Ameena Ahmad Ahuja

Last updated

Ameena Ahmad Ahuja
Born
India
Alma mater Slade School of Art
Occupation(s)Painter
Calligrapher
Linguist
Writer
Known forCalligraphic paintings
SpouseVishnu Ahuja
Parent Nuruddin Ahmed
Awards Padma Shri
Website Website

Ameena Ahmad Ahuja is an Indian painter, calligrapher, writer and linguist, known for her Urdu poetry-inspired art works. [1]

Contents

Biography

Ameena Ahmad Ahuja was born to a British mother and Nuruddin Ahmed, a barrister and litterateur. She did her training in art at the Slade School of Art in London. [2] She is a former member of faculty of the Department of Russian at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) [2] and, besides Russian, she is proficient in languages such as Persian, German, French, Hindi and English. [1] Her career also covered stints at Columbia University as a lecturer of poetry and as an Artist-in-residence at the Harvard University and her exhibitions have been staged at many places in India [3] and abroad including Moscow, Tokyo, Venezuela, Columbia and New York. [4] She has served as the official translator during the visits of Soviet dignitaries including Alexei Kosygin, Nikolai Bulganin, Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev to India. [1]

She was married to Vishnu Ahuja, a diplomat and former ambassador to the USSR and had opportunities to visit many countries, accompanying her husband, who has since died. [1]

Publications

She is the author of the book, Calligraphy in Islam, a text in Urdu, published 2009 by Penguin India. [5]

Awards and honours

The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for her contributions to Arts. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faiz Ahmad Faiz</span> Pakistani poet and author (1911-1984)

Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani poet and author of Punjabi and Urdu literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated, popular, and influential Urdu writers of his time, and his works and ideas remain widely influential in Pakistan and beyond. Outside of literature, he has been described as "a man of wide experience", having worked as a teacher, military officer, journalist, trade unionist, and broadcaster.

<i>Nastaliq</i> Predominant calligraphic hand of the Perso-Arabic script

Nastaliq, also romanized as Nastaʿlīq or Nastaleeq, is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script and it is used for some Indo-Iranian languages, predominantly Classical Persian, Kashmiri, Punjabi (Shahmukhi) and Urdu. It is often used also for Ottoman Turkish poetry, but rarely for Arabic. Nastaliq developed in Iran from naskh beginning in the 13th century and remains widely used in Iran, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries for written poetry and as a form of art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi</span> Indian Islamic scholar (1856 – 1921)

Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, known reverentially as A'la Hazrat, was an Indian Islamic scholar and poet who is considered as the founder of the Barelvi movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javed Akhtar</span> Indian poet, lyricist and scriptwriter (born 1945)

Javed Akhtar is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civilian honours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi</span> Pakistani writer (1916-2006)

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi born Ahmad Shah Awan was an Urdu language Pakistani poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist and short story author.

Usha Sanyal is an Indian scholar and historian of Islam specializing in the Barelvi movement. She was a visiting assistant professor of history at Wingate University in North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Malihabadi</span> Indian poet (1898–1982)

Josh Malihabadi popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab was a Pakistani Urdu poet, born in Malihabad, British India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sadequain</span> Pakistani artist and poet

Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, and often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a historical Pakistani artist and poet best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the finest painters and calligraphers Pakistan has ever produced, having painted around 15000 paintings. He is also recognised as the only artist in Pakistan to have received all four civilian awards such as the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, and Pride of Performance.

Zehra Nigah is a prominent Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan, affectionately known as 'Zehra Apa'. As one of the pioneers of Urdu poetry by women, Nigah was one of the first female poets to gain recognition in a male-dominated field. Nigah's achievements are particularly notable in the realm of mushaira, where she is regarded as the first female poet to fully participate and leave a lasting impact. Additionally, Nigah occasionally works as a songwriter and scriptwriter.

