Our Artists

Resident dreamer - Pari Nizami

The Sufi Tales family is a magnet for intellectuals who love to read! Pari has a degree in Economics from Jamia Millia Islamia University. She is a truly gifted artist, her visions of beauty and spirituality inspire her to create her ethereal paintings, calligraphy and poetry.
Born into a family of peity and devoutness, she has had a strong connection with Sufism since her childhood.
Her multifarius personality wears many hats - daugther, mother, sister and wife. And yet, her abundant talent shines through as she finds time for her reading and painting despite her demanding schedule. Pari is an intensely private person, living her life by the belief that personal growth is a solitary journey. She likes to spend her leisure time in the company of her books.
Pari is the living embodiment of the adage that you cannot keep a good woman from great things for long.
Her association with Sufi Tales as an advisor, contributor and mentor is pivotal.

Young calligrapher - Soleh Alnajjari

He has a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and is an Honours graduate in the field of Arabic literature. The eldest of three siblings, his interests lie in languages, literature and art. He loves playing cricket and as a child, he even played interschool rugby.
However, reading remains his best leisure persuit. Some of his favourite books are The Karamazow Brothers, and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevski, and My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. Being the linguist that he is, he has read these books in their Arabic translations!
In English, he loves to read George Orwell, and also translated works of Tagore.
Soleh's driving passion is to carry on the legacy of forgotten Arabic calligraphy and to pass it on to the coming generations. With this view, he hopes to open an Art School to help young people realise their inner artist.
He believes the future is incomplete without art. One must take a stand: to either be a contributor, or continue with their learning. We think there is a third role that Soleh fulfills beautifully, one of both. His magical calligraphic expressions of exquisite, poetic words and phrases makes him a valuable contributing artist to the Sufi Tales family, while he continues to enhance himself with his deeply intellectual reading and study. He thinks that the future belongs to those who stands up against all odds and pursue their dreams.

Poet-in-chief - Azhar Iqbal

He has a bachelor's degree in Arts from the prestigeous Aligarh Muslim University and is an alumnus of Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi. Azhar Iqbal grew up in a small town called Budhana and now works in the financial sector in Merut. But his true calling remains in the world of Urdu and Hindi poetry and literature, romance being his favourite muse. Being on a stage or in front of a camera as a poet, anchor, moderator or the Master of Ceremonies is all in a days work for Iqbal Sahab.
Apart from poetry, which is undoubtledly his first love, he also dables in play-writing from time to time, and has forged a deep connection with the theatre.
Azhar Iqbal has also made a mark in the all-but-lost art of dastangoi, the story- telling tradition from centuries ago which has been revived in recent years by the efforts of talented individuals such as Mehmood Farooqui Sahab.
Azhal Iqbals association with Sufi Tales is not merely that of contributor, but is much more concrete; as his philosophy has helped to engineer the very essense of ST as a space for artists to express their own unique mastery and method.