Punjab: Calligraphy gives a glimpse of human behaviour

Punjab: Man is believed to be the supreme creation of God, endowed with the power to think and reason logically. On the other hand, human nature is considered to be the most complex to understand and predict. However, behavioral characteristics help to differentiate one person from another to some extent. Over the years, studies have been conducted to analyze the psychological and emotional aspects of human behavior. Among the unique characteristics, handwriting holds the richest information to gain insight into the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological state of a human being. The branch of science that deals with studying and analyzing handwriting to determine a person’s personality is called graphology. However, the art of handwriting is called calligraphy which is derived from two Greek words ‘kallos’ meaning beauty and ‘graphein’ meaning writing, making calligraphy an art of beautiful writing.
When we write something, our brain guides our hand, and this happens due to the connection between our brain and the reflex muscles of the hand. Graphical features of handwriting examined by experts reveal more or less similar traits or qualities of a person. Calligraphy features may include variations in the signature of speed, size, shape, pressure of pen, slant, word placement, writing gesture to reveal human traits. For example, if we consider the slant of letters as a graphical feature, it can be either left slanted, right slanted or vertical. Personality traits associated with left-leaning inclination (LIS) by graphologists include being independent, non-empathetic, difficulty in adapting, expressing emotions, tendency to live in the past and a little afraid of the future. In contrast, right-leaning inclination (RIS) is a sign of being expressive, confident in convictions, independence of thoughts, extrovert, future-oriented and love for learning new things.

Vertical inclination (VS) in writing indicates control of head over heart, independent actions, emotional nature, logical thinking and expectation of discipline in all actions. Another feature of handwriting that reveals human qualities is the shape of the letters while writing. The shape can be round, pointed or connected. Personality characteristics highlighted by the round shape of the letters include artistic personality and being good at maintaining relationships. On the other hand if the shape of the letters is pointed then the person is considered to be very intelligent, inquisitive and logical thinking. Connected letters are signs of a personality that thinks systematically and together. Another graphical feature of handwriting that reveals human personality characteristics is the pressure of the pen. Heavy pressure on the sheet shows that the person takes things seriously, is passionate, determined and self-motivated. The person can forgive but cannot forget and feels the situation intensely. Medium pressure shows that the person is emotional for a moderate amount of time while light pressure on the sheet shows that the writer can endure painful experience without being seriously affected, has the determination to break barriers and mental resilience.
The shape of the letters also provides important clues about human behavior. Large letter size suggests a person is extroverted, socially confident, assertive and craves to be the center of attention. Small letter size symbolizes people who are timid, introverted, cautious, shy, working behind the scenes, while average letter size writing reflects qualities like being able to easily manage situations and adapting well. Word spacing is another aspect that also helps in understanding human behavior as it is variable according to the style of writing of different individuals, thereby different from others in nature and temperament. Wide word spacing represents excellent taste, uniqueness, independent, clear mind and ability to organize one’s work. In contrast narrow word spacing describes inability to be alone, bad taste, friendliness and curiosity. In short, calligraphy analysis provides a fascinating window into human behavior, revealing subconscious traits through strokes, pen pressure, slant, spacing, signatures, etc.