From forgetting what is right to forgetting how to write

As paperless transactions are a green goal, Sanjay Dutt’s ailment of “forgetting” how to write has the potential to become an undetected epidemic. After all, the actor’s chirographic amnesia would have never been revealed — or, indeed, regarded as a problem — had he not landed up in the technologically-backward environs of Yerawada Jail, where handwritten requests are still the arcane norm. Keypads and keyboards are the most common substitutes for writing by hand — rather than Dutt’s alternative of getting domestic staff to do the needful — but the spread of the phenomenon cannot be ignored. Just being able to sign suffices for cheques — as well as contracts and autographs in Dutt’s case —but there are other places and situations that may still require longhand, so the skill cannot be allowed to lapse. Writing is not the same as cycling: it can be forgotten.

The wired generation’s ignorance of the intricacies of Chinese and Japanese characters is already spelling doom for ancient scripts. And, last year, a study commissioned by an online stationer in the UK revealed that on average, adults wrote by hand only every 41 days. In fact, over 30% had not written anything “properly” for over six months. As speed, convenience and clarity have trumped finely calligraphed missives, the writing is on the wall for pen companies too.