Beginning in the 2nd century AD, Indic language was transferred using birch bark as a writing surface.Indian calligraphy took off starting around 500 AD when Indian traders, colonists, military adventurers, Buddhist monks and missionaries brought the Indic script to Central Asia from South East Asia.
There was a bigger goal to this style of language than just to communicate with one another. There was no one true form of communication before this was created, and calligraphy helped to guide community members to connect in more than one aspect of life, that was not just language. A rich heritage of calligraphy was embraced as this was a time before printing technology was accessible to Indian counties. This brought people closer together as they began to communicate in the same ways. While it may be used as an art form today, it was essential for communication before the 16th century.