He strives to shape careers, and life, by chiselling your handwriting

An assistant engineer with the Indore Municipal Corporation, Sharma is never tired of flaunting his theories. For almost a decade now, he has been on a self-styled crusade of sorts—persuading people to spend that extra little effort to improve their handwriting. And if Mamta Tiwari, who’s busy penning a thesis for her Ph.D in Economics from Indore University, is to be believed, a good handwriting has many other advantages too. Says she: "It is only because of Sharma sir that I am doing my doctorate today. I had worked myself to the bones for my MA (previous) but the result was much below my expectations." A friend thought her handwriting was the reason for her poor showing and suggested she meet the expert. "Sharma sir’s classes made all the difference—there was a dramatic jump in my marks in the MA finals," says she. Thanks to Sharma, Apurv Rajput, a fifth standard student, is today a "confident" young boy. "Before I learned the tricks of fine writing in Sharma sir’s classes, I used to be very scared of getting my homework checked by my teachers because it was very untidy. Now I don’t need to worry anymore. I even enjoy doing my homework," says he of his new-found achievement.

No one, Sharma says, is too old to improve their hand. In the last ten years since he taught his illiterate mother to read and write, the master-stylist claims to have helped more than five lakh people. Says he: "Most of them are students, but quite a few were also from the wrong side of fifty and even sixty."

Sharma has an explanation for focusing on school and college students: "It is always easier for a student to learn new things and imbibe knowledge faster than any middle-aged aspirant. And then, students have their entire life before them to reap the benefits of an improved hand."

Not that his prescription for a better handwriting is difficult to follow. His "quick technique"—a set of six simple rules published in a thin booklet called Ada-e-khas-e-shudh lekhan (The Style of a Good Handwriting)—he says, can be taught to a person in less than an hour. "Of course, every student has to follow it up with practice sessions," he reminds you. He has distributed over 3,000 copies of the booklet in various schools and colleges.

Sharma holds handwriting improvement camps in schools and colleges in Indore every weekend. He even takes a month’s leave from his job to visit educational institutions outside Indore once every year—besides several cities and towns in Madhya Pradesh, he has held camps in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and even Delhi. Says he: "I travel in my own car with two assistants and we carry all provisions for our tour with us. We cook our food ourselves and stay for the night in school buildings."

On an average, he covers six schools in a day, spending about one-and-half hours in each place. "I spend nearly Rs 35,000 a year on this work," he says. Of this, his father, a farmer, contributes Rs 25,000 annually; the rest comes from his savings.Sharma worships words. "Shabd hamesha poore aur shudh likhe jaane chahiye ("Letters must always be written clearly)," he says. And he is willing to take pains to make his wish a reality. He can be contacted at: Shyam Sunder Sharma, J-1, Radha Kunj, Khajrana road, Indore. Tel: (0731)-560033.