(It’s just okay to skip the next paragraph, but if you would like to know the provocation behind this piece, do read it.)
[Last week I fell in love with a pen(!). It does not belong to me. It was a property that had been lying neglected for quite some time in the Lost & Found box of the school. Two weeks back when I was direly in need of a black ball point pen, I discovered it. The beginning of a new relationship. After a fortnight of silly signing tasks I filched fetched it home today for a short stay (?).]
The experience of writing with a pen after a long time swept me off my feet. It took me back to the college days where we struggled to catch up to the high-speed dictation of notes by the lecturers/professors. Ah, it was fun. (Have the Reynold pens become extinct?!)
Nowadays I usually use pens just for dashing off something brief, and for doodling during the ho-hum sessions of a meeting. Penning a serious, lengthy piece is entirely different. Initially it may seem unexciting. We may get annoyed when it comes to editing the draft. However after a page or two we will find it hard to jot down all the words that emerge from the deluge of ideas. Then we whine: My hands are too slow!
OMG! What have I made of my fingers? They are becoming NUMB. They can no longer perform the fine tasks like holding a slender pen, a tiny needle, or a delicate petal! THEY ARE GOOD FOR NOTHING BUT CLICKING! Can this be written off as something rife in this era? In the process of evolution let human fingers not get reduced to ugly, stiff stubs – that’s my prayer.
our fingers are not “reduced to ugly, stiff stubs”
see how it delicately tap dances on the keyboard – making gentle rhythm with it. Our fingers are now lovely creatures
the pen needs only one hand – five fingers!!!
but now, with the keyboard, we use all of them – not neglecting any of it
i say we have come a long way.
i agree writing something down on paper still holds its magic. but who wants to stash away a piece of paper. certainly i don’t! i would want to save it digitally somewhere.
great thought provoking post
Thanks dear Amira
… I didn’t mean they are already stubs, but if things go on like this, they may undergo such a transformation in the long run (though a bit hyperbolic, you know that has happened to many creatures including humans).
You are right – we use all fingers to type, it could save trees, editing is easy, it is more legible,….. In the last para you yourself have explained my feelings – typing could not offer the magic of real writing! Handwritings are unique, just like our fingerprints and personalities
lol
Amira … my fingers are six! lol
I believe if you are going to write anything of true importance, personal meaning…it must be hand written. Though….like you, click..click away on the keyboard I go. I do find that my mind seems more free…works better, more inspired when I’m actually writing vs. computer…
Thank you, MS, for that kind comment! That is exactly what I feel…I too felt more inspired seeing words formed on the paper. After many years I recollected I had a handwriting of my own…
I have different hand writings.I do not want to lose them by typing. Just watching someone write makes me want to write. I am sure it is called a waste of paper but we don’t always have to write on paper. We must create some digital stuff where we can “write” and not “type.”
I have seen your ‘different handwritings.’
You are right – watching somebody write creates in us that irresistible impulse to write. And such digitial stuff is already there, I think.
While I do agree that handwriting is important for personal items, there is nothing like receiving a handwritten letter for making you feel thought about, I find somehow that a blank piece of paper is far more intimidating than a blank computer screen.
Welcome to my blog. I agree with you. Thank you for leaving that comment for me.
Hey Bindu, great post!!
I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award.
Please follow the link for more info:
http://kweschn.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/versatile-bloggers/
Congrats!
Thank you so much Elyas!!
That’s indeed a great honour for me. Really elated by this nomination from a versatile blogger like you!! 
A pen/pencil is an inspiration
It is only pen and paper that truly bring ideas in full flow, or perhaps instigate that rush of feeling. You can ponder, you can dream, and chew upon the end of the pencil, and be swept away …. 
Did I say this? I too am in love with them 
Thank you for that great comment, Usha! So there are more like-minded people out there – glad to know that!
great post. Your lead paragraphs were such a good “hook”, it made me want to read the whole piece! I, too, have a fondness for certain pens…. (then we can talk about computer fonts!)
Thanks for sharing….
Welcome to my thoughts, Judy!
Thanks a lot for your generous words. Hope to meet you often….
I used to have lovely handwriting and now if I ever do sit down to write its like my hand takes on a mind of its own and they’re so many mistakes etc…
Bikram did a post on this too once… and it’s true the art of handwriting has died. We very rarely write anything anymore.
Thank you, Princess Laila! Honoured by this comment from a princess!!!:)
Yes, we can no longer write. The future generations will be told: Once humans used to ‘write’ using their hands with a device called pen….
Bindu – thanks for a thought-provoking post. I smiled as I read it. I am so used to just sitting and typing at the computer, that when I do use a pen to write, my handwriting is atrocious. And I used to pride myself on my neat
handwriting.
It’s fun to work our brain in different ways and using a pen to write is a great thing to do!
Nancy
Thank you Nancy! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Nice post ..I liked this post…Nowadays we girls are too lazy to write down the notes that our teachers used to give us…We are so happy when our teachers bring us ready-made notes ..When our teachers say us to prepare an assignment of ten to fifteen pages, we will stare at them thinking that how hard the task is…And at the next moment itself, questions will arise from each student(with shameless smile) like “Ma’am, can we bring our assignment as printouts?”..Anyway this is a good post which reminded me of the importance of “writing” something..Thank you so much….:)
I still write in long hand so it is not a dying art for me at all… For those of us who grew up before computers became ubiquitous, the pen is still mightier than the sword… This was a fun read. TY! ♥Happy ♥New ♥Year ♥!
Thank you so much for that kind comment. Glad to know you too have a soft corner for pen and paper. And yes, Happy New Year, friend….
Yes handwriting is unique…it gives you a different and deeper emotion. I try to write as often as I can just to make sure I won’t lose it
Great post Bindu !
So still there are many who heart handwriting. Glad to know that. But don’t know how long we could preserve it! Thank you.