Khaleelullah Chemnad

A genius like an imprint of the time

A journalist, a poet, a calligraphic artist, a cartoonist, a short-story writer… adjectives galore for Khaleelullah Chemnad. This multi-talented personality, who has marked his own imprint in all the fields he has attempted, has received recognition everywhere. As the life of his father, who was a famous poet and writer, was left before him like an open book, Khaleel did not take much time to find his own way. However, his was a new path, which was a synchronization of writing and drawing. Literature was so dear to this talented personality from childhood when he used to carry works of famous literary personalities along with his school books. He had started publishing stories, poems and cartoons in children's magazines at a tender age.
Today, Khaleel is a famous Arabic calligraphic artist and perhaps the only one in the world who has specialized in anatomic calligraphy, which is the unique feature of this artist.
Young Khaleel got inspiration to choose calligraphy as his field seeing the artistic beauty of the letters in the Arabic magazines, which used to come to his father's address from UAE, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Even though Khaleel was not proficient in Arabic language, his calligraphic works became inevitable for the regional publications in India due to its sheer quality and beauty. Since 1987, when he was only 15, Khaleel started drawing calligraphic pictures for two publications in Kerala. His unique talent in calligraphy got noticed very quickly, especially because he was a non-Arab, a specialty, which enhanced the significance of his works.
Khaleel started his calligraphic works by drawing verses from the Holy Quran as pictures that carry its meaning. Later, many of organizations in Kerala started using his works for Islamic preaching. Khaleel started getting many awards and laurels. During one of the exhibitions in Kerala, Sheikh Nadir Noori asked for Khaleel's calligraphy work, which was a drawing of the holy word La Ilaha Illallah in the shape of a lamp. Khaleel considers this as the biggest recognition and award at a young age. He handed over his work to Sheikh Nadir during the exhibition itself. Khaleel's works were exhibited in many exhibitions in India and abroad at that time itself.
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