"I used to work as an editor at Tulika Books in 1990. I was not in charge of production, but I would often hear of Mohammed Ikram saab.

I can’t remember that I ever met him. His son Fahim was the one who would come to our office with advance copies (and bills!).

When LeftWord Books was set up in 1999, one of the first people I met was Ikram saab. I visited their set-up in Daryaganj in Delhi. Ikram saab had already moved from binding into printing, as well.

He was generous with his advice, and explained to me, a novice, the nuances of binding that have stood me in good stead. Ikram saab was a self-made man, an expert binder, and he had an earthy down-to-earth charm, all his own.

Today, Chaman Offset is one of the key partners in Delhi for publishing houses like OUP, Sage, Penguin, Tulika.

However, they started being binders, and continue to be one of old world binders (refer to the above pictures). LeftWord itself doesn’t print with Chaman, but all our books are bound at Chaman.

After Ikram saab passed away a few years ago, Fahim and his brother Nadeem have carried on his legacy, and expanded operations. For me, Chaman is one of the best printer-binders in the city."