Roshni Nair on why the Hermes 3000 typewriter was the machine that defined her childhood
It was a little past 3pm when a machine gun came alive in our home. Rat-at-at-at. The sound of rapid fire made its way into the bedroom, waging war with my sleep as man and machine joined forces in the living room. It was perhaps the only sound that could disrupt a seven-year-old's somnolence. Ajja – my grandfather – would always shut the door to ensure I'd be undisturbed. But he'd forgotten just this once.
As I trudged groggy-eyed into the hall, the gunfire evolved into a steady click-click-click. It wasn't as disruptive now as it had sounded when I was jolted out of my slumber. A battle was on, yes. But it was between Ajja and some corrupt members of the housing society. His weapon of choice: the Hermes 3000 typewriter.
Now, the Hermes 3000 really wasn't that noisy. Once used to it, it was easy to like its orchestra of clicks, taps, and zips – the last, especially when the carriage was moved across after every line. It all comes together after one learns that E. Paillard & Company, which gave Hermes to the world, once made musical boxes. And I'll never forget the feel of the Hermes 3000's keytops – they were just the right degree of concave. Like hammocks for fingers.
No machine defined my childhood the way this mint-green marvel did. For it was with his Hermes 3000 that Ajja, who was afflicted with Parkinson's disease, cemented in our family the legacy of prolific letter writer, master storyteller, list maker, but most of all, a father figure. I understood, at a young age, why this machine was an extension of him.
Never did a week go by in my nine boarding school years when Ajja didn't typewrite letters to me. The last one had a prayer and words of encouragement for my Class X board exams. It worked, because I fared reasonably well. But he didn't live to see that day.
It's been 12 years. And the Hermes 3000 has been silent ever since.
Did you know?
In 2010, Beat Generation-era author Jack Kerouac's Hermes 3000 fetched $22,500 at a Christie's auction. It was the last typewriter he'd used, until his death in 1969.
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