Science and Art of Calligraphy and Painting

Author(s): S Andhare
Publisher: Indian National Science Academy

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cliantele. These scribes were essentially known as Laiyas (in Gujarati) whose primary occupation was to write in a decorative style in the religious manuscripts known as pothis and other artifacts.
There were other painters also known as Chateras in Rajasthan who executed all types of painting jobs from painting the interiors of palaces to decorating the musical instruments, palkhis, tamjams as well as the wooden figures of Gangaur. Majority of them speicialised in miniature painting and worked either in the Royal Studio or freelancers painting portraits. hunting scenes, darbar and other outdoor pictures. They were groomed in the master to pupil tradition by remaining within the confines of the locality. They learnt family traits and techniques and traditional practises which invariably remained within the family or the guild. Therefore, it has always been difficult to extract professional and technological knowhow from them. That is why, there is a tremendous dearth of published material on this subject. Yet, there appears a kind of uniformity and congruity of style within each school of painting which identifies itself at different periods of time.
To conclude, this study primarily aims at surveying the history of calligraphy in India (excluding Islamic), its growth and affiliation with Jainism in so far as its sacred written material is concerned. Secondly, it looks in to its artistic and technological