There are unspoken codes that centuries of evolution have shaped and moulded — the rights and the wrongs. Every generation passes them on like a treasured heirloom, with strict instructions to preserve their sanctity. They are so deeply entrenched in our collective memory that we see the world through the prism of long-established norms. Although habits and customs change with new understandings, the process can take eras and prejudices even longer.
Today is International Left-Handers Day. Observed to highlight the difficulties faced by those who are left-handed in a world that predominantly struts around right-handed, the day is also a celebration of this uniqueness.
History is proof that life has never been easy for left-handed individuals. While ancient communities regarded the right hand as a symbol of strength and purity, left-handers were viewed with suspicion, and superstition branded them as harbingers of weakness and misfortune.
The Greek and Roman Civilisations considered anything associated with the left side a bad omen. The ancient Egyptians too, saw it as a curse from the gods. Being on the left clearly did not come with much divine approval! Yet, no matter the biases, the human race has always comprised every end of the spectrum.
Cave paintings from the Ice Age, like those at the Cueva de las Manos in Argentina and similar findings in European caves, offer evidence that almost 22% of the artists who left behind their stories long before language was known may have been left-handed. A scientific analysis of prehistoric stencilled handprints on cave walls have clearly concluded this fact.
In ancient Egyptian art, Pharaohs were invariably depicted as right-handed, reinforcing their righteousness, while enemies and sinners were cursed by portraying them performing actions with their left hand. Reality, however, cannot be cloaked at all times, and some tomb paintings tell a different story. Scribes were not required to be idealised. The truth therefore crept into everyday scenes, revealing scribes writing naturally with their left hand. Apparently, reality occasionally refused to follow the script!
Artists across time have had to conform to cultural norms, making artworks that depicted left-handed individuals quite rare. Ironically, several artists who painted within these conventions were left-handed themselves. It was seldom acknowledged, for they too had to contend with the social stigma prevalent then.
Leonardo da Vinci, who was ambidextrous, was perhaps the most famous of them all. His contemporaries called him ‘mancino’, or left-handed, and he even wrote from right to left in his notebooks. Michelangelo, despite his extraordinary talent, had to force himself to use his right hand, even though he was naturally left-handed, because society was unkind to such “anomalies”. Yet, when it came to the physical strength required to sculpt marble, he could not help but return to his dominant left hand.
There are perhaps too many examples in history of those who could not fit in. But left or right, genius has never been governed by which hand wields the brush, holds the pen or chisels the stone. Universal standards have never dictated the boundaries of their possibilities. After all, the brightest stars in our sky were carved by those who dared to draw their own.