KaChaTaThaPa
It’s raining letters
at Kochi!
The first International Calligraphy Festival of Kerala (ICFK)
2, 3, 4, 5 October 2023, Durbar Hall, Kochi, Kerala India.
Exhibitions | Workshops | Debates | Live Demos | Quiz on Calligraphy | Entertainment Programs
Letters Matter!
Calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing, has travelled far and wide since its origins. Contemporary calligraphy excels in giving definite form to signs in the most creative, harmonious and comprehensible fashion, using pen, ink brush or other writing tools. This expressive visual art, which is highly regarded all over the world, finds comparatively less practitioners in India and a minimum in Kerala.
The First International Calligraphy Festival of Kerala (ICFK)
ICFK envisions providing the much-demanded uplift to this gifted art in Kerala. It is organized by Ka Cha Ta Tha Pa Foundation, which earnestly strives for the promotion of calligraphy in the state. The festival can be viewed as a noble extension of the National Calligraphy Meet held at Trivandrum in 2019 and 2022. This time, participants include renowned artists from France, Germany, Iran and Vietnam, making it The First International Calligraphy Festival of Kerala. 16 reputed calligraphers from all over India also take part in the 4-day festival.
Festival Lights & Colors
The festival presents a wide range of programs on calligraphy, making it a grand gala event. It includes exhibitions, workshops, talks, discussions, live demo, quiz on calligraphy and other entertainment programs. It deals at length with the numerous aspects, possibilities and methods of the art and also its tools and application. The festival promises to be a new, wonderful experience for design professionals, art students, artists, art aficionados and general public as well.
Celebrated calligraphers
participating in the festival
Achyut Palv
Achyut Palav is one among the pre-eminent Indian calligraphers, who has made enormous strides in the field, demonstrating in Devanagari, English and other Indian languages. His inimitable mastery can be viewed in that work, which ingeniously synthesizes calligraphy and performing arts. He is the founder of Achyut Palav School of Calligraphy and a great promoter of the art in India.
Ashok Parab
Ashok Parab is a revered visual communication designer and calligrapher whose versatile genius extends to advertising, enterprise and design. A Cannes award finalist in advertising, twice in his career, Ashok Parab has also bagged 26 national and international awards.
Ashok Namdeo Hinge
Hinge, a distinguished visual artist from Mumbai is the recipient of several national awards and honors, HCJ Charitable Trust Award, Shanti Chopra Award, Karmayog award, Art Beats’ national award, Afaqs Foxglove Award, K.K. Barabde Award, Thakurdar Ramavat Award, to name a few. His calligraphy exhibitions across the country have received immense praise from art connoisseurs.
Akshaya Thombre
Akshaya Thombre is a well known artist who focuses her attention on Roman calligraphy. A persistent inquirer in the domain of calligraphy, Akshaya is known for the experimentations she made all through her career. These single-minded efforts saw her develop the black letter, a composition reached through inventive modifications and variations of her own style. She has represented the country in numerous international exhibitions and is the recipient of The Excellence Award at the 18th Cheongju Jikji World Calligraphy Association, South Korea in 2021.
Kim Jin-Young
Kim Jin-Young is the Vice President of the Asian Calligraphy Association, and the President of the Korean Association. He also currently serves the position of Chairman at the Korean Academy of Calligraphy. Apart from this, he is involved in academic councils and is an Advisory Professor of Calligraphy at Kyonggi University and an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Oriental Culture.
Inku Kumar
A self-taught calligraphy artist, Inku Kumar is noted for his impacting style and arresting experimentations. An MFA degree holder in Applied Art, he chose calligraphy as his vocation and has blazed a new trail in the field. His studio is named CALLIART. He has worked for the promotion of major brands in India.
Prof. K.C.Janardhan
Janardhan, the self-made artist grew in stature by scrupulously developing his natural abilities. The profound acumen and inquisitive mind he had, even at a young age, developed into a systematical and analytical inquiry of the world, later in life. A self taught master in calligraphy and handwriting, he is in possession of diverse skills that makes him a sociologist, entrepreneur, sculptor, geographer, corporate trainer, anthropologist, management professor, aviator and more.
