The 21-year-old self-taught calligrapher from Khanyar Srinagar believes success is never gained overnight.
Zainab Farooq, a SKUAST student, started calligraphy years back and gave much time to calligraphy when COVID-19 forced people to stay indoors.
Art and craft have always been a passion of mine since my childhood. I like being creative and used to make handcrafted items that were made with affection. I chose the medical stream after clearing my 12th-grade examinations and couldn’t do much at the time. Then, after finishing high school, I got admission to SKUAST Wadoora.
She continues, “Shortly after receiving my admission at SKUAST, the country went into lockdown, and I was left with nothing to do. To keep involved with anything, I began composing Quranic ayahs of hope and many other things
I participated in many online competitions, and by God’s grace, my work was liked widely by the people in Kashmir as well as outside.
I have learned calligraphy, art, drawing, and painting in my school, and I also took part in the school level competitions, which helped me a lot. Besides, I have also taken part in various exhibitions.
For her, calligraphy is not only an escape from this dismal reality, but it also encourages me to discover what else I can accssomplish, “she said. When the ink from the pen runs out, my stress does as well. I am grateful to Allah for providing me with this talent. “
She says, “Not everything can be learnt by reading. Many do not even learn by reading. Many learn a lot without studying.
The work was liked by people on Instagram under the name @zainabfarooq621. I also started selling my artwork.
She said, “I get orders and their competition depends on the size of the order,”
I also made name boards and also wrote the Quranic verses, which gave me immense pleasure.
My parents were always supportive. Without their support, this would not have been possible. They kept me motivated every single time, “Zainab said,” while giving credit to her parents.