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The write way to fame

Manikanda Prabhu has a novel talent that might see him enter the Limca Book of World Records

PHOTO: K.ANANTHAN

MAKING A MARK With mirror images

While his friends chose flower petals and dried leaves to pen cherished memories of their school life, K. Manikanda Prabhu was different. He wrote his best wishes in reverse order on their autograph books to mark the farewell.

A passion

What started off as a hobby has now become a passion. The mirror image of 1330 verses of Thirukkural written by him in a matter of 10 days is the proof.

"Initially, after my home work, I used to ask my mother to read out a few paragraphs from textbooks and start writing the mirror images. It helped in improving my concentration because without focussing on the words you cannot write the words in reverse," says the engineering graduate from Karpagam College of Engineering.

Hard work and practice have helped him perfect this art.

"English letters are much easier; but in the case of Tamil, it took more than two weeks to match the straight and reverse fonts and the style," he adds. For instance, the slanting curve of `ka' in Tamil when written in the reverse font is not all that easy.

Increases speed

He had to use ruled sheets in the backdrop to ensure equal spacing between the lines and also to get the right style of letters.

Instead of writing from a book, he says, it is easier to write by listening. Prabhu writes mirror images of Tamil poems, mathematical calculations, and informative pieces from newspapers too. "Speed and accuracy increases especially while solving mathematical problems. When you want to write it in the reverse, the effort is more to remember the normal lines and hence the data gets easily stored in your memory. Now, I can easily recite the verses of Thirukkural," he says.

The idea is to co-ordinate and put both sides of the brain to good use, all to get positive results.

"It helps in boosting your self-confidence immensely," he adds. The exercise has also helped him perform better in aptitude tests conducted as part of recruitment by MNCs. "Writing 200 Kurals a day also gave me the patience to wait for the right job opportunity," Prabhu adds, who has now taught the school kids in his neighbourhood in Periyanaickenpalayam, to write like him.

His plans

Why Thirukkural? "Tamil is our `Mudhal Mozhi' and Thirukkural encompasses every aspect of life in it. I know the language and it is easier to write when you are able to understand it," he explains. He plans to take his feat to the Limca Book of World Records.

And his plans include writing with both hands simultaneously — the normal script with right hand and its mirror image using the left.

He also wants to write non-stop for 24 hours. " I need a minimum of one year of practice to use my left hand for writing and then I'm already into the job," he concludes.

K. JESHI

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