The Musalman
Encyclopedia
The Musalman is the oldest Urdu
-language daily newspaper published from Chennai
in India
. It is an evening paper with four pages, all of which are handwritten by calligraphers, before being mass-produced with a printing press. According to the Wired
and The Times of India
, The Musalman is possibly the only handwritten newspaper in the world.
, the president of the Madras session of the Indian National Congress
. The newspaper's office has been located at the Triplicane
High Road in Chennai.
After Syed Azmathullah's death, the newspaper was edited by Syed Fazullah, who died on 26 April 2008, at the age of 78. In 2007, Fazullah had expressed fear that the calligraphy might die with him, since his sons were not interested in carrying on the calligraphy tradition. Fazullah's son, Syed Nasarulla, had stated that he has no interest in calligraphy, and "there will be changes", when he takes over.
As of 30 April 2008, the new editor is yet to be decided, but the newspaper is published everyday, still "hand-written".
.
As of 2007, Rahman Husseini is the chief katib (copywriter) of the paper. He joined the newspaper as an accountant, and took over as the Katib, when the then chief katib died in 1980. In 2007, Rahman Husseni earned Rs.
2,500 a month, while the other katibs Shabana and Khurshid earned Rs. 60 a day per page.
The chief reporter is Chinnaswamy Balasubramaniam, who has been with the newspaper for past 20 years. The newspaper has correspondents all over India, including New Delhi
, Kolkata
, and Hyderabad.
The newspaper's office often hosts renowned poets, religious leaders and royalty, some of whom contribute to the pages.
As of April 2008, the paper is sold for 75 paise a copy, and has around 22,000 subscribers.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
-language daily newspaper published from Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is an evening paper with four pages, all of which are handwritten by calligraphers, before being mass-produced with a printing press. According to the Wired
Wired News
Wired News is an online technology news website, formerly known as HotWired, that split off from Wired magazine when the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast Publishing in the 1990s. Wired News was owned by Lycos not long after the split, until Condé Nast purchased Wired News on July 11, 2006...
and The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
, The Musalman is possibly the only handwritten newspaper in the world.
History
The newspaper was founded by Syed Azmathullah in 1927. It was inaugurated by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed AnsariMukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was an Indian nationalist and political leader, and former president of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League during the Indian Independence Movement...
, the president of the Madras session of the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
. The newspaper's office has been located at the Triplicane
Triplicane
Triplicane also has the famous powerful Ellamman temple in SMV Koil street. A beautiful Sundaramurthy Vinayagar temple is right opposite to the Ellamman Temple....
High Road in Chennai.
After Syed Azmathullah's death, the newspaper was edited by Syed Fazullah, who died on 26 April 2008, at the age of 78. In 2007, Fazullah had expressed fear that the calligraphy might die with him, since his sons were not interested in carrying on the calligraphy tradition. Fazullah's son, Syed Nasarulla, had stated that he has no interest in calligraphy, and "there will be changes", when he takes over.
As of 30 April 2008, the new editor is yet to be decided, but the newspaper is published everyday, still "hand-written".
The team
The calligraphers, known as katibs, work in a little corner of a 800 sq. ft. one-room office. They don't have many facilities — only two wall fans, three bulbs and a tube light. As of 2008, the calligraphy team consists of one man and two women, who work almost three hours on each page of the hand-written newspaper. The hand-written product is processed onto a photo negative and mass-produced with a printing pressPrinting press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
.
As of 2007, Rahman Husseini is the chief katib (copywriter) of the paper. He joined the newspaper as an accountant, and took over as the Katib, when the then chief katib died in 1980. In 2007, Rahman Husseni earned Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
2,500 a month, while the other katibs Shabana and Khurshid earned Rs. 60 a day per page.
The chief reporter is Chinnaswamy Balasubramaniam, who has been with the newspaper for past 20 years. The newspaper has correspondents all over India, including New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, and Hyderabad.
The newspaper's office often hosts renowned poets, religious leaders and royalty, some of whom contribute to the pages.
Format
The newspaper consists of four pages. The front page is for national and international news, the second and the third pages are for local news, and the fourth page is for sports. Some space is left blank at the bottom right corner of the front page, in case there is some breaking news.As of April 2008, the paper is sold for 75 paise a copy, and has around 22,000 subscribers.
External links
- The Last Calligraphers, A film by Premjit Ramachandran
- Photos by Scott Carney, Wired News.