At a time when technology has taken over our lives, N.R. Balasubramanian still has a lot of faith in stenography, typewriting and shorthand. He says they can be useful for those who wish to have an edge over others. His institute in Ambattur – Sri Mathurambika Supreme Shorthand Centre — has more than 50 students taking lessons in these skills.
A former senior private secretary at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), he has been teaching shorthand and typewriting since 1988. “I started teaching as a hobby. Then in 1992, I started conducting proper classes. My wife, Ponnammal, was taking care of the entire operations and I would chip in regularly. However, being a government employee, I needed permission to conduct classes like these. Only after getting the permission did I started teaching. After retiring in 2005, I started teaching full-time,” says 71-year-old Balasubramanian, who is extremely passionate about the skills. “I learnt shorthand in 1962 in Kumbhakonnam and it helped me clear tough examinations.”
Ask him about the relevance of shorthand and typewriting today, when everything is just a click away, he says, “My granddaughter plays on her iPad, but I am still giving her training in typewriting. For those who know typewriting, using any kind of keyboard becomes easy and they type faster as well. In the case of shorthand, it can help you take notes even without looking at the notebook and produce it verbatim.”
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Balasubramanian also takes Hindi classes (spoken and written) and Sanskrit. Sri Mathurambika Supreme Shorthand Centre is located at Vijayalakshmipuram, Ambattur. For details, call 26573830.