Osman Waqialla, was a 20th century Sudanese painter and calligrapher, noted for his creative use of Arabic letter forms in his artworks, thereby integrating African and Islamic cultural traditions into the contemporary art of Sudan. This use of Arabic calligraphy as a modern, non-religious graphic form places Waquialla within the Arabic art movement that became known as the Hurufiyya movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasudeo S. Gaitonde</span> Indian painter (1924–2001)

Vasudeo S. Gaitonde, also known as V. S. Gaitonde, was an Indian painter. He was regarded as one of India's foremost abstract painters. Gaitonde received the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1971.

Salma Arastu is an internationally exhibited woman artist known for her unique global perspective, reflecting her diverse cultural background and experiences. Born in Rajasthan, India, Aratsu pursued her formal education in Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India. She was raised in the Sindhi and Hindu traditions and later embraced Islam and moved to the USA in 1986, currently residing in California. As a woman, artist, and mother, Arastu's creative endeavors aim to foster harmony and express the universality of humanity through various art forms, including paintings, sculpture, and poetry. She has also worked extensively with calligraphy and produces greeting cards for the American Muslim community.

Pouran Jinchi is an Iranian-born American visual artist. She is known for her abstract, calligraphy-based contemporary visual art. Jinchi lives in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vidya Dehejia</span> Indian art historian and curator

Vidya Dehejia is a retired academic and the Barbara Stoler Miller Professor Emerita of Indian and South Asian Art at Columbia University. She has published 24 books and numerous academic papers on the art of South Asia, and has curated many exhibitions on the same theme.

Mequitta Ahuja is a contemporary American feminist painter of African American and South Asian descent who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Ahuja creates works of self-portraiture that combine themes of myth and legend with personal identity.

Rehana Khatoon is an Indian scholar, teacher of Persian language, former Head of the Department of Persian, University of Delhi and the author of Encyclopaedia of Persian Language and Literature . She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the propagation of Persian language and literature. Rehana Khatoon is the first woman alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University to be awarded the Padma Shri.

Mahrukh Tarapor is an Indian museum professional and art consultant, known for her scholarship in museum art, especially Islamic art. She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on her the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the field of art.

Ale Ahmad Suroor (1911-2002) was an Urdu poet, critic and professor from India. He is best known for his literary criticism. In 1974 he was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award by the Government of India for his literary critic work, Nazar aur Nazariya. In 1991 he was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award. He was awarded a special gold medal by the President of Pakistan on the centenary of the birth of Muhammad Iqbal.

Hemi Bawa is an Indian painter and sculptor. Her works include acrylic and glass paintings and sculptures made of cast glass, fibre glass and copper-fired glass.

Nuruddin Ahmed was an Indian lawyer and three-time mayor of Delhi. Born in 1904 in Delhi in a wealthy family to Principal Mushtaq Ahmed Zahidie, of Sadiq Eggerton College, Bhawalpur, India. He did his early education at St. Xavier's School, Delhi and completed his pre-graduate studies from St. Stephen's College. Subsequently, he did Classical Tripos from Cambridge University before studying law at the Inner Temple from where he was called to the bar. Returning to India, he started his career as a junior to Muhammad Shafi where Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who would later become the fifth president of India, was his colleague, and started practice at Lahore High Court. Then, he went to Delhi to continue his practice and became known for his prowess in criminal trials. He was also involved in civic administration and during his four terms as a member of the Delhi Corporation, he served as the mayor of Delhi for three terms, from 1960 to 1965. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1964, for his contributions to public affairs. Ameena Ahmad Ahuja, a noted artist, was his daughter. Ahmed died in 1975, at the age of 71.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Austa, Sanjay (April 2005). "Calligraphying Poetry on Canvas". The South Asian. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Sharma, Parul (17 May 2007). "Amazing synthesis of art, poetry". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. Israni, Natasha (5 March 2001). "Wisdom of Birds and Animals: Exhibition of calligraphic paintings by Ameena Ahmed Ahuja". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. "Ameena Ahmad Ahuja donates 33 paintings to Jamia Millia Islamia". One India. 16 May 2007. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. Ameena Ahmed Ahuja (2009). Calligraphy in Islam. Penguin India. p. 120. ISBN   9780670082605.
  6. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.

Further reading