Professionals get a grip on their handwriting

Handwriting may lose its importance for many when they pass out of school or college. But that’s not the case with many professionals, who are taking it as seriously as they would their careers. From doctors, who want to write legible prescriptions for their patients to businessmen, who want to boost their chances of securing contracts, handwriting classes are much sought after across fields. 

When Akhil (name changed), a medical professional, realised his handwriting had gone from bad to worse since his school days, he decided to work on it. He joined classes for handwriting conducted at a centre nearby. Similarly, when Lalit a businessman, realised his bad handwriting had cost him a business tender, he decided to get some professional help. Handwriting classes for school students are being held across several centres in the city, but many working professionals enrol in them too. 

Akankksha, which has its main office in Purasawalkam, has 12 branches across the city and a few other branches in other cities in Tamil Nadu. It gets a steady attendance of adults. 

Pawan Kumar Lodha, founder of the centre, says, “Apart from doctors and businessmen, we also have UPSC aspirants and chartered accountants who find these classes helpful. They realise the importance of a neat handwriting, especially when filing and documentation work is still done manually in many offices.”

A sustained interest in writing letters, has been bringing many adults to Shrishti in CIT Colony. Latha Mani Rajkumar, who runs these classes, says, “We get mostly middle-aged people, who seem to want to work on their handwriting for writing letters in this era of email and WhatsApp! They also want to have a consistent handwriting for filling application forms.” 

Lodha says that the classes are customised to serve the requirements of an individual. “We conduct an assessment of their handwriting to understand their needs and then format the classes accordingly. On an average, a professional takes 42 to 75 hours of classes. The total course costs anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000,” he says. 

Many attend such classes out of a personal interest, says Ram of Global Smart. “There are some aged 40 and above, who attend these classes to improve their handwriting. While youngsters seem to be interested in calligraphy, plain legible writing has caught the fancy of adults,” he says.