The sound of insanity

Four verses of poetry in Persian describing the simple mark and sound of insanity, written by calligrapher Munshi Ram, from West Bengal India in the Nasta'liq script. Another specimen signed by Munshi Ram is held in the collections of the Library of Congress (1-04-713.19.55). Judging from both specimens, he seems to have been an 18th-century calligrapher who preferred writing verses in nasta'liq script using white ink on red backgrounds. Dimensions of Written Surface: 10 (w) x 18.1 (h) cm I and the chain that / Were walking and lamenting together / (that is what) causes the separation between craziness / and enjoyment and wisdom. In the lower right corner appears the calligrapher's signature: "katabahu al-'abd al-haqar al-anam" (written by the servant, the most humble of mortals), Munshi Ram. This calligrapher may be identified as Munshi Ram (1737-90), a writer specializing in Arabic and Persian who was active in Radhanagar, West Bengal (India). Man u zanjir ka / Hamnala bi-rah aftadim / Dasht divana juda / Shurash u farzana juda The text is written in nasta'liq script in white ink on a red ground. The lines of text are separated by green or blue bands decorated with flower and vine motifs painted in gold. This calligraphic fragment includes four verses of poetry in Persian describing the simple mark and sound of insanity (i.e., the chain). The verses read: Script: nasta'liq 1-04-713.19.54