This show proudly presents an unsung hero, a man whose entire life has been spent in learning calligraphy, refining it, safeguarding its traditional form in body and spirit and transmitting it to others. He has been associated with the Centre since 2020, guiding people interested in this artform, graciously accepting calligraphy assignments from all quarters and proving to be an invaluable asset for the Centre and the University. 

The calligraphic panels exhibit a range of traditional compositions executed with great refinement and a heightened sense of design and proportion. The texts include Quranic verses alongside words of wisdom and poetry in Urdu, Persian, Punjabi, and Pashto, selected by language instructors associated with the Gurmani Centre. The scripts Ustād Sher Zaman has masterfully used to render these works are nasta‘līq, thuluth, and naskh. 

Syed Babar Ali, the discoverer and the foremost supporter of this talent has kindly agreed to inaugurate the exhibition. The event will commence at 5 pm with a panel talk where Ustad Sher Zaman will be accompanied by the curator of the exhibition, Taimoor Khan Mumtaz (an architect and the founding director of Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts in Lahore), Kamil Khan Mumtaz (a renowned architect, educator, author, and pioneer in the movement for conservation of architectural heritage) and Syed Sajid Abbas Naqvi Syed al-Hussaini (holder of an Ijazah in khat-e-nasta’līq and a student of the Iranian master-calligrapher Ustad Nasir Jawaharpur). 

Short bio notes of the curator and the panelists.

Taimoor Khan Mumtaz, is a senior architect at Kamil Khan Mumtaz Architects and the founding director of Hast-o-Neest Institute of Traditional Studies & Arts in Lahore. Taimoor Khan Mumtaz has curated a number of calligraphic exhibitions at Hast-o Neest, Nairang Gallery, Lahore and Koel Gallery, Karachi. Some of these are Inshāye Tahayyur (The Oeuvre of Perplexity) 2016; Tamāme Ālam Mast (The Entire Universe in Ecstacy) 2015; Darya Ba Hubab Andar (An Ocean Within a Bubble) 2011, and Kanzan Makhfiyan (The Hidden Treasure) 2006.

Kamil Khan Mumtaz (Tamgha-e Imtiaz 1993 & Sitara-e Imtiaz 2019) is a renowned architect, educator, author, and pioneer in the movement advocating conservation of architectural heritage. He has served as the Member of the Steering Committee of the Agha Khan Award for Architecture (1981-84); the Founder President of the Anjuman Mimaran and the Founder Member of the Lahore Conservation Society. His publications include Architecture in Pakistan (1985) and Modernity and Tradition (1999) and a number of articles in prestigious international journals. 

Syed Sajid Abbas Naqvi Syed al-Hussaini has an Ijazah in khat-e- nasta‘līq from Ustad Irfan Ahmed Khan (President Calligraph-Artists’ Guild Pakistan), and has been teaching the Irani nasta‘līq at Hast-o-Neest since 2018. He has also been associated with the Calligraph-Artists’ Guild Lahore and the Khana-e Farhang-e Iran Lahore as a calligraphy instructor. Sajid Abbas has had the honor of studying under the Iranian master-calligrapher Ustad Nasir Jawaharpur, the former office-bearer of the Anjuman-e-Khushnawisan-e-Iran.