The dying art of handwriting

                        The topic is quite an interesting one, considering the present day scenario. We live in a world that is flooded with emails and taken over by computers. With anything and everything being performed by computers, I wonder whether the art of handwriting is literally dying. Just think back a little. When was the last time that you sat down to write a letter (I mean write with a pen)? Or when was the last time that you received a handwritten letter? Hard to answer? I think you’d probably keep thinking for a while…When a friend of mine read the draft of this article she said, “Ya, it’s nice to see handwritten letters but it’s been more than a couple of years since I wrote one”.

                        So what is handwriting? The dictionary defines it as ‘writing by hand’. A very simple and straightforward definition. But I think there’s more to the word, a hidden meaning. You might ask what’s the difference between typing and writing – what’s the fuss about? The bare fact is that typing is so formal. Handwriting is so personal; it feels as if the person is speaking to you. It feels nice to read a letter with a few spelling mistakes, some grammatical errors, a few scratches in the middle of the paper and most importantly to read something which is written with affection. Consider our emails or the typed letter: they have the same monotonous fonts, no spelling mistakes (courtesy the spell checker), no grammatical errors (courtesy the grammar checker) and finally it’s just two or three lines of matter.

And then there is the sheer pleasure and excitement of receiving a letter. The sheer pleasure in greeting the postman everyday at your doorstep, hoping he has something for you - the thrill of waiting is suspense. The excitement just as you slit open the envelope, the excitement as you read the words, the excitement…. (I could keep on going with the list of excitements). I’m sure most people have experienced the feeling. I experienced it when I was alone with my uncle in India, preparing for the entrance exams. I would eagerly keep waiting for the postman everyday, hoping that he had a letter from my parents or from one of my friends. And then I’d run to a corner of the house, sit alone and read the letter over and over again. That’s another good thing about the snail mail – you love to read to over and over again. With email, it’s just one quick glance and then at the press of a button we trash it. Snail mails are not trashed so easily since we tend to consider it as a very important personal item in our life.

                        It’s amusing to think of possible future real life scenarios. The teacher in class may not yell, “Raju, you should improve your handwriting”. She would probably yell, “Hey, Raju! I think it’s high time that you started to use legible fonts”. Or how about the modern Sherlock Holmes. He wouldn’t do handwriting analysis. Instead he’d say, “Watson, there’s a lot I can deduce from this death threat. First of all, it was printed on an Inkjet Epson Stylus 4000 model. Next you can see that the fonts are Times New Roman, size 18. The spell checker used a US dictionary. See the word color….”……Perhaps the death threat wouldn’t even be printed! It would be sent via email!

                        Consider the Romeo and Juliet of modern age; well no love letters will be written any longer (writing in blood would become history). No lover might even type the letter on their own; they’ll probably browse the net and find some love letters, copy, paste and send it as an email to their lover. With love prospering through chatting (it’s really funny, a boy may think he’s talking to a girl when in reality it’s just another guy), love letters will certainly become a thing of the past. Actually, a typed letter would hardly be able to convey love.

                        One point in favour of emails is speed. But then, all letters don’t need to reach their destination immediately. To end on a positive note, I guess the winner in all this is communication. It proves the fact that the world is becoming a smaller place to live in. Emails, telephones, faxes, computers are making it a very small place. But I don’t think that the art of handwriting can ever be replaced by any sophisticated technology. Handwriting is personal, typing is not. Handwriting is unique to each individual; typing style is not. It is okay to use emails for urgent requirements; it is okay to type letters for formal purposes; but it’s much better to write and post letters when you have the time. I think you’re friends would love it if you would write a letter (I mean write by pen) once in a while. I’m sure they’d love it. (And of course even love letters are much more romantic when written by hand!). So go on, pick up a pen and start writing.  

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