Calligraphy...the art of fine handwriting

        

        It was a pleasant morning. As usual I woke up only after every working individual left home for office. Of late it has become my routine to wake up late, maybe just because I have to go to office in the afternoon. Me and my roomie went for breakfast and picked up the English daily that was lying. I was going thru each page without bothering to read many of the details, just like I used to do during college with my class notes. However, one column succeeded in grabbing my attention. The news was as follows:

“Classrooms would soon become smart. Proposal was to provide school students with devices similar to IPad where they would be able to take notes. These next gen devices would help students with their class work and would reduce the burden of carrying many books to school. Parents applauded such an idea and are keen to welcome this change.”

      However, I could not agree with this idea or change. Any guesses why? Of course, technology has brought many changes around us and has been a boon in many forms. But I strongly feel technology too has its ill-affects when used without proper need. Did you try to figure out why I do not want to agree with this idea? It’s simple; I do not want Calligraphy (the art of fine handwriting) to become extinct. I do not want the future generations to not know how to pen down on a piece of paper. Calligraphy is a gift that many among us possess. But just due to lack of practice or no encouragement our alphabet are not as fine as they should be. Just imagine a piece of paper that is drafted with your own handwriting and the satisfaction it gives when you look at it. Everything in future might be digital, even our signatures are going to be digital, however we should not curb students from an early age of their caliber. We should let them use their cursive writing books. How ugly our alphabet looked when we tried writing in those books? Still, it was fun. We should let them take notes in writing. Let them practice those numerous math formula or those messy science diagrams for real. Let them draw how India looks, let them sketch different plants and animals. Let us not deprive them of all that fun. Just before I finish, I would like to mention one quote that we were told during schooling by our teachers: ‘One time writing equals to ten times reading’. Isn’t it true?

PS: I would only welcome this change at graduation and higher levels.