Bringing out the essence of Jainism

Artist Jain Kamal has been expressing himself through the power of fonts and typography. Yes, the same fonts which we use routinely in applications like Microsoft Word. 

Kamal has been pursuing his career in art designing but painting is his passion. But he hasn’t chosen the usual brush, paint and canvas. He started expressing his thoughts through graphical paintings.

He uses only fonts which have been his first love. He has made a unique portrait of Amitabh Bachchan using fonts. Kamal has just finished working on a series of 24 paintings after eight years. Through these paintings, he has tried to express the true essence of Jainism. He has also used fonts for painting the pictures. Namokar Mantra - a revered mantra in Jain religion - is the theme of his current oeuvre.

The mantra is the elementary prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time of the day. While praying, by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows with respect to Arihantas, Siddhas, spiritual leaders, teachers and all monks. “There is tremendous power in this mantra. It has the power to bring about great wellbeing and peace in society,” informed Kamal.

He added, “For completing 24 creations of Namokar Mantra, I delved into Jain religion. I visited all the sacred places and pilgrimage spots. I read religious literature for this. Whatever I have learnt and got to know about Jainism, I have tried to express through my paintings.”

All 24 paintings will be displayed in Pune, at an exhibition organised by Jain International Trade Organisation (Jito) from February 26 to 28. Recently three painting of Kamal on the Namokar Mantra were on display in Mumbai for three days at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi. In his capacity as the art director Jain Kamal changed the face of newspapers and magazines in the 1990s.

He has worked for media houses like Express Group, India Today, Debonair, Afternoon, Observer, Prabhat and Lokmat in his 27 year career. He has introduced more than 24 fonts at Indian publication houses and become the pioneer in using different fonts for writings.

“Fonts are a crucial segment of a newspaper. Changing fonts is like changing a blood group. Fonts have a big impact in grabbing the attention of readers,” he added.  

Kamal hails from Bihar and has completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts course from Banaras Hindu University and Master’s degree from Baroda.
Then he won the Gujarat Lalit Kala award for the best painting. Jain is also a visiting faculty at IIT-B, Sophia College, KC College, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. Jain was a jury member of the Censor Board of Film Certification.