Mohamed Ghalib is reading the Quran when we get through to him on the phone. This is the month of Ramzan, and it seems significant that the calligrapher is reading the Islamic holy book that was once transcribed by artists like him.
Today, 58-year-old Ghalib, is reportedly the last katib or calligrapher, working in Old Delhi’s Urdu Bazaar. Once the stars of the vernacular Urdu press, which relied on Katibs to transcribe material for newspapers and magazines, these calligraphers are among the last practitioners of an art that goes back to the golden era of Arabic writing, which underpins the Urdu script.
Arabic calligraphy (Khat) is held in high regard by Muslims because of its association with the Holy Quran. Most Katibs learn both Arabic and Urdu calligraphy as the scripts are similar, though the latter often deals with non-religious subjects.
Ghalib trained in the art for four years at an Islamic seminary (madrasa) in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, near his village of Saharanpur. However, the computerisation of print media in the 1980s and 1990s rendered many of these skilled craftsmen jobless. “There used to be 15-20 Katibs employed per shift in the Urdu press. Now, there are hardly five in the whole of Delhi,” says Ghalib.
For calligraphers like Ghalib, such initiatives are a way to earn some self-respect back. “I often get queries for teaching assignments, but nothing is possible until the lockdown is lifted. Earlier, our hands used to be full with transcription orders for Urdu books, and Arabic verses from the Quran for nameplates and ornaments. Even a gravestone requires a calligrapher’s services,” he says.
Sometimes he remembers the hours he spent composing cover pages of magazines, and working by candlelight to complete orders at home. He has avoided using anything other than reed pens that he has personally selected and sharpened with his knife.
“We are still sought out by lawyers to help them decipher the Urdu script of old legal documents. Calligraphy is a skill that sustains many other skills,” he says.
