An assessment on the morrow of International Left-Handers Day

As the Indian Parliament was agog yesterday with noise and fury about the treatment of minorities in the country, the world celebrated the presence of a global minority group: left-handers. International Left-Handers Day reminds the 90-93 per cent of us that people who are naturally left-handed not only exist but face inconveniences in this "right-handed world". In essence, this is one day when the right hand is made to know what the left hand does.

Sinistrality has its fair share of bigots, the very term "sinister" — meaning both "left" and "unlucky" in its original Latin — giving the game away. Children are often forced to use their right hand even when they are naturally left-handed. But being a southpaw has its advantages: apparently, lefthanded people access both hemispheres of their brain more readily than the right-handed, resulting in more creativity — and better recovery rates from strokes.

On the flip side, lefties are more susceptible to mental disorders like schizophrenia. But here’s the thing. Sourav Ganguly, a natural right-hander, batted left-handed, while Jimi Hendrix, a natural leftie, played guitar made for the right-handed "upside down". Which confirms what we have always suspected: being a minority doesn’t have to be about being at a disadvantage. It can be an opportunity to stand out.