— story of Indian letters surviving on the English keyboard.
a play, a digital exhibition and a documentary

Solo play (English)

A solo performance in English, rich with characters, presented on stages, in libraries, classrooms, printing presses, and any invited spaces across the U.S / India.

Explore English version

Ensemble play (हिंदी)

A company of actors performing the story of Fontwala in Hindi and languages it was lived in, imagined for stages across India.

Explore हिंदी version

about FONTWALA

FONTWALA is an evolving hybrid theatre-project: a one-woman English-language solo play, a Hindi-language ensemble production, a digital exhibition, and a forthcoming documentary—built around the life and work of script-visionary Rajeev Prakash Khare (aka “Fontwala”). Learn more about his work

In 2017, theatre-maker Shubhra returned to India after twenty years in the US to interview her uncle — a designer who created one of the first Hindi typing keyboards. Several questions arose:

What happens when an artist turns into an entrepreneur?
What is lost of a script and language when digitised?
Is it possible to return to one's mother tongue after decades of living with another language?

One Story, Two forms : As Solo and Ensemble.

English Solo Play

A global, intimate journey—written and performed by Shubhra, this version travels to festivals and theatres in the U.S. and India, engaging audiences who speak English and explore universal questions of language, migration, and craft.

Hindi Ensemble Play

Fully realised in Hindi (with elements of Bhojpuri, Bundelkhandi, and Marathi), this production dramatizes the community, dialects, and vernacular world that shaped Rajeev’s career—inviting Indian audiences into rich textures of story through collaboration and ensemble energy.

We are actively seeking partners, theatres, cultural centres, festivals, designers, calligraphers, typographers, digital storytellers, and collaborators for site-specific or multilingual adaptations.

Collaborate with Us

Reviews

🎭 English Solo shows so far!

New York, San Francisco, Delhi and Kolkata

minimalist performance on theatrical stage, printing press, library, classroom and several non-traditional venues.

2024, Sept 25

San Francisco Center For The Book

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2024, Sept 12

Manhattanville College NY

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2024, Aug 3, 4 & 9

TheMarsh In Front Of Your Eyes Festival SF

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2024, March 29

Columbia University, (Sabha)

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2024, Feb 6

Untold Mother Tongue Festival Columbia NY

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2024, Jan 31

TheMarsh Rising SF

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2023, Oct 20

Indian Consulate New York

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2023, Sept 22

Queens College Writing class with Immigrant students

An excerpt of Fontwala performed for a writing class with immigrant students at Queens College.

2023, Aug 26

Brooklyn Library, Fontwala: A Solo Play on Tech, Language, and Migration

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2023, July 28 - 30

Theatrelab Run NY

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2023, July 25

Center of Book Arts, Fontwala Book Talk

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2023, Mar 31

American Center, New Delhi, India

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2023, Jan 13

Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, Kolkata, India

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2022, Oct 17 - 22

Bowery Poetry NY Run

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2022, Mar 25

Virtual TheMarsh International Solo Festival Online

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Media Gallery

story moments

one song, many stages

trailers

applause moments

🎭 Hindi Ensemble
"सुन्दर लेखन आपकी मनोदशा को दर्शाता है"
Fontwala's journey needs the native tongue and dialects that it has lived in. This meant performing the story in the Hindi language with support from Bhojpuri, Boundelkhandi and Marathi languages which are all encountered by Fontwala in his journey. The Hindi rendition of the play was written by Shubhra Prakash, directed by Shubhra Prakash and Swapnil Chitransh of Swaang Ghar collective of New Delhi, India. The full ensemble play had two ensemble shows performed on April 7, 2023 at Akshara Theater New Delhi.
A calligraphy demonstration by Fontwala, Rajeev Prakash himself was conducted before the play performance.
thumb over to see more photos, photo credit Abhishek Srivastava @shout_silently

FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar) a child's play

SALESMAN (Swapnil Chitransh) selling APS Publishing Software

FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar) & DANCER (Katyayani Bakshi)

PRESSMAN (Siddhart Malhotra) Printing press will lead us to freedom

MARY (Anita Bates) sharing an epiphany on Khonsai

DANCER (Katyayani Bakshi) comes alive from monument walls

GUIDE (Abhishek Mishra) confronted by questions from FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar)

FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar) & SHILPI (Shubhra Prakash) in the world of Anglo Nagari Keyboard

KAUSTABH (Aryan Panwar) programmer, genius, believer, forever optimist

CHAIWALA (Abhishek Mishra) & KAUSTABH (Aryan Panwar) May be chai can solve our problems

