Anil Chauhan has painted verses in 100 Hyderbad mosques

Wajidullah Khan / Hyderabad

'I shall not stop on the call from Heaven or Earth; I have to fly high.” This is how Anil Kumar Chauhan sums up his philosophy of life that goads him to paint Quranic verses in the mosques of Hyderabad.

Chauhan has painted the verses in more than 100 mosques of the city. Anil says, "An artist has no religion. His work makes him transcend boundaries. Languages ​​are for artists and it is not at all difficult for any artist to learn a new language. It just requires a little research and hard work.” says this self-taught commercial painter.

Anil aspires to take his art to every corner of the world. “this is my wish, desire and aspiration and I am sure to achieve my rightful place under the sky,” he said.

Anil's family hails from Maharashtra and had moved to Hyderabad decades ago. He was a Hyderabad-born. That was his mother tongue is Marathi and in spite of this, he has worked on his Urdu. 

His artistic work in mosques, as well as temples, is what is known as the pride of Hyderabadi Ganga-Jamuni civilization. He says his work is living proof of the city’s inclusive culture.

About his early days as an artist, Anil says when he began painting quranic ayat in mosques some people objected to it. They questioned why a non-Muslim should write the verses of the Quran in mosques.

Not ready to give up, he approached Jamia Nizamia, a religious seminary in Hyderabad, where he presented his case before the ulema. he obtained a fatwa or a decree against those objecting to his religion being a criterion for rejection of his work. The fatwa specifically said a non-Muslim artist is allowed to write the verses of the Quran, the Kalima and names of Caliphs in mosques. 

This made his work was easy; he never had to look back again.

Anil Chauhan says no work is big or small; it’s all about a person’s interest and his hard work, dedication and efforts. 

In this era of social media, when Chauhan posted videos of his work on his Facebook account, his posts were liked by people from Pakistan.

Asked whether he had received any job offer from any country, he said no. However, he hopes that his work will one day take him around the world. 

Chauhan says though initially, he didn’t work for money now he is seeking remuneration to manage his.

Anil Chauhan has also read Natiya Kalam, devotional songs in praise of Allah, at poetic symposiums and won accolades.

Sometimes people have suggested he to change his religion to Islam. To them, he has this to say: I am an artist and an artist's job is to respect all religions.

Now people from far off places come to Anil Chauhan for work. Chauhan also left his mark on the mosques of Telangana. He also wrote Sura Yasin in Jamia Nizamia's library.

Besides Urdu, he has also worked in Arabic, Hindi, Telugu and Bengali. His younger brothers act as his helpers in his work.

Chauhan said that his children are not artistically inclined. He, however, is keen to impart his skill to the younger generation.

Anil did not go to a tutor to learn Urdu. He picked it up from friends and started writing by observing the Urdu signboards.

He says “at present, there is a need to work for Hindu-Muslim solidarity. We should respect each other's religions.”