MULTAN: Pride of Performance Calligrapher Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal Ahsan Nizami, popularly known as Ibn-e-Kaleem, died of a heart attack here in the wee hours of Sunday.
He was 71 years old.
His son, Muhammad Mukhtar Ali, told APP that Ibn-e-Kaleem was born in Multan in 1949. He was Hafiz-e-Quran and did his MA in Arabic. He invented Khat-e-Raana in 1970 and authored over 10 books on calligraphy and 20 on various other subjects including a travelogue.
Ibn-e-Kaleem held 120 exhibitions in different countries of the world including Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Sweden, Denmark, India and Iran.
He was bestowed with over 50 awards including Shah Khalid Award for his services in the field of calligraphy.
He has left behind seven sons and a widow. Four of his sons are also calligraphers.
Ibn-e-Kaleem was given Noon-al-Qalam Award in Islamabad for participating in Noon-al-Qalam exhibition.
The art of the deceased spanned over five decades and he also established an institution, Dabistaan Farogh-e-Khatati, some 40 years back in Multan.
The calligrapher’s known books included Muraq-e-Raanae, Tareekh-e-Funa-e-Khatati, Qalam aur Elh-e-Qalam etc.
BZU College of Fine Arts faculty member Prof Masood Akhtar said that Ibn-e-Kaleem was an identity of Multan across the world.
His Namaz-e-Janaza was offered at GPO ground on Sunday, which was attended by a large number of people from all walks of life.