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Skilled Hands converting couplets
into portraits:
The powerloom factories might have been the only available option
for the Malegaonians, the deprived people....Read
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Lucknow: A picture is worth a
thousand words. In the case of Shohaib Khan, words are worth a
picture. Confused? The 20-year-old artist from Uttar Pradesh writes
verses from religious scriptures in such a fashion that they become
paintings.
By using verses
from the holy scriptures, including the Quran, the Gita and the Guru
Granth Sahib, 20-year-old Khan, who is a resident of Amroha
district, some 300 km from Lucknow, has made several paintings and
sketches.
"I give shape to
figures by writing verses in different styles. By using the
technique, I can make anything on paper, hardboard and canvas,"
Khan, who is doing his graduation, told IANS over telephone.
With the technique
of giving shape to letters by using verses, Khan has made several
paintings of the Taj Mahal, the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and other
monuments.
"I primarily focus
on historical monuments as for me they are the best subjects for
painting," Khan added.
Among his several
paintings, the one of Taj Mahal is closest to his heart.
"It's a nearly
five-foot tall painting in which I have not drawn a single line or
curve. I made it entirely by using Quran verses only. From the dome
of the Taj Mahal to its impression that falls in the Yamuna river, I
made them all by producing the desired shapes from verses only," he
added.
Khan also likes
the tri-colour he prepared using Urdu text of Quran, Sanskrit verses
of the Gita and the Gurmukhi script.
"The flag in a
true sense projects the unity of our country. I have got the
painting framed and put up in my drawing room," said Khan, who is a
resident of the Afganan locality in Amroha.
Khan does not want
to pursue the unique art at a professional level.
"I think my
objective to promote brotherhood and oneness through paintings will
get defeated if I make paintings to earn," he said.
"I feel the moment
I become a professional, I will be diverted from my path of
propagating harmony among different sections of society. Moreover,
with the business aspect in mind, I believe I will not be able to
work with honesty and devotion," he added.
Khan, who has been
into painting since he was six years old, says he developed the
unique art by experimenting. "I have not taken any kind of training
for making paintings. In my family too, no one is good at drawing.
As far as this art is concerned, I developed it with constant
practice."
His unique art has
made Khan quite popular in his locality. On the request of local
people, Khan also makes paintings for them free of cost.
"I think it's a
god-gifted talent. He is famous in our locality," Maskoor Amrohi, an
advocate, told IANS.
Mahendra Maurya, a
teacher, said: "We feel he will get national acceptance for his
unique style of painting one day."
Asit Srivastava can be contacted at
asit.s@ians.in
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