Reminiscing the typewriter days

Remington typewriter

As I sat waiting at the office of a friend, a practicing advocate, my eyes were attracted to this object called typewriter sitting silently in one corner of the room. As I kept looking at it,several thoughts went through my mind about this instrument that taught typing to millions across the world ever since it was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes in the 1800s. The QWERTY keyboard which we find on all computers and latest touch screen mobiles is thanks to him. The silent electronic machines that technology has brought in pushed the rhythmically sound making typewriter to a corner.

At least a typist job

Most parents in the middle class homes (mine included) of India always encouraged their children to go and learn typing at a local type institute so that they could find a job at least as a typist in some private firm or a government organization because the job of a typist is secure, they felt. I never went to learn typing because I never wanted to become a typist. But the laptops and mobiles have made everyone, whether a CEO or a clerk, a typist. There used to be several type institutes in almost every locality of a town/city where typing was taught. At the end of the course and a typing exam, the learner would have passed either a lower or a higher grade. Typing is viewed as one of the major qualifications and those who typed a certain number of words in a minute (of course with least mistakes) or treated as winners and were also preferred while selecting for a typist job. The parents used to encourage learning of typing during summer and other holidays so that their wards didn't waste time.

Type Institutes as Love Junctions

The type institutes were also a place where love between the opposite sexes bloomed. Some teenagers went to those institutes just for the sake of the girl/boy to whom he/she desired to ‘submit’ his/her ‘love application’. They preferred the same hour as that of the one whom they were attracted to and to sit on the adjacent machine while learning to type. The typing classes were attended as long as the ‘friend’ too attended the class. Some of the college going students who used to bunk the regular college never missed to attend the typing classes regularly just to have a glimpse of their ‘love’. I know of some whose love started at the type institute and locked them for life through marriage. I am sure each one my readers too may be in the know of some such stories.

Dance of the fingers - Music to the ears 

Seeing some people type on a typewriter was a treat to the eyes as their fingers kept dancing on the keys. The sounds that the machine made while setting the paper to type, at the time of typing on the keys and while moving to the next line were all music to the years. I am sure some great music maestros of yesteryear's would have learnt a bit or two by listening to those sounds. The song ‘Typewriter Tip Tip Tip kartah hai, Jindagi ki har kahani liktah hai…” sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle in the movie ‘Bombay Talkie’ for which music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan is proof enough for this. It was equal fun for both the typist and the one hearing/seeing the type machine in action.

Cornered but alive

Just as all good things must come to an end; the type machine too has become outdated in this electronic age having been comfortably replaced by electronic typewriters and later on by the computers. But the impact and influence it made on human advancement is invaluable and will remain etched forever in the history of print. The fact that it is still being used in courts to record statements of witnesses and in some organizations is testimony to its user-friendliness. The QWERTY keyboard model borrowed from the typewriter will continue to be irreplaceable in the years to come.

Some inventions changed the way we communicated, recorded and progressed and typewriter invention definitely ranks among the top ten.

Thank you Sholes for doing your bit.