A chorus of clickety-clacks from manual typewriters drowns the bustle on Jaganathapuram First Street, which sits in a tract of Chetpet where every house leans into the next somewhat like books in a library shelf. Inside, as young fingers dance over ageing manual typewriters , kept sprightly by consistent maintenance, teacher-plus-owner of Chetpet Typewriting Institute (est. 1975) P. Padmanabhan is supervising yet another class, spelling out instructions to students. Typing proficiency, whioh includes speed, opening doors to certain clerical positions in government and private settings, being an essential component in certain competitive government exams including TNPSC Group IV, some categories of Staff Selection Commission, institutes of this nature still thrive. Padmanabhan points out every class includes students who view the acquisition of typing skill as an end in itself. Just being able to type fast and error-free is good enough without the ability having to open up employment avenues. Therefore, also expect those training for careers in law, the corporate world and so on to walk in through those doors, says Padmanabhan, adding that he receives students from near and far and the institute's current strength is 50.A plea to the Tamil Nadu GovernmentTypewriting institutes are anxious over a government order dated October 28, 2024 stating that the Department of Technical Education (DoTE) in Tamil Nadu would be doing away with the practice of having typing exams on manual typewriters, shifting them to computers from February 2028. Echoing the collective sentiment of associations representing typewriting institutes across the state, J. Srinivasan of Karumari Technical Institute in Saidapet, told The Hindu Downtown that typewriting exams in English and Tamil should be conducted only on typewriters. He points out, “Besides, the Computer on Office Automation (COA) exam should not be merged with the English and Tamil typewriting exams. Instead, the current system of conducing the three exams separately with a separate certificate given for each should continue. Every year, more than one lakh students take typing exams, conducted every six months. Clubbing them with COA will reduce the number of takers; and that will result in reduced revenue for the government.” Srinivasan adds that switching typing exams from manual typewriters to computers will affect the livelihoods of typewriting institutes and typewriter mechanics across Tamil Nadu, which he estimates at around 5000 and 2000 respectively. He states: “Associations and federations representing these institutes and mechanics want this GO cancelled.”And these multiple needs keep these instruments going, refurbished from time to time. Chetpet Typewriting Institute is not the oldest, but is symbolic of typewriting institutes, continuing with unflagging enthusiasm despite challenges from technology. Padmanabhan belabours manual typewriter-based institutes’ continuing relevance, citing numbers and benefits. “There are 4,500 government-approved typewriting institutes across Tamil Nadu,” he states. “Typewriting equips a person to type faster and more efficiently. Once you master it, operating a computer becomes effortless.” This belief has had Padmanabhan, now aged 75, wearing a new hat post his retirement as medical photo officer (also known as ‘medical photographer’) from Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in 2006, taking the mantle from his father and running Chetpet Typewriting Institute. The institute operating from a space, quite an expansive space, in Padmanabhan house, makes the overheads of running it manageable. Without a soupcon of a regret, he points out he whittled down the number of institutes he ran from seven to one. “Unable to find teachers of the calibre I sought, I shut down the institutes.”