SHILPI (Shubhra Prakash) & FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar) letterforms revolt

SHILPI (Shubhra Prakash) The job of writing headlines on magazine covers

MEGHA (Lalita) A visual artist looking at Teejan bai's expressions

FONTWALA (Vipin Kumar) and songs of his village

Rajeev Prakash, The Fontwala creating pre-show calligraphy

CREW : LIGHT DESIGN & OPERATOR : Anshu Kapoor | SOUND OPERATOR : Nitin Prajapati | BACKSTAGE: Swapnil Chitransh, Abhishek Mishra, Katyayani Bakshi, Siddharth Malhotra & Lalita, PROPERTY: Bittu Bindaas & Siddharth Malhotra

Digital Exhibition

Collecting the story of Fontwala let us into imagining an interactive exhibition of the research. We have had two opportunities to present in exhibition formats:

2020 - Diasporic Rhizome

Virtual Digital Exhibition, South Asia Institute, Chicago.

Diasporic Rhizome presented 21 artists who reexamined their histories, commented on current social issues, and dreamt of new realities. The 21 participating artists were selected from an open call by the following jury: Faisal Anwar, Ambika Trasi, Brendan Fernandes. more info

2019 - Fontwala: Stone to Mobile, What Remains?

In-person Digital Exhibition, Kaleidoscope Digital Art Gallery, New Delhi.

Our work was exhibited on seven video screens and we held weekly Devanagari calligraphy workshops for attendees over the month-long exhibition. The exhibition was curated by Mukta Alhuwalia.

Glimpse of Exhibition Videos

Click image to watch videos. Use password 'typehindi'.

Note: Rajeev Prakash Khare's voiceovers are currently in Hindi only. English dubbing and captions will be added in the next iteration.

Videos cover topics such as: aesthetic of complex script, battle of conjuncts and maatras, our everyday interaction with type, the long road to typing in Hindi on an English keyboard, and the legacies of pioneers who carried Devanagari from stone → metal → printing press → digital age.

A selection of stills from the calligraphy workshops conducted during exhibitions, highlighting the tactile craft behind each stroke.

Community Engagements

Along with research and performances, Fontwala has engaged with audiences through interactive sessions, public workshops, and calligraphy activities to bring the history of Devanagari typography into community spaces.

These engagements include Devanagari calligraphy workshops, experimental typography sessions, and interactive conversations with students, designers, and local communities. Through these events, participants explored the aesthetics of complex scripts, experienced hands-on writing practices, and learned about the pioneers who shaped the evolution of Hindi type from stone → metal → print → digital.

Photos courtsey of Delhi Street Art.

Press

Through the years of this process of putting Fontwala's story out there, our digital exhibitions, calligraphy demonstrations, solo and ensemble plays have garnered press from India, US and the UK.

LISTEN

Audio Story on Fontwala Rajeev Prakash Khare as part of Dispatches from Kolkata by Sandip Roy on KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area

READ

Exhibition showcases the development of Devanagri letterform by Rahul Kumar in PrintWeek

READ

The man who brought flourish to Indian typefaces by Sandip Roy as part of Mint Lounge

READ

Shubhra Prakash talks about getting a feel of Fontwala to Calcutta at Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2023 in The Telegraph

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How Rajeev Prakash Reimagined Indic Scripts for the Digital Age by Anoushka Khandwala

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An attempt to protect India’s writing legacy by Ayesha Singh for The New Indian Express

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कंप्यूटर में हिंदी फॉन्ट के जन्म लेने और बाजार से संघर्ष की गाथा है 'फॉन्टवाला' — by श्रीराम शर्मा in news18

READ

Digital exhibition on the evolution of Devanagari script in The Sunday Guardian

READ

Shubhra Prakash Explores Indian Scripts In Digital Revolution With One-Woman Show FONTWALA

WATCH

Face to Face with Shubhra Prakash - Playwright & Actor

READ

Theatre Bay Area lists Fontwala as TBA Highlight! (Jan 31, 2024)

READ

From stone to phone by Proma Chakraborty for Patriot

Special coverage of our digital exhibition by National Indian Channel : Doordarshan HD for their program Rang Tarang

Documentary (in the works)

Fontwala is a documentary-in-development exploring the life and work of typographer Rajeev Prakash, whose designs played a crucial role in bringing Indian scripts into the digital age. Combining intimate interviews, archival research, and artistic inquiry, the film examines how language, technology, and migration shape cultural memory. The rough trailer above offers an early glimpse into this evolving project.

Contact / Booking

For all inquiries email shubhra.artist@gmail.com

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