The moving hand writes...

The other day, I went to a clinic where blood samples are analysed. As I watched, the technician collected the samples and began to label them. I tried to see how she had spelt my name and to my horror I could not make out the names at all. The names on the vials were a lot of squiggles and scratches. Were they written in some sort of code? I asked. No, she said looking at me suspiciously. What if the analyst misread the names and wrote a report for the wrong person? Her poor handwriting could mean agony to someone!

That evening, I went shopping at a cloth store. I bought several pieces of material and asked the shop assistant to give me a rough estimate of what I had to pay. He wrote it on a piece of paper and handed it to me. I could not read it. I just saw a maze of scribbled pen marks and I guessed the prices were written in numbers only because they were in a column. I looked up. The assistant grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. "Young man," I said in what I hoped was a pleasant tone, "consider yourself lucky you are not in my class. You would never have been promoted."

Why should we worry about handwriting anymore, you may well ask. Don't we live in the age of recorders and computers and voice mail? How about paperless offices?

But we still have to write our exams. It will take a revolution in education before we can simply key in our answers and wait for the scores. We have to prepare our records in the lab, label the diagrams we draw, leave notes when the necessity arises, send memos in an office, fill up application forms and most importantly perhaps, send cards to people we love and respect. A neatly handwritten letter conveys a lot more than the one that emerges from an inkjet printer. It has a personal touch and shows that we care. Doctors and surgeons still write prescriptions and in hospitals send notes to various departments - all by hand.

Like a picture, handwriting tells a thousand words. Do you dot your letter 'i'? Does your handwriting drift upwards? Do your 'm's have points? All these characteristics are giveaways to the inner you. You are what you write. Whether you are writing answers for a test, filling an application form, making a grocery list or signing a cheque, keep this in mind. Your handwriting bears a unique imprint of your personality. It shows your strengths and weakness for all the world to see.

Today interpreting handwriting or 'handwriting analysis' is big business. Graphology, the study of linking handwriting to personality is an accepted science worldwide. It helps you to know about yourself, your friends and about strangers. Grapho- analysis or script psychology maps out your writing behaviour. Graphologists believe handwriting can reveal dependability, motivation, perseverance, resilience, emotional stability, organisational skills as well as problem areas and fears. For example, small pinched handwriting with indistinct or unclear letter forms shows fear. Like a fingerprint, your handwriting is one of a kind. No one else has exactly the same handwriting as you.

If your handwriting is illegible, do not despair. Help is at hand. There are Institutes of Handwriting Studies that offer therapy services. Why is it so important to change bad writing? Not just for better emotional health, but for physical health as well. Scientists say that parents can make changes in their children's handwriting if they see signs of unwanted traits or characteristics. During the early formative stages, changes are accomplished easily with grapho-therapy. It may be difficult in the beginning to change the slant (left to right or right to left) or the way letters are formed. But with practice and patience one can acquire a neat handwriting that is a pleasure to read.

In his autobiography Gandhiji tells us how he had to pay the penalty for neglecting his handwriting. "When later, especially in South Africa, I saw the beautiful handwriting of lawyers and young men, I was ashamed of myself and repented of my neglect. I saw that bad handwriting should be regarded as a sign of an imperfect education. I tried later to improve mine, but it was too late. I could never repair the neglect of my youth. Let every young man and woman be warned by my example, and understand that good handwriting is a necessary part of education."

GEETA PADMANABHAN, AMM Matric H.S. School, Chennai

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