A relic of a bygone era

COIMBATORE: Amanullah Khan, 79, made his peace with the silence that pervades his institute in Ramanathapuram in the city long ago. But deep in the recess of his memories, he can hear the sound of type bars slamming the ribbon spools of the 25 typewriter machines in his institute. The institute still runs, but the typing instructor receives just an occasional student coming to master typing skills or improve typing speed and skill."These days only a handful of people want to learn typing on a typewriter. It is no more a skill essential for employment. Of course, the government still calls for applications for the typist's post. Some of the students come to learn so as to improve their typing skills on computer," says Khan, popularly known as Khan Saab among his peers in the city.
Khan Saab is amused to read news reports about railway job aspirants searching for spare typewriters to appear for the test, but he quickly adds he does not give any of his units on rent to anyone. He became a typing instructor in 1976 after he resigned his job at a private firm here in the city. In the initial days, his typing institute, Bala Murugan Typing Institute, at Ramanathapuram used to have at least 100 students, coming in for classes throughout the day. "Both English and Tamil typing courses were in demand. To attain the level of a junior typist, the candidate should have a typing speed of 30 words per minute while a senior typist must have a typing speed of 45 words per minute in English," Khan Saab adds.
K C Raghavan, another typing instructor in the city, points out that learning short hand and typing were the most important skills required for a clerical job in the '80s and '90s. He points out that service and maintenance of old typewriters is a very complex process these days as manufacturers have stopped production of type writers and spare parts. "It is very simple logic as there is no demand for typewriter in the market. So they have stopped production. But we still have some repairmen here in the city for making alternate arrangements for spare parts," Raghavan adds.
There are still about 150 type writing institutes in the city, according to M A Swaminathan, secretary of Coimbatore District Commerce Institute Association. Swaminathan points out that computers, which in the first place responsible for the fading away of typewriters, are giving a new lease of life to typing institutes. "Data entry jobs are quite popular among youngsters these days. But most firms prefer qualified typists with speed and accuracy in operating the keyboard. So there are people now learning typing on a typewriter to become proficient in data entry," Swaminathan says.
S Rohini, a BSc second year student of a private college here in the city, is learning junior level English typing course so as to apply for a government job. S Dharmaraj is another typing student at Ramanathapuram is pursuing the course to improve his skills in typing and also concentration level. "I think typing improves our concentration level and I am looking for a career in auditing," says Dharmaraj.
The city had over 250 typing institutes in the 1990s. Every year, two or three centres close down. The closure of typing centres, according to Swaminathan, is not due to the fall in the number of students but also due to factors like the surge in rentals. Typing institutes were unable to raise tuition fee and the fall in the number of students made many typing institutes commercially unviable. "We charge Rs 250 per month from our students. We cannot increase it as people might not be willing to pay more," says Khan Saab.