April 1971

After completing the Advance Course on Radars, I was posted to West Bengal to command a Workshop Company. I had just earned my ‘Nine year long service medal’ and that made me feel pretty senior. My unit was located in a place called Kanchrapara, which was 48 kilometers north of Calcutta. When I landed up, I discovered that Naxal activity was at its peak, and at the same time, a war with Pakistan also seemed imminent. We had recently received a new generation of guns and radars, and the ‘teething’ problems were plenty. There was not a dull moment.

As soon as I had settled down, I was asked by the boss in the Command headquarters to give my assessment of the maintainability of the equipment and our minimum requirements to ensure maximum ‘operational availability’ in the event of a war. I spent three days, inspecting tools, test equipment, plant and machinery, and  worked until well past midnight each day. Finally, it was time to type it out the report. The main paper was taken up by the ‘head clerk’ while his colleagues took up the ‘appendices’. The first draft came to me at about 4 pm, and the deadline for sending it was the next morning. To my horror, the typing was atrocious. The poor ’babu’ was not used to my nearly illegible handwriting, and received quite a mouthful from me. The second draft was a little better, but nowhere near the acceptable level. Two or three drafts followed. By that time it was about eight in the evening, and he was showing signs of fatigue. I told him to bring his machine to my office and type while I dictated each word to him. The machine came along with a table, and the poor clerk was working with his officer commanding breathing down his neck.

I made sure that he corrected every mistake which he had made. But when the paper was ready, I noticed that he had introduced some new errors. At this point, he got up, stood at attention and said that he was suffering from a severe ache in his wrists and that he could type no longer. He showed me that place where his wrists were paining.

My first reaction was to shout at him, but the senior JCO, who had been standing outside all through the evening, came in and requested me to calm down and listen to him. He sent the head clerk out and politely informed me that no clerk can type in peace, when he is not in his own workplace. Meanwhile, my second-in-command came in and showed me all the appendices which were typed under his guidance and checked by him. The two of them assured me that they would start typing long before dawn and that I would get an error free paper well before the deadline which I had set for ourselves.

As I came out of the office, I noticed that there were at least a dozen people hanging around outside the office. The electricians had kept a fully charged battery with an improvised lamp to cater for power failure; the mess NCO had brought some food, along with a drink and in a thermos there was tea for everyone. The Company Havildar Major gave a smart salute with the red sash, shining across his chest.  This was enough to assure me that the unit was ‘fit for war’ in every respect.

*

In the morning, the paper was ready, and a courier took it by hand. There was, indeed no error in typing. However, I had made up my mind to learn typing. In the Academy, we had been taught that you must give no order which you cannot carry out yourself. I also wanted to know what kind of pain arises out of continuous typing. So, in the afternoon, I had a machine placed in my office, and set about the task of learning how to type. The first thing I noticed was that the alphabets on the keyboard are not placed alphabetically, but in a haphazard manner. I asked the clerks as to why they are not arranged in the alphabetical sequence, but none of them could give me a cogent reason. Next, I noticed that the keys had to be struck with considerable force. And if there were multiple copies, interleaved with carbon papers, the force increased with each additional copy. The pain in the wrist and the elbow muscles was palpable after the very first session. My ‘instructor’ told me that for my requirements, it would be ideal to acquire a ‘portable’ machine. And I set my heart on buying one for myself.

The market survey revealed that such machines were imported, and it could only be obtained from the grey market. The prevailing price was upwards of Rs 1,500. I must mention that my pay at that time was Rs 900 and we lived on a monthly budget of Rs 600. An ‘imported’ camera which I had acquired in 1968, had upset our finances for several months. Incidentally, it must be mentioned that gold during that period traded at Rs 190 per 10 grams. So, my portable typewriter fantasy was worth at least Rs 2,00,000 at the current price level!

Just when I thought that my ‘dream’ of owning a portable typewriter would never come true, I saw a classified ad in the paper in which a person offered to sell just the kind of machine which I was looking for. I rushed to his house, at the first opportunity, and he let me test the equipment. O boy! it was light and sleek, with feather touch keys! It was just what I needed. I asked him how much I would have to pay for it. He said, “I have an offer of Rs 900, but I am looking for more”

I had taken Rs 700 with me. But I could not afford to lose this opportunity. I gave him the money, and told him that I would send him the rest within three days. I removed my wrist watch and offered it as a collateral for the balance. My only request was, that I should be allowed to take my dream machine with me. The old man looked at me and said, “Major Sahib, this typewriter was bought for our son, but he is gone…We have not used it, and have no use for it. Now, it is yours. I do not need any more money” And then as a parting gift, he gave me a brand new ’red and blue’ ribbon (worth Rs 50) with which one could obtain multi-color impressions.

