Sunday, July 08, 2007

Calligraphy Still Relevant Today

I love this article and it's pictures because it shows how calligraphy is still being used for everyday life, at least in once order of the world.

Seems like the newspaper's system is similar to the scribes in nunneries or monasteries.

clipped from www.wired.com

India's News Calligraphers Do It on Deadline


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Scott Carney Write to the Author
See related story: A Handwritten Daily Paper in India Faces the Digital Future
07.06.07 | 2:00 AM

The Musalman is possibly the last handwritten newspaper in the world. Four professional calligraphers spend three hours on each page every single day to put out this daily paper.

While it's a Muslim newspaper, it's also a beacon of liberalism in South Asia, employing both women and non-Muslims. Two of the four katibs (calligraphers) are women and the chief reporter is Hindu. Indian royalty and poets often visit the paper to offer content and accolades.

The following images portray The Musalman's modest office as the paper's staff puts together the next day's newspaper.

Left: Every day in Chennai, India, professional calligraphers called katibs handwrite The Musalman newspaper, established in 1927. Each page is written in Urdu, a language spoken by a small minority of the city's population.

Be sure to check out the pictures.

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