Who still needs to learn handwriting in the digital era?

Some 25 odd years ago, one fine evening, I saw my elder sister sitting in our living room, all dolled up, writing something while a group of people hovered over her. 

I found out later that the guests had come to meet her as a prospective bride for one of their sons and were evaluating my sister's handwriting because, apparently, because a clean and distinct handwriting proves that the girl has a pure mind and a clear thought process - qualities essential for a bride-to-be. 

Cut to 2022. 

In today's highly digitised world, does handwriting still hold such significance? My initial instinct was - no, it does not. But handwriting experts across the country refuted my notion. And so I decided to head out in search of the truth. 

Last week, on a rather warm winter morning, I met Shakira Samad, a mother of two, at the Three Fingers Academy, a handwriting learning centre located in the capital's Uttara area. 

Shakira didn't have good penmanship during her student life, so now, like any other parent, she wants her children to have good handwriting. Her son Rohan is in the 4th grade and her daughter Ruhi is in kindergarten. And according to HM Zarif, the director of the academy, this is the perfect age to work on one's handwriting. 

Shakira said that the academy has a good reputation among her peers. And when asked if their handwriting was improving? Shakira replied, "Apparently, yes. Rohan's writing is far better than before and Ruhi can write more effortlessly now." 

Not just the little ones, the handwriting learning institutions have adult learners as well. 

Muhammad Al Numan has passed the 43rd BCS preliminary exam and is now preparing for the written exams. He said, "Generally if I write a bit too fast, I can't even read my script. I will have to write a lot and very fast in the BCS written exam, so I need to improve my handwriting." Numan has been taking handwriting classes from Zarif for the last two months. 

Many government job aspirants like Numan come to HM Zarif to learn penmanship. 

The Handwriting Association of Bangladesh has been working since 2019 to unite handwriting instructors around the country. According to Ziaur Rahman, the secretary of the association, currently, there are approximately 150-200 handwriting instructors around the country. 

Although the business has been here for a while, it's still not very organised. 

According to Rahman, "Rather than proper educational institutions or academia, these learning centres work more like coaching centres. It's more like an informal practice. And different instructors follow different methods, which are not universal."

And that is why the association is trying to bring all the instructors together and devise a comprehensive set of formulas.

How is handwriting taught?   

Good handwriting does not only mean writing picture-perfect print-like letters, it has certain morphology as well, or that is what the handwriting gurus told me. 

"For example, consider the letter 'Ba' in our Bangla alphabets. The triangular gap inside the letter is called 'Counter'. Now, this counter will define how your 'Ba' will look. So you will need to know the letterform to improve your handwriting," explained Rahman, describing the technical aspects of penmanship.

For young learners, basic calligraphy and cursive handwriting are enough to develop a distinct style. For this, they are taught the starting and the ending point of letters, how the pen should move along the hand and what the angle of the pen should be.

The 'resemblance method' also works really well, said Zarif. This is when the numbers are used to craft alphabets. For example, to write the Bangla letter 'Ma', one might start with writing an 'Ek' (one in Bangla), then turn it into a 'Dui' (two in Bangla) and then add a line at a 90-degree angle. 

HM Zarif said there are about 500 handwriting styles and he has apparently copyrighted the styles with the Department of Archives and Copyright under the government of Bangladesh. This is housed in an office at Agargaon. 

How is this skill still relevant?

"No matter how much our lifestyles have become digitalised, our education system still remains quite analogue. So even though one might think: why do we still need to improve our handwriting, the reality is pen and paper is not going out of fashion anytime soon," said HM Zarif, hopefully.  

In fact, Zarif claims it is getting more and more popular. His Three Fingers Academy, which first started in 2005, now has 22 branches all over the country. And more than 250 students are taking part in classes in those centres. 

People of all ages can take classes and the cost ranges from Tk1,000-Tk30,000 per course, which lasts three months, six months or even for an unlimited time (in case of the most expensive course).  

Now several schools are organising handwriting workshops for their teachers and students. The handwriting association has organised such workshops in Adamjee Cantonment College, Akij Foundation School and College, Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, Cambrian School and College. 

"And not just students or job seekers, people take handwriting courses out of sheer interest, as a hobby as well. Many people learn calligraphy as an art form," Ziaur Rahman told The Business Standard.

He said that as a Muslim-majority country, the people of Bangladesh still learn Arabic calligraphy and participate in calligraphy competitions around the world. 

Besides, it has a certain appeal to graphic designers as well. Fonts called - Probortona Zia and Sonali have been made from two of Rahman's many different handwriting styles, according to Ziaur Rahman. 

"You can create artificial intelligence-aided letters or fonts anytime, but you cannot infuse human emotions or philosophy into them," Rahman asserted. 

Rahman's eagerness and passion made him sound almost desperate to prove how important handwriting was. He handed me the example of famous posters designed by Qamrul Hasan, where the slogans were written in a distinctive typography. 

Today, when we are moving towards e-learning and a paperless digital era, handwriting should still be nurtured, said Rahman, who remains hopeful about the perpetuity of the hand-written word.

Rahman also has clinical psychologists in his corner.

According to psychologist Marzia-al-Hakeem, preschoolers need to write using their fingers because it develops their motor skills, which develops their ability to use the small muscles in their hands and wrists and improve dexterity. 

She said, "Gripping the pencil strengthens the muscles in the hand and fingers and forming the letters improves control over the small muscles and creates a stronger relation between the brain and the hands. Of course, small children cannot write perfectly, but most preschoolers can start with simple shapes, lines and tracing letters."

The clinical psychologist emphasised on the fact that no matter how digital we become, the children need to start their education with writing (in the traditional pen and paper form),  otherwise it would be hard for them to even read and communicate in the future, because writing is a 'multi-sensory activity.' 

"As children write, the areas of the brain that control the communication between the brain and the hand are also the areas of the brain that process language. This helps them to recognise the words they read or hear," she explained. 

The handwriting gurus say that penmanship should be included in the school and college curriculum as an individual subject. In fact, calligraphy can be taught as an art form, like Japanese or Chinese cultures still widely practice. 

Well, maybe in the far future, pen and paper will become museum exhibits. Perhaps we will have electronic devices or robots to type for us. But for now, let's encourage children to master good handwriting, say the instructors.