Two pairs of eyes were moist when I rose to leave his house. The buyer and the seller were both moved to tears. 

*

In due course, I understood the reason why the keys are not placed in the alphabetical sequence. Soon after the typewriter was invented in or around 1850, the pioneers in the field discovered that when typing fast, the bars which carry the alphabets and numbers tend to get entangled. The typist has to manually disentangle them to continue. This slows down the speed and can also damage the machine. After a great deal of research, the current ‘QWERTY’ board was configured. In this, there are ten alphabets on the top line, nine in the middle row and the remaining seven in the bottom row. The alphabets are so arranged that keys which are used most often are separated from each other. Thus the probability of entanglement is minimized. With a bit of practice, one can use the eight fingers for typing and the thumbs are used for the space bar at the bottom. In this format, the striking bars get so positioned that the incidence of their getting entangled is reduces to the minimum. The pictures below show this phenomenon.

As the typing speed increases, the striking bars can be seen dancing near the ribbon

If the keys are placed in the ‘qwerty’ format, the striking bars get placed in such a manner that the probability of their getting entangled is reduced to the minimum.

*

I consider that portable typewriter to be a gift which I received in 1971. From here onwards, I was no longer dependent on the clerks for typing my manuscripts. Later, when computers came, I had an advantage over those who had not learnt typing. For a few years, I used the computers in the office only. But in the early nineties, when our sons had grown up, it became necessary to buy one for our house. A 486 desktop PC with a black-and-white monitor came for about Rs 45,000, in 1995, and that was a lot of money for a person whose salary was Rs 14,000. But this time, my wife knew exactly what to do. She sold a piece of gold lying in the locker to raise the finances. We both knew that a computer in the house was better than gold in the locker!

After that, we have changed our computer once every four or five years, regardless of the financial constraints. If the choice is between acquiring a fancy car and a laptop, we are very clear on what we will go in for. The joy which a ride in the car gives is short lived, whilst a computer or a camera generates something which one can share with others. And words last long. A poet has said,

           Ek din, bik jayega … maati ke mol,

          Jag me reh jayenge, pyare tere bol!

Recently while cleaning our attic, I found my portable typewriter. I put it side by side with the Dell laptop on which I am keying in this piece. My wife clicked the following pictures for record.

Many things have changed. But the QWERTY format has survived!

Force of habit makes me hit the keyboard hard…which is no longer necessary!!!

The Tailpiece  

We have come a long way from those manual typewriters. With the spellcheck, built in thesaurus and the google search facility, writing is no longer the same. Our successors in service will not have to through those agonizing moments of getting drafts typed and re-typed. In fact the entire process of sending those ‘reports and returns’ has revolutionized.

And yet the QWERTY format has survived. The purpose for which it was devised is no longer relevant, but it will take a while before someone comes out with a better solution. Or, maybe, it will last forever due to sheer force of habit!

When the battle tanks appeared, they all but replaced horses which had been the soldiers best friend for thousands of years. In their memory, some armored corps officers continued to carry ‘horse whips for several years. Some continue to do so, even now; knowing very well that the mechanical transport does not respond to the whip, no matter how well it is swished! And, the associations of the retired mechanized forces officers are till this date called “Cavalry officers’ associations” A picture of a horse and tank must be inserted here, to refresh the memory. 

I am reminded of a similar thing which happened in the field of automobiles. Before mechanical transport, mankind used animal transport. The power of a cart was determined by the number of horses employed to pull the carriage. Hence for a long time the cars were classified in terms of ‘horse power’ of the engine. Similarly, the light emitted by the light bulbs was measured in terms of ‘candle power’

In the end, for the sake of record, I am placing below a file picture of the Jaykay portable typewrite which I have owned for forty odd years. It never got outdated, and of course, it never got infected with virus. And I did not have to update the ‘software’ or install anti-virus systems. If ever, there was a defect in it, I could ‘see’ the defective component!

To be honest, I still love its look and feel. Notice the multi-colored ribbon near the  roller, which I received as a gift!

A song for those who like it!