All it took for V. Sanjay to get interested in writing backwards or in reverse was to read ambulance in reverse as ‘ECNALUBMA’ on the vehicle. This had the Standard VIII boy pondering for a while about writing backwards.
Son of a small hotel owner in Tirupur, Sanjay, for the first time wrote his name backwards in English and Tamil. But it was not until he was in Standard XI that he took up serious practice. He decided to write in English and that too running letters.
Today, as a first-year student of Department of Catering Science and Hotel Management of Hindusthan College of Arts and Science he writes backwards with ease and is looking at creating a record for the same.
“It is easy to write capital letters in reverse, but small letters are not that easy. That is why I decided to take up this challenge and practice. I have also mastered the art of writing numbers backwards,” says this student.
Sanjay can also write in Tamil, though not with the proficiency of English. With no specific methodology to mention, he writes in a way that is convenient to him, either on ruled or un-ruled paper.
Though he has been practising the art of writing backwards, his talent came to the fore only when he joined college.
According to P. Premkanna, Head of the Department, Sanjay mentioned about the talent when all the students were asked about theirs on the first day of college. He was then made to write on the board.
“Though he has talent, he has not made it public or has been encouraged. We are planning on giving him a platform during an event in college where he can display his talent. We will also motivate him to further hone his skills so that he can apply for a record,” he says.
Sanjay’s aspiration is to create a record by writing the National Anthem in reverse. He also aspires to increase his writing speed so that he will be able to write with ease as one dictates.