Hobbyists, Restorers on why they are still fascinated with the typewriter

Ernest Hemingway used one as did F Scott Fitzgerald and James Baldwin down to Salman Rushdie Rohinton Mistry and Arundhati Roy too are among legendary writers who have keyed in their thoughts on typewriters Between the invention of the printing press and the computer the typewriter was the single most important piece of equipment in the industry So when this writer stumbled upon an old Brothers typewriter in his unclersquos attic it made for an exhilarating discoveryThe repaired Brothers typewriterRestoring the pastYears of rest had taken its toll on the keys of the Japanese machine It required hunting down people familiar with equipment mdash a vanishing tribe Daniel Sequeira 32 whose family owns Karfule petrol pump in Ballard Estate is among them The thirdgeneration owner of the 84yearold Art Deco petrol pump has an affinity for old and broken things ldquoI cherish everything vintage and oldschool with an aesthetic valuerdquo he says These include typewriters an old Vespa scooter woven recliner chairs and even spirit thermometers Having inherited his fatherrsquos love for tinkering with machines and vehicles Sequeira took it further with DIY special projects mdash typewriters among them ldquoMy dad Kevin can handle most typewriters as he is familiar with themrdquo he shares before adding the caveat that he tends not to take on specialist restoration projects ldquoHe can take care of the little issues but if it requires more technical replacements or spare parts we tend to reach out to Bejon MadonrdquoFrom left Royal Italic typewriter and a Remington PortableIt was Madon that Sequeira approached to fix the problem with the spool of this writerrsquos machine Madon a gregarious storyteller is the former owner of the nowdiscontinued General Office Typewriters Sitting in his fourth floor office of a building in Kalbadevi he says ldquoIn the past there was such great demand that every company had a typewriter Computers were a rarity and if present required entire roomsrdquo Now the office serves as a space for his hobby for the 78yearold who is also the vice commodore of the Colaba Sailing ClubOnce upon a timeFounded by his fatherinlaw Hoshang Baldawala in the 1960s General Office Typewriters supplied equipment to United Assurance Union Bank of India government offices in the Fort area and across the country as well The office still has a tiny workshop stocked with a few old typewriters and spare parts Inside Madon introduces us to two of his precious possessions mdash a 1920srsquo Remington Portable and a Royal Italic typewriter ldquoBe careful with themrdquo he warns us as we try to position them for a photograph ldquoPeople have approached me to buy them but these two will go with merdquo he says determinedlyDaniel SequeiraldquoYou did not have an italic key on the typewriter Fonts were fixed Then again you wouldnrsquot know what that was likerdquo he says of a fact the millennial generation might find astonishing Madon describes how the typewriter demanded more of an individualrsquos concentration ldquoThere is no autocorrect Your sentence had to be clearly thought out before you start to type It wonrsquot spare you any blushesrdquo he warns The machines are heavier than a laptop but carry with them the grace of handcrafted keys and levers that reflect the hard work of industry artisansKey to the futureDoes he mind the rise of the computers and the virtual world ldquoComputers are more convenient for humankind The only advantage of a typewriter was that you did not need electricity for itrdquo Madon shrugsHe no longer accepts typewriter orders The company has shut down and Madon uses the office only to restore or find spare parts for those keen to preserve the machines ldquoI only have two mechanics old timers who I can contact when someone asks for help They do it for the service chargerdquo he shrugs before pointing out ldquoIrsquove heard of Tom Hanks uses the typewriter He is a fanrdquo Despite his love for the machines he does not believe they will make a comeback ldquoThere are fewer people asking for them nowrdquo he ruesSequeira admits that it is now just a hobby For him it is a means to help people ldquoMany such professionals are artists in a wayrdquo He is currently restoring an old wooden wicker chair ldquoFinding these things and fixing them makes for a pleasant experiencerdquo he says The fixed typewriter on this writerrsquos table would agree