Pictorial narratives in calligraphy

Calligraphy artist Parameshwar Raju’s recent series ‘In Divine Rhythm’ draws from mythology and beyond

There’s a lyrical rhythm with which Hyderabad-based artist Poosapati Parameshwar Raju uses pens and nibs of different sizes to draw alluring crimson red calligraphic forms on paper. The artist is recognised for his minimalistic narratives of stories from mythology. In Divine Rhythm, a new exhibition that showcases 95 of his recent works, opened online (art.kunstmatrix.com/) as part of the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2022 and will be on view all this month.

The exhibition offers an insight into a wide range of his work - stories from the Puranas, the epics, Buddhism, Christianity and the illustrations of Aum, to name a few. The calligraphy featured in this exhibition will also be a part of a forthcoming book penned by curator Koeli Mukherji. “The book will be a deep dive into his life, tracing his journey from childhood and attempting to trace the evolution of his style of calligraphy. He is a man of few words and hence, while his imagery is widely recognised, not many know what shaped his work,” says Koeli.

Parameshwar Raju spent the pandemic-induced lockdowns neck-deep at work. The result is a new series on Adi Ganesha, Ramayana and the Aum; he also reworked a 2013 series depicting the story of Jesus: “I had done a Story of Jesus series for an exhibition in Delhi in 2013. When I revisited them, I felt the need to tweak the images. The new drawings are complex with more elements. This story had to look and feel different to represent a different era and community.”