Ali Kazim and Hammad Nasar's 'Alphabet Book' Reimagines the Urdu Qaida

Curator Hammad Nasar and Lahore-based painter Ali Kazim have collaborated on 'Alphabet Book', a contemporary reworking of the Urdu qaida. Nasar, frustrated by the limited vocabulary and imagery of traditional qaidas used to teach his expatriate children, sought to create a more sophisticated version. The book features Kazim's illustrations combining East Asian wash paintings, South Asian miniatures, and European etching, presented against flat monotone backgrounds. Each entry includes Urdu script alongside transliterated Roman script, reflecting English's dominance in the art world. Nasar's introductory text is in English, requiring readers to flip the book for right-to-left reading. The book explores language as evolving, noting Urdu words like pyjama, coolie, and loot that have entered English, and English words adopted into Urdu, as well as influences from Hindi, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. Kazim's illustrations reference multiple faiths and histories, with a notable entry for 'Khaaka – Sketch' showing four stages of a work depicting a topless middle-aged man holding a parrot, from outline to solid form. The finished print appears under 'Tota – Parrot'. Published by Ochre Books, the softcover edition is priced at £39.