Educational Galaxy

The Art of Calligraphy — EG's own notes, in simple words

Book: Kriti (CBSE, Class 7)  |  Chapter 19  |  Medium: English

Section: Visual Art

Diagram (labels are printed on the image): A calligrapher forming an elegant letter with a broad nib. A general teaching picture; it is not a picture from the book.

A hand painting a flowing ink stroke with a brush. A general picture about calligraphy practice; no book picture is copied here.

What the chapter is about

Scripts have the power to record people’s languages and expressions. India’s writing systems can be traced from the 5000-year-old Indus-Sarasvati civilisation. But the earliest decoded inscriptions in Brahmi script from the Ashokan edicts are almost 2300 years old. The original Constitution of India was handwritten by two expert calligraphers: Prem Behari Narain Raizada wrote the English version, and Vasant Krishan Vaidya wrote it in Hindi. It was signed on 26 January 1950, the day we observe as Republic Day. Today, the Indian Constitution officially recognises 22 languages. Look at the beautiful forms and variations in Indian scripts shown in the chapter’s tree.

You will learn and discover more about calligraphy in this chapter. Letters are the smallest unit of any script. An unknown script looks like a string of small drawings. The letters we use today were all initially drawings, which evolved into pictograms and then into organised systems of writing. Calligraphy is much more than the art of writing letters to spell words. Artists pour emotions into each letter to create a variety of expressions. They spend a lot of time and effort in writing, inscribing and carving by hand. Each letter style has a purpose. In ancient manuscripts, letters were decorative and flowed with life. Some letters were creatively placed to look like a frame or picture. Today’s newspapers use bold and clear letters to draw our attention and help readers read information quickly. The materials and tools used in calligraphy include a variety of quills, brushes, nibs, inks and paints on surfaces like palm leaf, cloth, paper, and so on.

Activity 19.1 looks at letters. Which letters can you find in the Indian Rupee symbol? The symbol of the Indian rupee is derived from the letter Ra (Devanagari) from the word Rupiah in the Devanagari script. The top horizontal line, also known as the Shiro-Rekha of the Devanagari script, gives it an Indian identity. Seen along with the second horizontal line, it represents the three bands of the tricolour of our Indian flag. Just by playing around with lines and shapes of letters, you can enhance an idea. Observe the “Incredible India” logo: the exclamation mark in place of the letter “I” makes it more expressive. What kind of letter play do you observe in the other logos? Discuss and note your observations.

Activity 19.2 is a letter hunt. Before digital technology, printing involved long processes. Visit a newspaper office or print studio to find out more about the printing processes. Begin a treasure hunt using print material found in your surroundings. Collect a few newspapers and printed material, including invitation cards, food packaging material and old magazines. Discuss and write your thoughts about: how are the words or letters arranged; why do you think the letters are printed in different colours and sizes; what do you find attractive in the style of letters or words; and which words on the printed material are most important, and why? Cut out words and letters of different sizes and styles. Work in groups to find similar letter styles — for example decorative, bold, italic, thin, narrow, and so on. Arrange and paste them on an A3-size paper by grouping similar letter styles.

Activity 19.3, Similar but Different, observes a table showing different versions of the same letter. Are you able to read the same letter written in so many ways? This is similar to human or animal bodies: we have the same body parts, yet we look unique. Human anatomy is about the number of bones, muscles, joints, and so on. Similarly, the anatomy of letters reveals the different parts of a letter. Choose a letter from any script you are familiar with. Take a sheet of paper and write the letter you have chosen in different ways. Start by writing letters freely: use your non-dominant hand, and see the lines and shapes that are formed; use different kinds of pens, pencils and other writing tools; make the letters big and small. Take another sheet of paper. To structure the same letter, mark a baseline, top line and a middle line. Mark vertical lines to create a grid: this will help you estimate the width of each alphabet, as well as the space between each letter. Create five variations of the same letter: use the guidelines to alter the height, width, angles and line-thickness of the letters to achieve different styles, beginning writing the letter keeping in mind its anatomy. Share your work with your peers, and discuss how you wrote one letter in different ways.

Activity 19.4 is writing like we speak. When you speak to people, you modulate your voice, which creates a variation in volume. Doing this conveys various emotions. For example, when you wish your friend “Happy Birthday!” you say it with excitement and joy, whereas when you say “Get well soon”, you say it calmly and show concern. If we relate it to writing, it could be that a loud voice is written in big, bold letters, whereas a softer voice is written in small letters. Now, why don’t you try to shape letters in a variety of ways to convey the meanings and emotions of words? Look at the examples and try creating your own in a language or script that you are comfortable with. A note to the teacher adds that calligraphy skills are used in a variety of professions and vocations — tattooing, graphic art, illustration, animation, and so on.

