Muraqqa-i-Chughtai — The Masterpiece on Ghalib’s Poetry

And the Forgotten Craftsman Behind It’s Making: Meraj Din Chughtai

Presented by Adeel Chughtai

In the historic heart of Lahore’s Walled City, at Mohalla Chabuk Sawaran, stood a modest ancestral house where a new chapter in South Asian art was written. It was here that Ustad Abdur Rahman Chughtai (1897–1975) conceived and produced his timeless masterpiece — Muraqqa-i-Chughtai (1928).

This book, containing over 50 colour lithographs inspired by Mirza Ghalib’s poetry, is considered one of the finest illustrated art books in the Urdu language. It carried an introduction by Dr James H. Cousins, and a foreword by Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal, who called it “a unique enterprise in modern Indian painting.

But the hidden soul of this project was Meraj Din Chughtai, maternal cousin and lifelong companion of the A. R. Chughtai, who turned the dream into a tangible reality through his skill, dedication, and craftsmanship.

The Chabuk Sawaran Press — Built for One Masterpiece

This printing press was established solely for producing Muraqqa-i-Chughtai at a time when no Indian press could reproduce the subtle hues of miniature-style painting, A. R. Chughtaiband Meraj Din transformed part of their family home into a functioning fine-art press under the title Jahangeer Book Club, Chabuk Sawaran, Lahore.

Here, art met engineering — where Ustad Chughtai created with his brush, and Meraj Din engineered with his hands.

Meraj Din — The Engineer of Beauty

Before joining the project, Meraj Din was a skilled Turner and craftsman, running a successful workshop near Paisa Akhbar, Anarkali. His technical mastery made him the perfect man to manage the delicate mechanical work required for Muraqqa-i-Chughtai.

He supervised:

• The installation and maintenance of the lithographic press inside the house.

• The preparation of printing blocks, inks, and paper calibration.

• The colour registration process, ensuring perfect alignment of every layer.

• And the final presswork of each plate that carried the spirit of Chughtai’s paintings.

Working side by side with Abdur Raheem Chughtai, he laboured day and night to achieve artistic perfection on paper — something previously thought impossible in Lahore at that time.

Faith Over Finances

The original printing estimate was Rupees 6 per copy, but as quality demands rose, the total cost soared beyond Rupees 25,000 — an enormous amount in 1928. Despite financial strain, Meraj Din continued his work without complaint, believing in the vision of his cousin. Together they printed 210 hand-signed deluxe copies, each priced at rupees 110. Every copy sold out almost immediately, spreading Chughtai’s name across India and beyond.

Behind this success was the unseen perseverance of Meraj Din, whose hands and heart made every page come alive.

Khudi in Action — The Spirit of Self-Reliance

The Chabuk Sawaran Press embodied Allama Iqbal’s philosophy of Khudi — self-respect and self-reliance. Instead of depending on colonial publishers, Chughtai and Meraj Din built their own system, combining art, family, and faith into one enterprise.

It became the first artist-run fine-art press in South Asia — an achievement of pride, dignity, and devotion.

Legacy

Today, nearly a century later, Muraqqa-i-Chughtai remains a global symbol of Islamic aesthetics. But few know that the ink that brought those pages to life flowed from the press operated by Meraj Din Chughtai.

He was not just a helper — he was the craftsman who transformed vision into permanence,the engineer of beauty who gave the world its first illustrated Urdu art book.

The Chabuk Sawaran press may have fallen silent, but its echo still whispers through history —reminding us that every masterpiece is born not only from genius, but from the devoted hands that give it form.