Artistes, who once used to write books for authors, are now writing book titles for libraries. Meanwhile, the art is getting revived in a novel way in South Delhi's tattoo studios.
The art of khushkhati (Calligraphy), which is staring at extinction in the narrow alleys of walled city of Delhi, has found a rather unique boutique setting in high-end tattoo studios of South Delhi with youngsters taking keen interest to get inked with calligraphy-based tattoos.
"Calligraphy-based tattoos are trendy these days and I want to have some quote tattooed on my arm," says a 19-year-old college student at a tattoo studio in South-Ex.
Harminder Singh, owner of Tattoo Villa in Lajpat Nagar says "These days we are receiving a lot of customers with some quotes in different languages including Urdu, Arabic and Hindi. Youngsters want to get some meaningful tattoos instead of getting inked for the sake of trend".
"Youngsters come with so many incomprehensible Urdu and Arabic quotes," says another tattoo artist, adding if you ask them whether they can understand it or not, they say "Google hai na! (Google is there)".
For me Calligraphy is like music. I have two tattoos one in Arabic and other in Hindi, says Rahul, a 20-year-old tattoo enthusiast.
"I used to do calligraphy in my school. Now I have got this tattoo is Arabic saying 'Never Give Up'," says Anupriya, a college student.
The drying inks of Calligraphers
As one walks down the narrow alleys of walled city of Delhi, stories don the rusty, crumbling walls, some have been passed down over generations—and some are battling to survive.
Urdu Bazar in the area is a witness to one such fable of survival of the fittest. It is the place where the art of calligraphy once flourished and now a hub of those few katibs (calligrapher) who are striving to keep the art alive with digital technology as its biggest competitor.
Mohammad Tehsin, the oldest Katib of Urdu bazaar, has been practicing this art for past 45 years. "There was a time when we hardly used to get any time to have meals, such was the amount of work we used to get," remembers the 73-year-old Katib, adding now they hardly get one client in couple of days.
Tehsin, who hailed from Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, had come to Delhi in 1960 and never left. "I love my work and will continue with it as long as I can," he said with pride.
"We used to get a lot of work during elections, weddings and even festivals but now things have changed," reminisces the Katib.
Tehsin, who is a huge fan of late Bollywood actress Madhubala, draws beautiful sketches of hers in his free time. "I never liked studies. I was always into art. I have been making these sketches since so long, they are all for my collection," he said with a big smile.
Remembering his golden time, Tehsin said "I wrote for wedding cards of a minister's granddaughter and also wrote Sehra (traditional Muslim wedding song) for a relative of Manoj Kumar.
Calligraphers use wooden sticks as pens carved according to the requirement. Their pens are now drying up in the midst of immense competition with digital technology. Several calligraphers have switched to other professions and some have even left the city.
"Why would I quit the art that has earned me throughout my life," says the katib, who occupies a small corner of a bookstore for work.
"Koi achha Kaam to waise bhi bahut kum hi aataa hai" (we rarely get some work some good work), Ghalib sighs.
"There was a time when I used to write books and now I'm writing book titles for libraries," says another Katib, Abdul Rahmaan, who travels all the way from Okhla to Delhi 6 with a hope of getting some work for the day.
Sitting in his 8 by 10 foot room in a mosque of Urdu bazaar, the 52-year-old Katib said "I used to have yearly bookings for writing books, journals, wedding cards and posters but now rarely some good work comes".
On being asked if someone from his family wants to inherit the art, he said "who knows about calligraphy now? Why someone would go for something which cannot give them a decent livelihood?"
What ASI says
According to Archeological Survey of India, "after the advent of Islam this art of calligraphy has gone a long way from west Asian & Central Asian countries to Indian sub-continent, to achieve the status of such an art that without its mention the cultural history of medieval India will be considered as incomplete.
Indo- Islamic architecture, royal stationery, royal orders (farmans), coins, seals, wall hangings (waslis), fabrics, books (in manuscript form) etc. were evidently influenced by this art".
"When Muslim rule was established in India in 12th century A.D., the building activities, along with socio-cultural institutions started taking shape on this soil and thus started a process of innovation and blending experiments in respect of art of calligraphy. And thus India of the period of Muslim rule could claim possession of some of the marvels of calligraphy in the world," it says.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Urdu calligraphy")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}