Activity 19.5 puts calligraphy in posters. A lot of thought goes into naming a newly born child; similarly, a lot of effort is put into titles of books, plays, films and awareness campaigns. Letter styles, types and fonts play an important role in promotional materials. Recall various posters you have seen. Discuss the different kinds of information they contain and the text arrangement in the poster layout. Apply your calligraphy skills to make a poster for a play or any other school event. Choose a name or title for your play or event. Decide the letter style, size and colours for the title: the way you style letters can give readers an insight into the nature of the event — if it is a play, you can convey whether the play is happy, sad or contains suspense. Mark the guidelines and margins while writing the text. After finalising the letter style of the title, proceed to write other information on the poster: date, time and venue; contact information; and names of people, organisations, institutions, performing troupes, and so on. For these, your letter styles should be clear and easily readable: choose suitable sizes to indicate their importance and use guidelines while writing. Add visuals and complete your poster for display. The chapter’s summative assessment example is a self-portrait with an object or word: individually, draw a portrait of yourself with any facial expression, paying attention to ratios and proportions and facial expressions, choosing an object or word that you think symbolises your personality and including it in your artwork, applying rendering and lettering techniques and completing your artwork with colours; as a group, make a rag doll or fabric toy using unwanted pieces of cloth or any variety of fibre. Criteria include margins, alignment and spacing in lettering; colour and tonal variations; trying out new ideas and taking suggestions; planning the sequence of tasks and making preparatory sketches; and choosing suitable materials and tools and using them carefully.

What you should learn

• Trace writing from the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation to Brahmi and the Ashokan edicts, and name the Constitution’s two calligraphers.
• Explain how letters began as drawings and became organised writing systems.
• Read the Indian Rupee symbol: its Devanagari Ra, Shiro-Rekha, and tricolour bands.
• Hunt, sort and paste letter styles from print material, grouped by style on A3 paper.
• Write one letter in five structured variations using baseline, top line, middle line and grid.
• Shape letters to match voice and feeling — loud as big and bold, soft as small — and design a poster with title, details and visuals.

Try it — Activity 19.1: looking at letters

1. Find the letters in the Indian Rupee symbol: Devanagari Ra from “Rupiah”, with the Shiro-Rekha (top horizontal line) giving Indian identity, and the two horizontal lines together suggesting the tricolour’s three bands.
2. Observe the “Incredible India” logo: the exclamation mark in place of “I” makes it more expressive.
3. Discuss and note the letter play you observe in other logos.

Try it — Activity 19.2: letter hunt

1. Visit a newspaper office or print studio to learn about pre-digital printing processes.
2. Collect newspapers, invitation cards, food packaging and old magazines.
3. Discuss and write: how are words or letters arranged; why different colours and sizes; what is attractive in the letter styles; which words are most important, and why?
4. Cut out words and letters of different sizes and styles; in groups, find similar styles (decorative, bold, italic, thin, narrow, and so on); arrange and paste them grouped by style on A3 paper.

Try it — Activity 19.3: similar but different

1. Choose a letter from any script you are familiar with.
2. Write it freely: use your non-dominant hand, different pens and pencils, big and small.
3. On a new sheet, mark a baseline, top line and middle line, and vertical grid lines for width and spacing.
4. Create five variations using the guidelines, altering height, width, angles and line-thickness, keeping the letter’s anatomy in mind.
5. Share with peers and discuss how you wrote one letter in different ways.

Try it — Activity 19.4: writing like we speak

1. Compare voice and writing: excitement and joy (“Happy Birthday!”) as big, bold letters; calm concern (“Get well soon”) as small letters.
2. Shape letters in a variety of ways to convey the meanings and emotions of words, in a language or script you are comfortable with.

Try it — Activity 19.5: calligraphy in posters

1. Choose a name or title for a play or school event; decide its letter style, size and colours to hint at the event’s nature (happy, sad, suspense).
2. Mark guidelines and margins; write the title, then the details — date, time and venue; contact information; names of people, organisations, institutions, performing troupes — in clear, readable styles with suitable sizes.
3. Add visuals and complete your poster for display.

Chart / Table: From drawings to writing

Stage	What happens
Drawings	Letters begin as small drawings
Pictograms	Drawings evolve into pictograms
Organised writing systems	Pictograms develop into scripts with rules
Calligraphy	Artists pour emotion into each letter by hand, in quills, brushes, nibs, inks and paints, on palm leaf, cloth, paper, and so on

Practice set — try it yourself

1. How old is the Indus-Sarasvati civilisation’s writing tradition, and how old are the earliest decoded Brahmi inscriptions?
   Hint: Hint: 5000 years for one, almost 2300 for the other — keep them in order.
2. Who handwrote the original Constitution, in which versions, and when was it signed?
   Hint: Hint: Raizada English, Vaidya Hindi, 26 January 1950.
3. Explain the Indian Rupee symbol: which letter, which line, and what do the two lines suggest?
   Hint: Hint: Devanagari Ra, Shiro-Rekha, tricolour bands.
4. What are the guidelines for structuring a letter in Activity 19.3?
   Hint: Hint: baseline, top line, middle line, vertical grid.
5. How would you write “Happy Birthday!” and “Get well soon” differently, and why?
   Hint: Hint: loud = big and bold; soft = small — voice becomes letter shape.

