64-year-old Anil Thaman first came to Kathmandu in 1976 from Punjab as a medical representative. He was known as a father of the ‘Outdoors’ as he introduced many technologies in Nepal and also worked in the outdoor industry and events.

His journey in calligraphy began in 2019 when his daughter gifted him a pen. “I never thought I would be a calligrapher since my handwriting was very bad. But I reassured my daughter that I would improve it”, he says.

To honor the promise he made to his daughter, Thaman began to research about the art of handwriting. He came across IAMPETH, a website that allows you to read old books from around the world. “I learned through those books that many things such as placements and movements of hands play a big role in having a good handwriting”, he says.

He further lists down other important things to improve handwriting. “Mood, ambiance, and music play a vital role in improving handwriting. Music works like therapy. It is important to be calm and collected while writing for the handwriting to be beautiful”, he adds.

“Calligraphy is simply handwriting with a little bit of aesthetic,” he says. “Calligraphy writing requires one to have a sense of art, whereas in handwriting normal letterforms are used”, he adds.