Future

Lecture & Presentation

Beautiful calligraphic fonts in all Indian scripts are in high demand. I will discuss how calligraphy and technology can be combined to create cutting-edge, beautiful fonts in this session.

01:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Raghunita Gupta

Chairperson - The Calligraphy Foundation, New Delhi

Awareness about Calligraphy

Presentation

How calligraphy is promoted through the government recognized organization –‘The Calligraphy Foundation’. Get an insight into the need for awareness about the art-form, how it is being generated, various programs and initiatives available to learn the scripts of the country and platforms available for calligraphers to interact and promote their work.

03:15 PM - 05:15 PM

Jain Kamal

A Visionary Artist, Publication Designer, Educator & Design Thinker

Calligraphy & Spirituality

Lecture and presentation

gallery

Gallery

Organiser

Conceptualized and Curated By
Achyut Palav

Achyut Palav

Master Calligrapher

Achyut Palav is one of the foremost names in Indian calligraphy today. With his unique approach and faith in the aesthetic appeal of the art, he has made significant contribution in reviving the glory of Indian calligraphy. His exceptional work in calligraphy includes experiments with the art that skillfully highlight subtle nuances in letterforms and the chemistry of colours, textures and spaces. Through various exhibitions and workshops in India and abroad, he has successfully introduced Indian scripts and calligraphy on the world platform. He has founded the ‘Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy’ and established ‘Callifest’ –A Festival of Indian Scripts. They are the first of their kind in India. He is doing his utmost to promote calligraphy in all spheres of life and ensures that it reaches ever newer heights of glory.

Organized by
Gopal Patel

Gopal Patel

Calligrapher

Gopal Patel is a traditional Indian calligrapher specialising in the Gujarati script. Hailing from the city of Surat in the state of Gujarat, Gopal displayed great inclination towards the field of arts as a child. This liking became his passion, commanding his focus. He was resolute to pursue a career in arts and worked against all odds to become an educator in the field. His knowledge came from nature, observation of design elements around him and studying the work of masters. He earnestly explored various aspects and variations in arts and eventually met his Guru in calligraphy in 2011. Introduction to the artform allowed him to manifest his love for the Gujarati script by taking calligraphy in the same to the next level. Today he has mastered 7 scripts and founded ‘Inkdrops’, a school of calligraphy. Gopal has been instrumental in organising events in calligraphy like ‘Aksharyatra’ and ‘Callifest’

Advisory Committee

Prof. G. V. Sreekumar

Professor and former Head of IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

Ravindra Velhal

Intel's Global Content Policy Strategist

Shraddha Palav

Creative Director, Resonance Designs

Sanjay Chokshi

Researcher and Writer

Kavita Banerjee

QAQC - Senior Chemist

Ghanshyam Erande

Calligrapher and Designer

sponsors

Thank you so much for your wholehearted support for the event.

Conceptualised by

Organised by

Special Thanks

Special Thanks

Venue Partner

Associate Partner

Art Material Partner

Special Thanks to the sponsors

Contact

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You can also call us at 99985 93802

Achyut Palav
School of Calligraphy

28/1, Welfare Chambers
Sector-17, Plot No.73
Opp.St.Lawrence School, Vashi
Navi Mumbai- 400 705. Maharashtra.

Contact
022-27891517 / 022- 49703552 (Sat –Sun Weekly Off)
Whatsapp: +91 74003 72430

Ink Drops
Art & Calligraphy Class

315 / 316/ 317 Sivanjni Hub
Botanical Garden Road
Near Gurukrupa School, Morabhagal
Surat - 395 005. Gujarat.

Contact
+91 99985 93802