How the typewriter fashioned a culture of self-reliance in India

Final Mechanic Danny Jalnawala at Godrej Typewriter Plant pours over a Prima typewriter listening intently to the sounds it makes while he tests the keys His colleague Gopal Shetty stands a few paces behind him watching him and making fun of him for working so hard Also seen in the picture are Subhash Raut a testtypist left foreground sitting Querobino Fernandes Lopez Kalim Haider Baig Lad and Vinayak Karnik PicSooni Taraporevala 1984It was the year 1976 when Sidharth Bhatia walked into the Free Press Journal office on Dalal Street and was led to a table that had around eight typewriters sitting on itThose had to be shared among 1520 journalists recalls Bhatia who went on to work in several publications over the decades that followed I have seen the transition from typewriters to computers he says Thats perhaps why he was commissioned by Godrej the last firm in the world to manufacture manual typewriters to put together a book that traces the journey of the typewriter in India hauntingly titled With Great Truth amp RegardJournalist in the media room at the Seventh NonAligned Movement Summit Delhi 1983 PicGodrej ArchivesWhen Godrej rolled out their last typewriter in 2011 they were quite surprised with the media attention they got from around the world I think thats when it must have struck them that the story of the typewriter in India is worth revisiting says Bhatia explaining the genesis of the bookRight at the onset Pheroza Godrej wife of Godrej amp Boyce chairmanMD Jamshyd Godrej made it clear to him that the book was not going to be about the Godrej typewriter but about the culture of selfreliance that its analog keys hammered mid 19th century onwardsThe design team at Godrej during a training session circa 1972 PicGodrej ArchivesThis was long before Make In India there was no foreign exchange only lots of determination to selfproduce says Bhatia who is presently the editor of The Wire an online publicationHis research took him to several corners of the country to compile inputs from some of the best known wordsmiths and the streetside stories that he learnt during his travels to Delhi Uttar Pradesh Surat and Dehradun to name a fewA Halda Devanagari keyboard poster on the walls of the Modern Era Stenographic Institute Srinagar PicChirodeep ChaudhuriI met Ruskin Bond in Landour who showed his present typewriter mdash its his third I think He bought his first in England in his early 20s The other two he purchased in India Bhatia says The book also has a piece by noted columnist Santosh Desai on typewriters in government offices and one on typewriters in Kolkata by Jug Suraiya Its however the streetside stories that Bhatia remains fascinated byI met a man in Delhi who sells secondhand typewriters and has been in the business for decades That his customers include teenagers wanting to try their hands at the machine was an intriguing find Even in Chor Bazar I heard similar stories and their buyers also include hotels and restaurants wanting to add a retro touch to their deacutecor Bhatia recallsAn ad from 1956 PicGodrej ArchivesOver the fourandahalf years that went behind putting the book together Bhatia discovered the myriad ways in which people continue to cling on to this past remnantTypewriting schools are still functional in some parts of the country They are there in Kolkata where young girls learn to type so they can use the same skills on a computer As they dont have the resources to invest in a computer this is their second best option he saysSidharth Bhatia But then how does the analog training come in handy on an electronic device The Qwerty keyboard was invented with the typewriter mdash the arrangement of keys was scientifically done People are so used to Qwerty that the format has stuck Theres a school in Girgaon that holds typewriting exams under the state board he saysThe book also traces how this machine became a tool of employment in the 50s and 60s when women began to look beyond a career of a nurse or a teacherIt marked the rise of the secretary thanks to the influx of corporate houses in need of personnel with a working knowledge of English Parents didnt object to their daughters opting to become secretaries and typists After all thatd ensure their shift ended at 5 pm Those times found expression in films too If you look at Hindi films of the 50s and 60s youll see the typist is always a womanThe book is also a repository of telling captures by photographer Chirodeep Chaudhuri who often accompanied Bhatia on his travels He has a quirky eye some trips he took on his own too and wed constantly exchange notes Besides the Godrej archives are a goldmine and some of the most prized historic shots in the book have come from thereOf all his stumbles theres one that tops Bhatias list In Allahabad I met a man who is the only remaining manufacturer of typefaces in the worldThe typewriter has 2000 parts and he makes the font that strikes the paper I visited his workshop to see the artistry behind it The cut of the stencil the right amount of dent that it makes on the paper so it doesnt tear mdash it was a fascinating watch And who would have thought that the last one surviving would be in the bylanes of Allahabad