For calligrapher and lettering artist Sanjana Chatlani, founder, The Bombay Lettering Company, calligraphy is a meditative art form. “It requires patience, passion and practice. A single script can take years to master,” explains Chatlani, whose first brush with the art form happened while working at a French wine and spirits company. “I came across an elderly calligrapher who would write on all our gift cards,” says the artist who then honed her skill under master calligraphers across the world.

With artists observing World Calligraphy Day yesterday, Chatlani takes us back to the origins of the art form. The roots of calligraphy date back to 600 BC in Rome, she shares. “It started with the Roman letters. From the Roman capital letters, a script called foundational hand emerged. Chronologically, then, there was uncial. These were mostly used by religious practitioners to pen scriptures,” she reveals.