The Musalman-Preservation of a Dream
The 'Musalman' is probably the last handwritten newspaper in the world. It has been published and read every day in South India's Chennai since 1927 in almost the same form. In the shadow of the Wallajah Mosque in Chennai, a team of six die hard workers still put out this hand-penned paper. Four of them are katibs -- writers dedicated to the ancient art of Urdu calligraphy. It's tough for the die-hard artists of Urdu calligraphy. But the story we tell here is not just of their desperation and despair. The fact is, at the office of 'The Musalman', the oldest Urdu daily in India, no one has ever quit. They work till they pass on. This is the story we tell.
Photos by Scott Carney
