When the world was grappling with Covid-19 pandemic, 20-year-old Falaq Iqbal thought about reviving her hobby. Bored with the situation and blessed with the beautiful handwriting, she started scribbling verses in the finest styles. With time, she got better at what she loved to do - Calligraphy.

Falak said, “Drawing has been my hobby since childhood. During the lockdown period in 2020, I started doing calligraphy and people appreciated me for my work.”

The self-taught artist further honed her skills through the Internet which opened a plethora of opportunities for her. The art that started off as a hobby became a source of making her own client pool, who connects with her through her Instagram account.  

Since then, Falak has received orders from her clients. Also, she has been called to various restaurants for making wall art and also for making Papier-mâché intricate designs. For her clients, she does calligraphy of verses, names and also takes customized orders based on the preferences of the clients. For wall work, she said that one has to be focused for hours as it demands more energy and effort.

Currently, Falaq is pursuing Bachelors in Science and aspires to make her future as an artist. “I believe whatever interests you should be taken forward and I want to make my career in this field only. My studies have been important but I have always been more inclined towards arts,” she said.

Enjoying full support from the family, she said that the hindrances came to her during the internet shutdown. “Internet has helped me a lot to reach out to people and learn more about art. Internet shutdown hinders my work a lot. Also, the material- tools and colors required for the art - are not available in the market, here. I have to order those from outside,” she said.

Considering the vastness of the art, in future, she wants to upgrade her skillset and wants to learn the antique dense art of calligraphy which calligraphers of the yesteryears used to do. “Those calligraphers were known for that antique and intricate work. I want to learn more about Turkish art,” she added.

She strokes her calligraphy brush with the mantra that her art should add life to the dullness. “There should be a mixture of dull and bright colors. At the end, it should come out lively. I believe that art is something which adds life to dull things as well,” she said.

With time, comes a lot of changes and trends that pose a threat to the traditional art and its unique charm. Calligraphy is one such thing but artists like Falaq strive to preserve the art.

“Art like this needs to be preserved. Our land is thriving with the art and artists but people need to understand the hard work that goes in making the art. There should be scope for arts and artists because many fine artists hesitate to pursue it as a career due to the lack of scope in it. Young artists should be appreciated so that everyone gets a chance and with time skills get better,” she said.

While concluding with the message for youth, she said, “Everybody has a special talent that makes us different. We all need to recognize the talent and follow our dreams.”