I do not think there is a typewriter existing in the world which is being used regularly! They were, not very long ago (say 40 years), a very important machinery of any office or home. They used to be very expensive. Some typewriter brands which I can immediately recall are: Godrej, Brother, Remington etc. They were the symbols of wealth, progress and guaranteed employment!
Children were taught computers as a subject at school, typewriting courses offered in reputed institutes and was a part of academic curriculum during school days. Speed with which we type, spelling errors, spacing, use of English grammar etc. are checked while awarding marks. The aim of every parent and child was to know typewriting. It is exactly the same way the students learn computers these days.
There are two types of typewriters. One is desktop typewriter which used to be big & heavy with big keyboard. This is rarely shifted. All I can say is that it is almost similar to our present-day desktop computer. The other kind of typewriter is the portable one, you can carry it wherever you want! Comparison can be drawn to our present-day laptop computer.
There is also yet another version of typewriter i.e., the one that runs on electricity. It is much lighter and modern looking, very popular in early 1990s. Needless to say, expensive too. This is where the evolution of typewriters stopped; they gave way to desktop computers. Today no one uses typewriting machines. They became obsolete.
Similar to present day computer training institutes (for example NIIT), there used to exist typewriting institutes, a place where they taught typing. This was a 3-month course followed by typing examination conducted by a government agency.
You may be wondering as to why am I writing about the typewriting machines. This morning, I was cleaning the typewriter (portable) at home. It is my personal portable typewriter. For years it lay dusted. I decided to clean it. Hence these memories. The typewriter I have is manufactured by the ‘Brother’ company. The name is ‘SEVILLE 4000’. The distinctive number is: 671688.
Seville is the name of a town/city in Spain. It is a port and a cultural center. This city is regarded as the capital of the world famed bullfighting in Spain. I wonder why this typewriter is named after a city! Probably, the way a strong bull performs in a bull fighting, similarly this typewriting machine too performs. It could be that this machine is as strong as a bull!
Finally, typewriting institutes were also the centers of love. They were the preferred places for the boys and girls to meet. In typewriting speed and accuracy matters. It can only be gained through practice. The world record for fastest typing speed is held by Stella Pajunas, who typed 216 words per minute (WPM) in 1946. With nostalgia I have kept securely my typewriter a side. They were the times!
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
