Samrup Rachna

{{Short description|Type of South Asian calligraphy}}

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Samrup Rachna is a 60-piece calligraphy collection of Apni Boli, a fusion of Hindi and Urdu, created by Pakistani artist Syed Mohammed Anwer.{{Cite web |title=Cosmopolitanism and National Identities - The World of South Asian Scripts - The University of Chicago Library |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/world-south-asian-scripts/cosmopolitanism-and-national-identities/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=www.lib.uchicago.edu}}{{Cite web |date=2016-02-01 |title=Pak lawyer fuses Urdu, Hindi in calligraphy |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/pak-lawyer-fuses-urdu-hindi-in-calligraphy/story-JEqyjjMnQGEQN0OELWW7VL.html |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

The name is derived from the Sanskrit words Samrup (समरूप), meaning "congruence" or similar, and Rachna (रचना) meaning "creative work or design."{{cite web|url=http://www.urduvoa.com/media/video/pakistan-syed-muhammad-anwar-interview/3209129.html|title=زبان قربتوں کا ذریعہ نا کہ دوریوں کا|publisher=Urdu VOA|trans-title= Language is a means of closeness, not of distance. Syed Muhammad Anwar Interview}} In linguistics, languages such as Hindustani that are written in two different scripts are called synchronic digraphia.Cheung, Yat-Shing (1992). "The form and meaning of digraphia: the case of Chinese". In K. Bolton and H. Kwok. Sociolinguistics Today: International Perspectives. London: Routledge.

The calligraphy is a combination of the Devanagari (northern Brahmic) and Nastaliq (Perso Arabic) scripts of Hindi-Urdu, which Anwer refers to as Apni Boli. Anwer learned Devanagari script from his mother, who explained that although Hindi and Urdu are written in different scripts, they are essentially the same language. This understanding pushed him to create a fusion of the scripts, inspired by his doodling in the office, where emerging patterns led him to begin painting them.{{Cite web |date=2016-02-03 |title='Language has no religion': Pakistani lawyer fuses Urdu, Hindi in calligraphy |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1039277/language-has-no-religion-pakistani-lawyer-fuses-urdu-hindi-in-calligraphy |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}

The calligraphy visually represents the meaning of the word. For example, the Hindustani word surahi (meaning "ewer" or "pitcher" in English) is written in Apni Boli calligraphy in a way that it also forms a picture of an ewer.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iiWNZesWwg|title=Syed Mohammad Anwar – Calligraphy Artist|publisher=Urdu VOA|date=13 April 2012|via=YouTube|archiveurl= https://preservetube.com/watch?v=3iiWNZesWwg|archive-date=June 23, 2025}}{{cite web |url=http://pakobserver.net/2016/03/16/a-book-of-unique-calligraphy/ |title=A book of unique calligraphy | Pakistan Observer |accessdate=2016-03-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321013413/http://pakobserver.net/2016/03/16/a-book-of-unique-calligraphy/ |archivedate=2016-03-21 }}

The artwork emphasizes the shared linguistic heritage of Hindi and Urdu, emphasizing their cultural and linguistic similarities.{{Cite web |title=Unique linguistic art book launched |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/100207-Unique-linguistic-art-book-launched |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=financspree.com |language=en}}

The 60-piece collection was launched as a book, titled Samrup Rachna – Calligraphic Expression of Apni Boli [Hindi-Urdu], at the Pakistan Mother Languages Literature Festival at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage in 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/E-Paper/Lahore/2016-02-21/page-13/detail-11 |title=Mother languages literature fair begins amid festivity |accessdate=2016-02-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302020145/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/E-Paper/Lahore/2016-02-21/page-13/detail-11 |archivedate=2016-03-02 }}

File:Diwali ( Samrup Rachna Calligraphy).jpg

File:Artist Dr Syed Mohammed Anwer.jpg