Questions with Answers

1. Trace the history of writing given in this chapter.
   India’s writing systems can be traced from the 5000-year-old Indus-Sarasvati civilisation. The earliest decoded inscriptions in Brahmi script from the Ashokan edicts are almost 2300 years old. The original Constitution of India was handwritten by two expert calligraphers — Prem Behari Narain Raizada (English version) and Vasant Krishan Vaidya (Hindi version) — and signed on 26 January 1950, observed as Republic Day. Today the Constitution officially recognises 22 languages.
2. What is calligraphy, and how did letters develop?
   Calligraphy is much more than writing letters to spell words: artists pour emotions into each letter to create a variety of expressions, spending time and effort writing, inscribing and carving by hand, with quills, brushes, nibs, inks and paints on palm leaf, cloth, paper, and so on. Letters are the smallest unit of any script; they began as drawings, evolved into pictograms, and then into organised systems of writing. Each letter style has a purpose: ancient manuscript letters were decorative and flowed with life, some placed to look like a frame or picture, while today’s newspapers use bold, clear letters to draw attention and help quick reading.
3. Explain the Indian Rupee symbol and the “Incredible India” logo as letter play.
   The Rupee symbol is derived from the Devanagari letter Ra from the word “Rupiah”. Its top horizontal line, the Shiro-Rekha of Devanagari, gives it an Indian identity, and seen with the second horizontal line, it represents the three bands of the tricolour of the Indian flag. In the “Incredible India” logo, the exclamation mark in place of the letter “I” makes it more expressive. Both show how playing with lines and shapes of letters can enhance an idea.
4. Describe Activities 19.2 and 19.3.
   Letter Hunt (19.2): collect newspapers, invitation cards, food packaging and old magazines; discuss arrangement, colours, sizes, attractiveness and most important words; cut out words and letters of different sizes and styles; in groups, find similar styles (decorative, bold, italic, thin, narrow, and so on); arrange and paste them grouped by style on A3 paper. You may also visit a newspaper office or print studio to learn about pre-digital printing. Similar but Different (19.3): choose a familiar letter; write it freely, including with your non-dominant hand and different tools, big and small; then structure it with a baseline, top line, middle line and vertical grid; create five variations by altering height, width, angles and line-thickness, keeping the letter’s anatomy in mind; share and discuss with peers.
5. How do you make a calligraphy poster (Activity 19.5)?
   Choose a name or title for a play or school event, and decide its letter style, size and colours so the styling hints at the event’s nature (happy, sad, suspenseful). Mark guidelines and margins, finalise the title style, then write the other information clearly and readably, with suitable sizes for importance: date, time and venue; contact information; and names of people, organisations, institutions or performing troupes. Add visuals and complete the poster for display.

Extension Questions — for deeper understanding

1. Why does the chapter call letters “the smallest unit of any script” — and why does that matter for calligraphy?
   Because every word, poster and manuscript is built from single letters. If each letter can carry feeling through its shape, weight and spacing, then the whole text can — which is why calligraphers labour over one letter at a time rather than only over whole pages.
2. The Constitution was handwritten by two calligraphers, one per language version. What does that fact tell you about calligraphy’s status in 1950?
   That handwriting was still trusted for the nation’s most important document, and that both English and Hindi versions deserved equal craft. It places calligraphy at the centre of national life, not at its margins.
3. Why do newspapers use bold, clear letters while ancient manuscripts used decorative, flowing ones?
   Because each letter style has a purpose: newspapers must draw attention and let readers grasp information quickly, while manuscripts were made to be beautiful objects whose letters flowed with life. The same alphabet serves different jobs, and style follows the job.
4. How is “writing like we speak” more than a fun trick?
   Because it links two communication systems: voice modulation (volume, excitement, calm) and letter form (size, boldness). A reader who sees big, bold “Happy Birthday!” hears excitement, and one who sees small “Get well soon” hears gentleness — the writing carries tone, not just words.
5. In Activity 19.3, why write with your non-dominant hand?
   Because it breaks habit: the unfamiliar hand makes unexpected lines and shapes, showing that a letter is not one fixed form but a family of possible forms. That discovery prepares the structured variations that follow.
6. The summative assessment pairs a self-portrait with a rag doll or fabric toy. How does that connect chapters 17, 18 and 19?
   The portrait uses chapter 17’s proportions and expressions, the object or word uses chapter 19’s lettering and rendering, and the group rag doll uses chapter 18’s textile skills — one assessment gathering the book’s visual-art strands together.

How to use this page: Read the summary, say the Key Terms in your own words, then try the practice set without looking. Check your answers against Questions with Answers, and ask your teacher or parent to check your work.