It was really nostalgic to go through the editorial. I felt like introspecting myself to see what I have already done, what I can do later and what balance I can bring about between word-type and hand-writing. In his conclusion, he went to the extent of suggesting about preserving handwritings, handwritten letters and manuscripts of eminent Oriya writers to save they becoming extinct.
Many ideas and anecdotes related to hand-writing, pen and paper at once peeped up in my mind. My father who was also my primary school teacher was always insisting on to improve hand-writing. He would be regularly checking them too. I realized it was no waste, it showed its result. My handwriting had improved as to have at least compliments from friend circle. Clearly I followed suit when my daughter started writing with pen and paper. But she is gradually getting used to word-typing. This being a worldwide phenomenon, no wonder the new generation will be leading handwriting to its near extinct.
Generally something which is more user-friendly and accessible by all must replace its old versions. We cannot term this is a decadence although initially this may appear like that. Gradually people learn to strike a balance between the old and the new. Because we cannot altogether part with all that is old but having essential validities.
I had a lot of letters of my father sent to me at different times. He had also a good collection of axioms and so many other handwritten documents. I kept them for few years after his expiry; but did not find any sense of preserving them. Today when I realize their utility I feel so much like missing them! His handwriting was clear, so the axioms could have been brought out into a beautiful book form. Here we can think of bringing out handwritten books and periodicals which is now so easy with help of computer devices. This can generate interest to write with pen and paper at least for the specific purposes & help sustain the culture. I have good experience of it.
As I said earlier, while editing a children’s quarterly magazine (‘Kagajadanga’ - The Paper-boat) I got suggestion to use children’s handwriting in it. It was really a very good introduction which attracted appreciation from all corners. This created extra spaces for children who could not share with or contribute arts and articles to the magazine. This also improved its get-up. The other day one of my friends was also telling about how some people published a complete handwritten children’s magazine elsewhere. We organize a 10-day work-cum-study camp twice every year at different places of Odisha and bring out a wall magazine (Gabaksha - The Window) with legible handwriting and beautiful illustration of campers. Recently I am facilitating and editing children’s wall magazines in three schools where children write with colour pens and draw illustrations to give them a complete shape of hanging on walls. They are quite innovative, inspiring and interesting indeed! Children derive a lot of satisfaction and confidence out of them.
One of our friends Asish Pathy has been sending post cards to friends for years together, even in this age of mobile phones and e-mails. Another Sarat Bhai always insists us in every camp for using post-cards for major communications instead of mobile phones which not only eliminate our handwriting but also deprive us to preserve our good and important ideas. However e-mails, SMS and tweets can carry our ideas but not our hand-writings. One leading Oriya daily has been regularly organizing good hand writing competition to keep the tradition up. So it would be interesting if we willingly keep up some writing activities by hand – then it will neither lose its importance altogether nor prevent us going ahead with word-types too. Maintaining a personal diary can well come to the rescue.
These days I write with pen and paper as well as word-type. Before going through the editorial, I in my previous blog expressed how pen and paper inspire me to write. The feeling is always intimate and that even drove me once to write a poem under the title ’White Paper’. The concluding lines of the poem went like this:
Lekhanies or quills, palm-leaves, cloths as writing materials have become things of the past and are preserved in museums. No wonder if pen-paper handwritings face the same fate soon! But when it comes to sign legal documents and give our signature it cannot go without writing by hand. Because signatures are all unique – they reflect the person concerned and also one’s individual character!
In nutshell, coming to the conclusion, can we resolve that we are not going to altogether eliminate handwriting from the world?
In nutshell, coming to the conclusion, can we resolve that we are not going to altogether eliminate handwriting from the world?