Masoud Mohebbi Far (Iran)
Born in Iran, Masoud is an acclaimed calligrapher and the founder of Honarosta, the First Village Art Gallery in Iran. He has held successful individual exhibitions in UAE, India and Belarus. He has actively taken part in quite a few domestic art festivals and is the winner of the International Festival of Al Burda, Dubai. An avid promoter of the art, Masoud conducts calligraphy workshops on a regular basis.
Nikheel Aphale
Nikheel Aphale is an established graphic designer and calligrapher with prime interest in the letter forms of Devanagari. An NID graduate, Nikheel’s works has been published in Letter Arts Review, the much-admired calligraphy magazine in US. He was the proud participant of the World Calligraphy Biennale, conducted in South Korea and China.
Narayana Bhattathiri
The first designated Malayalam calligrapher from Kerala, Bhattathiri has lettered the titles for the works of front line Malayalam writers in leading periodicals of the state. He has had a successful career spanning 4 decades. The recipient of the prestigious Jigji Excellence Award in International Calligraphy in 2017-2018, Bhattathiri’s work is displayed at the Calligraphy Stone Park in Herbin, China.
Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar, whose works rank high in aesthetic parameters, ensures his definite space in the Indian calligraphic arena. The artist from Madhya Pradesh is firmly rooted in his conviction that art is nothing but self-expression and the most beautiful thing that exists.
Michel D’Anastasio (France)
As an aspiring student at DUCTUS, the first French Calligraphy Association, Michel had the privilege of getting trained under eminent tutors, very early in life. He acquired profound knowledge in occidental calligraphy and Chinese calligraphy before turning to Hebrew lettering. He is regarded as the best and authentic Hebrew calligrapher and is famed for his matchless style.
Poosapati Parameshwar Raju
Poosapati Parameshwar Raju is a notable artist and calligrapher, who successfully ventured and created a novel genre, iconic calligraphy. His art emanates from his profound analytical researches made in iconography, signs and symbols, which are ingrained in Indian ethos. He has number of awards to his credit, including YSR Achievement Award, Andhra Pradesh State Award and the Award of Appreciation from the Chairman, Apeejay Stya University, where he is a PhD research scholar.
Qamar Dagar
A pictorial calligrapher of repute, Qamar comes from the illustrious Dagar family, the traditional singers of Dhrupad, a genre in Hindustani music. A devoted practitioner and proponent of calligraphy, Qamar is the founder director of Qalamkaari Creative Calligraphy Trust and the recipient of Naari Shakthi Samman from the President of India and the Women’s International Award.
Raghunita Gupta
Raghunita Gupta is founder of Raghunita.com and the managing director of The Calligraphy Foundation of India, both of which have contributed significantly and renowned as a calligraphy artist. She has studied this beautiful art of letters seriously and has absorbed elements from both classical and modern practices. She is a dedicated calligrapher, and her works are striking for their flawless integration of the two art forms. She gives the seer a new artistic dimension with her deft yet powerful brushwork, which breathes life and significance into the letters.
Shipra Rohatgi
Shipra Rohatgi is a Delhi-based professional calligrapher with vast experience working for global brands as Mont Blanc, Dior, Louis Vuitton, BMW, Dom Perignon and Salvatore Ferragamo that earns her a reputation par excellence. She has held the covetable position of the official calligrapher of Mont Blanc.
G V Sreekumar
A senior tutor at IDC School of Design, IIT Mumbai, Sreekumar has proved his excellence in wide-ranging areas as Typography, Publication design, Information Design, Anatomy, Figure Drawing and Design instruction. In a remarkable professional career, he has worked with The Times of India Group, CHIP, Jasubhai Digital Media etc. He works as the design consultant for several publications and is a visiting professor at NID Ahmadabad, MIT Pune, IIT Jabalpur and IIT Guwahati.
Tarun DeepGirdher
The chief designer of Graphic Design Department, NID, Ahmadabad, Tarun Deep Girdher has long and prolific years of experience in design education and academic governance. An expert practitioner of the art, he takes up projects pertaining to communication meant for rural community. His major research areas include Gurmukhi script, social behavior and indigenous visual culture.
D Udayakumar
The HOD of Design, IIT Guwahati, Dr. Udayakumar, with his profound insight and brilliance, works extensively in areas ranging from visual communication, design research and architecture. Kumar is better known to public as the designer of the new Indian Rupee Symbol.