Using an array of writing instruments, inks and colours, this calligrapher keeps his art flowing

Chand Sheikh, an art teacher at Sardar Dastoor Homarzdiar High School has been a calligraphist for the last five years. "Since childhood I was interested in art. After Std. XII I did the Art Teacher's Diploma from Indapur and also a Diploma in Commercial Art from Pune's Dahad University, where calligraphy was a subject," says Chand. Calligraphy can be used for various purposes - for greeting, visiting and wedding cards, name plates, screen printing, posters, letter writing, stories, advertising, wall hangings, exclusive labelling and also in developing one's own handwriting. "Calligraphy requires good handwriting, a sense of art, creativity, a steady hand and loads of practice," says Chand.

The higher you go, the larger the bloom, and more intense the colour of the flowers," says one botanist. And here we are in Pune, about 550 metres above sea level, and it's the humble and hardy bougainvillea that truly bears out this statement. What a mind-boggling and eye-catching palette of colours our bougainvilleas offer. The intense pink, the vibrant fuschia, the deep purple, the fiery orange, the flaming crimson, the delicate rose-pink, lavender, golden yellow…and of course the frothy white bougainvillea - all bring their vibrant charm to city gardens, avenues and otherwise barren tracts.

Chand uses a variety of writing instruments for a range of effects: cut nibs, brushes, 6B pencil, a blow pen, peacock feathers, even threads and cotton, and many others. On paper, he uses ink and poster colours, while cloth demands fabric colours. And for some really special effects, he uses stencil and radium cutting, spray-painting. "For added texture and dimension," he says, "instead of ink I use fevicol, which on drying gives the lettering a kind of thickness; then I paint the letters."

Chand works in English, Devnagari and Urdu scripts, but he can also customize his work to reproduce other scripts, on order.

Chand Sheikh can be contacted at 9890631543.

Khursheed Dinshaw