Concept:
- Before print reached India, books were produced by hand in workshops where several people worked together at different tasks.
- Mughal court workshops, called kitabkhana, employed calligraphers, painters, paper makers and binders, and paintings of these workshops are used in the chapter to show how manuscripts were made.
Step 1: Read what the people in the painting are actually doing.
The figures are seated on the floor with flat sheets in front of them. One is writing, another is colouring a sheet, one is smoothing paper on a board, and a completed bound volume lies at the side.
Every activity shown belongs to the making of a manuscript.
Step 2: Test option (A), minting of coins.
Minting needs a furnace, metal blanks, dies and hammers. None of these appear in the painting, and coin making was never done seated on a cloth with sheets of paper.
Step 3: Test option (B), metal crafting.
Metal work also requires fire, tools and hard surfaces. The painting shows flat sheets and brushes, so this does not fit either.
Step 4: Test option (C), pottery making.
Pottery needs a wheel, wet clay and a kiln. There is no wheel and no clay in the scene.
Step 5: Confirm option (D).
What remains is
book making. Writing, illustrating, preparing paper and binding are exactly the stages of manuscript production carried on in a Mughal workshop.
Final Answer: (D) Book making