Years after elegies were written on the death of typewriters, time seems to be turning back. At the Speedstar institute in Villivakkam, a typewriting institute that has been in the city for more than forty years, Summer is a busy time. With a 40 percent increase in the number of students and an enrolment of around 250 students, the institute is buzzing with typing sounds.
R Rajagopal, the owner points out that computers are the driving force that brings students to typewriting institutes like his. “For many it is all about being able to type well on their computers. Even in a railway reservation counter we find that one line often moves faster than the other, all because the person handling the counter types faster. Some of the people who come to us are senior employees who have trouble completing their work on time,” he says.
But there are also IT professionals like K Dhanalakshmi, who joined an IT company in the city recently says that she had to take to the typewriter to make the best of her IT job. “In the beginning I was not able to type fast enough. So it was difficult to complete my office work on time. It was then that I learnt from a relative of mine about typewriting. Within a few days of class itself I can see a considerable improvement.”, she says. “Within a year of learning typewriting I was able to secure a job as a typist in the High Court. I am also able to handle the work pressure,”, says M Indra. Several government jobs still insist on a qualifying certificate in typewriting. “Over the last five years we are seeing an increased demand after the state government opened a number of posts for recruitment. This year there were around 75,000 writing the examination for typwritng certification. But, it is nothing like the 80’s when be had around 2 lakh students,” says a senior member of the Chennai District Commerce Institutes Association.