The Musalman

Infobox Newspaper
name = The Musalman


caption =
type = Daily newspaper
format = Broadsheet
foundation = 1927
ceased publication =
price = 75 paise
owners = Syed Nasarulla
publisher =
editor =
chiefeditor =
assoceditor =
maneditor =
staff =
language = Urdu
political =
circulation = 22,000
headquarters = Chennai
sister newspapers =
oclc =
ISSN =
website =

"The Musalman" ( _ur. مسلمان) is the oldest Urdu-language daily newspaper published from Chennai in India.cite news
url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Chennai_newspaper_written_by_hand/articleshow/2997048.cms
title = Each page of this Urdu newspaper is handwritten by 'katibs'
author = Kamini Mathai
publisher = The Times of India
date = 2008-04-30
accessdate = 2008-04-30 ] It is an evening paper with four pages, all of which are handwritten by calligraphers, before being mass-produced with a printing press.cite web
url = http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/07/last_calligraphers
title = A Handwritten Daily Paper in India Faces the Digital Future
author = Scott Carney
publisher = Wired
date = 2007-06-07
accessdate = 2008-04-30 (Also on [http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=3352037&page=1 ABC News] )] According to the "Wired" and "The Times of India", "The Musalman" is possibly the only "handwritten" newspaper in the world. [cite web
url = http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/multimedia/2007/07/gallery_calligraphers
title = India's News Calligraphers Do It on Deadline
author = Scott Carney
publisher = Wired
date = 2007-06-07
accessdate = 2008-04-30]

History

The newspaper was founded by Syed Azmathullah in 1927. It was inaugurated by Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, the president of the Madras session of the Indian National Congress.cite news
url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/11/02/stories/2007110250930700.htm
title = Newspaper nurtures art
author = Suganthy Krishnamachari
publisher = The Hindu
date = 2007-11-02
accessdate = 2008-04-30] Since its inception, 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 newspaper might die with him, since his sons were not interested in carrying on the calligraphy tradition. [ [http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/multimedia/2007/07/gallery_calligraphers?slide=7&slideView=5 Image 7 of 22] . "India's News Calligraphers Do It on Deadline". Wired.] 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 "katib"s, 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 press.

Rahman Husseini is the current chief "katib" (copywriter) of the paper. He joined the newspaper as an accountant, and took over as the Katib, when the then chief katib passed away at the age of 1980 . Rahman Husseni earns Rs. 2,500 a month. Other "katib"s include Shabana and Khurshid. They are paid 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.

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.

References

External links

* [http://musalman.100hands.net/ The Last Calligraphers] , A film by Premjit Ramachandran
* [http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/multimedia/2007/07/gallery_calligraphers Photos] by [http://www.scottcarneyonline.com/photos/Musalmaan%20Paper%20Photos/album/ Scott Carney] , Wired News.