As I write or rather type this, I realise how less I hold a pen and write. Gone are the days when I would write for hours ( especially during those marathon exams ). Now my pen holding ritual is limited to recreating my signature on cheques or documents. Yesterday I had the arduous task of writing an official letter and I was nursing my hand by the time I finished one page back to back ! I felt the need to go back to the basics and learn cursive writing, since my hand almost refus
ed to turn at the appropriate curves ! It is so much easier to just jab the keys and see the words instantly appear on the screen right ? And you have spell check and dictionary, so why does anyone need to remember those impossible spellings! Well, I do maintain a notebook to jot down notes at work or some random thoughts, but its not fluent writing, just a haphazard scribble and hardly legible. It is almost as if the fingers have mutated to aid fast typing or texting and I can boast of a decent speed when it comes to typing or texting. Talk about holding a pencil or a pen, well, its so passe ! Who needs to write, when you can type ? Address books or phone books are replaced by mobile phonebooks and PDAs, diaries are replaced by blogs ( like the one by yours truly ! ) and letters by e-mails and phone calls. Most of the authors/writers of this age type their manuscripts. So who really writes? Is it limited to only the school and college kids? Or the non tech savvy people who still prefer to be manual ? It is so nice to read about Harry Potter and his friends dipping their quills in ink and scratching on parchment, and no, they don't use magic for this sacred task. So why do we look for easier alternatives?A recent study reveals that school children's grammar and vocabulary is fast diminishing. Also their reading habits are almost non existent. Bt de txtng skils r rockng nd goin gr8 !! They also write their exams papers in the short format without paying heed to grammar or correct spelling. Looks like the english language does have some unnecessary letters which can be eliminated ! As for keeping in touch with your writing skills, how about writing down your favourite quotes, lines etc instead of the usual cut-copy-paste ? And noting down some one's telephone number instead of saving it on your mobile phone ? It will help you if your phone snores when the battery is down !
