Sunday, October 29, 2017

Typing –an essential life skill


   Learning to type was considered an important life skill for anyone in the olden days. Especially among the middleclass. Even if one did not pursue a college education, knowledge of typing could help a young man  get a job as a typist in any company. In addition, If he learnt shorthand he could be a stenographer leading to better job prospects. A whole generation of Tambrahms from Kerala, popularly known as `Palghat Iyers` migrated to Bombay in the mid forties qualified as  stenographers to start their lives as personal assistants to big bosses. Most of them did very well in life.
 
My first job, was also as a PA to a Gujarathi businessman. In addition to a B.Com degree I had passed the `Typewriting Lower` exams. Since I did not know shorthand I used to take dictations in long hand. My boss was not good at dictating resulting in several drafts before a letter was typed and signed by the boss.
The manual typewriters those days came with different brand names. Most popular was `Remington`. The more sleek looking was the `Olivetti`. The electronic versions of typewriters followed much later.

There were several typewriting institutes in every area of the city having scores of typewriters on which the trainees used to be busy learning the skill. `Clickety clack` sound of the multiple typewriters in an institute accompanied by the bell ringing sound warning the typist that the he had reached the end of the typing space on the paper was like music to the ears. The first lesson one learnt was to type `asdf` with the left hand four fingers followed by `lkjh` using the right hand fingers. This lesson would go on for a couple of days before you were taught to type all the alphabets from ` a to z`. Starting with small passages you typed long passages without looking at the typewriter, picking up speed in the process. When the Instructor felt that you had reached the speed limit of 40 words per minute you were allowed to sit for an exam to earn your certificate.
If you wanted extra copies of the typed matter you used carbon papers between sheets. Every time you made a mistake, you had to retype the whole matter. It was very frustrating. Though later on white correction fluids were available to mask the  mistake and overtype the correct word, it was messy. Typing was undoubtedly a laborious process those days.

On the other hand it amazes me to see the youngsters of today, who never went to a typewriting institute, type furiously on computers using only their two index fingers or using the two  thumbs to key in the messages on their mobiles. I don`t know how they do this. I find even the key board of a PC,  which is  touch sensitive, a  challenge! I tend to overlap the letters  when  I attempt to type with all the fingers. So, like millions of people I have also learnt to type on my PC using the two index fingers.  Keying in messages on my `over smart` mobile phone with only the right index finger, however, continues to be a challenge- with the prompter facility in the phone often  deciding to use words which I had not intended to use. Again like millions I have forgotten the lessons I learnt in the typewriting institute. No wonder the traditional typing institutes have almost vanished from this earth!

This article appeared in the 24-30th September, 2017  issue of Adyar Times under my column `Rajan`s Random reflections`

Monday, October 23, 2017

Grand Buffet Meal Deals



I recently saw an advertisement for a `Grand Buffet Lunch` with over 100 mouth watering dishes from a 4-star hotel and another news item in TOI which talked about how `Grand Buffet Meal Deals` by Hotels are contributing to wastage of food.
 
Do you know that the Grand Buffet Lunches at an irresistible low price offered on Sundays by many Star Hotels consist of all left over items of the week before?  Pulled out from the Deep freezer, reheated or served cold depending on the dish. This secret was revealed to me by   the General Manager of a star hotel in Pune, whose advertising business I was handling . He also told me that whatever was left over after the Grand Buffet lunch was consigned to the waste bin. I understand that this practice still persists in many hotels.

Even the mind boggling number of dishes served in an abundant `all-you-can-eat` buffet served  by hotels on special occasions or  at Society weddings hugely contribute  to the wastage of food. According to the TOI report  `the guests ate less than half of the food put out on such occasions. Besides stringent Food Safety regulations allow only 10 to 15% of the left-over food to be donated or repurposed resulting in wastage of food. The sizeable waste generated by coffee, juices and other liquids add to the conundrum`

A few weeks ago I was at a wedding in the family of a well-known businessman. The ‘Who`s who’ of Chennai were in attendance. The buffet dinner consisted of  over 100 items classified  into   North Indian, South Indian , Chinese and Continental besides separate counters for Chaats and Salads. The Dessert section alone featured 14 varieties. It was mind boggling. The very sight of such a variety filled up my stomach. Though there were a few youngsters and gluttons in the crowd who were having a field day, my own guess is that most of the guests would not have picked up more  than 15 items. 

In some of the typical South Indian weddings where `Elai Sappadu` (meals served on banana leaves) is served, I find  the habit of pre-serving the items even before the guests are seated abhorring. Apart from the food becoming cold, it does not give an opportunity for the guest to refuse items which he doesn`t like from being served on his plate. . Resulting in a huge quantity of left-over food on the banana leaf at the end of every `Pandhi`. What a waste of food in a country where millions  still don`t get one square meal.
A solution to this problem has been attempted by a community in North India. They have banned their community members from serving more than a certain number of items at weddings and other festive occasions. Those who break the rule are punished. I am told in Germany, guests who order more than what they need in restaurants and waste food are penalized. 

Will it help if the government introduces a  law restricting people from serving more than a certain number of items at marriages? More than any law what will work is self-discipline. I remember a well-known educationist who served only a tasty Biryani with a side dish and a dessert for dinner at the wedding reception of his daughter. At a personal level I do not take more than what I  can eat on my plate. I believe wasting food at home or on social occasions is criminal!