A forgotten fontsmith finds his place in history

Once the cold, unyielding quarters of colonial incarceration, the stately dungeon at Khelat Bhavan in Pathuriaghata glowed with the soft glimmer of lamps and the warm tread of red carpets. It is here — in this marbled mansion turned memory-keeper — that Kolkata chose to honour one of its most overlooked cultural architects, Panchanan Karmakar. HARAF, the exhibition that opened Thursday evening and went on till tuesday, is not just a tribute; it is a resurrection. A typeface reverie that broght together hand-carved metal letters, family archives, and a 50-foot Kantha tapestry — each stitch and serif gently coaxing a forgotten legacy back into the public imagination.
Curated by Kounteya Sinha and Oiendrila Ray Kapur of KOI Worldwide, with the impassioned scholarship of Karmakar’s great-granddaughter Priyanka Mullick, HARAF is a masterclass in mnemonic curation. It gathered the country’s finest minds in an intimate celebration of typographic firsts. As Rabindra Sangeet floated through live strings and marble corridors, the air was not merely filled with nostalgia, but with a palpable sense of justice finally served — one carefully cast character at a time.


Long before the age of reels and retweets, there was Panchanan Karmakar — hammering out letters in metal in 1778 under the mentorship of Charles Wilkins, crafting the first Bengali typeface that would eventually print . What he forged wasn’t just font. It was futurism. He lent permanence to fleeting words and gave Bengali — and later Odia, Tamil, and Devanagari — a printed pulse.
His typeset laid the groundwork for , the country’s first vernacular newspaper, which rolled out from Serampore Press in 1818. Now, centuries later, his chiselled legacy is on display in a building once designed to confine — now defiantly liberating a story that waited far too long to be told.


The opening evening was a veritable constellation of talent, grace, and intellectual gravitas. Among those who walked the halls of history were the and the Nawab of Kotwara — the iconic director and Nawab of Kotwara — and , the Oscar-nominated filmmaker and BAFTA, Cannes, and Sundance laureate. Joining them was , the two-time National Award-winning cinematographer whose lens has defined modern Bollywood, and , the four-time Grammy-nominated composer whose rhythms echo across genres and geographies.
The room pulsed with creative energy as and , actors known for their fresh cinematic presence, mingled with , the acclaimed Telugu director. , doyenne of Bharatanatyam and recipient of both the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi honours, added a classical note to the evening. Also present were award-winning actress , , Director of The Alipore Museum, and , Consul General of Russia. The guest list further dazzled with filmmaker , actor , , the voice behind , from the United Nations, and , Chairman of the Serampore Municipality. HARAF wasn’t just a gathering — it was a standing ovation across disciplines.

“This is a monumental step in positioning HARAF with the recognition, honour, and context it truly deserves on the global stage. We’ve become so immersed in technology that we often overlook the tactile beauty of how harafs were originally crafted.”


“I’m completely spellbound. It’s truly heart-warming to witness an exhibition that brings to light the very origins of the Bengali —a fascinating journey through time.”

“Every visit to Kolkata is a stark reminder of how crucial it is to preserve our heritage. The city always manages to evoke a deep sense of connection to the past.”

“It’s intriguing to see a drone surveying the space from above. In gatherings like these, drones are a rarity, and it brings a fresh, unexpected element to the experience. It feels like something truly different.”

"This exhibition is truly important, especially being held at such a wonderful location, as it stands at the core of our culture and history — at the core of who we are, not just as Bengalis, but as Indians"- Bickram Ghosh