Keralam government to begin talks on starting an academy for calligraphy

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The Keralam Government will take active measures to help popularise the art of calligraphy in the State. Speaking at the inauguration of the fourth edition of the International Calligraphy Festival of Keralam 2026 in Kochi, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said that talks would begin to set up an academy dedicated exclusively to calligraphy. Collaborating with renowned calligraphy artist and founder of the festival, Narayana Bhattathiri, the proposed academy would be a centre for learning and preservation of the art form. 

The three-day festival, which began on October 2 at Durbar Hall Art Gallery and Rajendra Maidan, includes the works of over 24 Indian artists and three international artists – from Sri Lanka, Bhutan and France. The gallery space at Durbar Hall is alive with letters in all forms and shapes – the familiar rounded scripts of southern Indian languages, the angular style of Devnagiri, the curvilinear script of Bangla, a few ancient Indian scripts and English, rendered in different styles. 

“One does not need to understand or know the language to enjoy the beauty of calligraphy,” says Bhattathiri, who is also the honorary director of the World Calligraphy Association. “The idea is to open the world of calligraphy to people and bring them closer to the art of writing,” he adds. 

One of the only international calligraphy festivals in India, the event aims to take calligraphy out of galleries and into the mainstream. “I did calligraphy on an umbrella. That way, it reaches places,” he says. A calli-fashion event, part of the festival, showcased calligraphy on clothes. “It is a way of keeping calligraphy alive,” he adds. 

After over four decades of calligraphy practice, the veteran says how it always brings a certain peace to him. “It has a deeply meditative quality. It helps cut out noise – both internal and external. It brings a sense of calm. It influences the mind,” the artist says. He opened a gallery, Ka Cha Ta Tha Pa in Thiruvananthapuram, one of only such galleries in the State, to showcase Malayalam calligraphy. 

The festival, which concludes on October 5, includes workshops, art performances and live demos as well. 

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