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Meet the Man Who May Give India Its First Ever Typewriter Museum

You may have heard of Hermes bags but have you heard of a Hermes typewriter? Palta’s collection boasts of such gems.

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Video Editor: Prashant Chauhan
Cameraperson: Athar Rather and Abhay Sharma
Camera Assistant: Mayank Chawla
Producer: Harshita Murarka

The twisted, cramped bylanes of Old Delhi lead me to Universal Typewriter Company – home to over hundred typewriters, some even a century old.

As I enter, I see the owner Rajesh Palta embroiled in a tedious yet intense negotiation over the price of a few typewriters with a man who has come all the way from Kashmir to buy the seemingly extinct analogue. He runs a typing institute in the conflict-laden valley.

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From Kashmir to Kanyakumari

You may have heard of Hermes bags but have you heard of a Hermes typewriter? Palta’s collection boasts of such gems.
A rare 90-year old Remington lifting model typewriter which happens to be Mr Palta’s prized possession. 
(Photo courtesy: Facebook/@classictypewriter)

“Not just Kashmir, I even have customers in Kanyakumari as well”, says Palta sensing my astonishment. The fabulous collection that his shop houses stands testimony to his claim.

A third generation typewriter trader, Rajesh Palta has now taken to collecting rare typewriters for a museum he intends to set up soon. “It will be the first typewriter museum in India,” he says, pride and enthusiasm palpable in his voice.

On being asked his inspiration behind the endeavour, he narrates an interesting anecdote:

“Some 12-13 years ago, when my children came back from Bombay after their studies, my elder son took out a few typewriters from the house junk and asked me what did I do with such machines? I said we just give it to the junk dealer. But he insisted on repairing a few of those vintage machines for him. Eventually my son introduced me to the world of classic typewriters on the internet making me aware of the high prices these vintage models fetch in the international market.”
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Since then, Palta stopped shunning these machines and instead gets them repaired regularly to be displayed in his soon-to-be-set museum on Asaf Ali Road. He doesn’t even offer the single pieces in his collection for sale, only parting with the typewriters of which he has more than one quantity.

To satiate my curiosity, he arranges a dekko of some very special models of typewriters – Remington Lifting model, Olivetti Valentine, German Triumph model, Japanese Remington, Royal Arrow, Hermes, Olympia – sitting neatly on old, rusty shelves.

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40 and Young

Talking about the shelf-life of typewriters, Palta says, “A machine which is 30-40 years old is young for us”. A typewriter which is 70 years old or more is considered a classic. “Around 100 such classic machines embellish my collection”, says Palta with a gleam in his eyes.

This speaks volumes about the durability of typewriters.

“Maintenance of manual typewriters is minimal. The only thing they need is protection from dust and the only consumable it requires is a fabric ribbon which can type 5-700 pages without fading. In fact, the only thing a typewriter needs is the soft touch of your fingers.”
Rajesh Palta

That is perhaps why typewriters have survived so long. The last typewriter manufacturers, Godrej & Boyce, shut shop in 2009 and since then only second hand refurbished models are in circulation, adds Palta.

“I trade in old refurbished typewriters mostly because there are no new machines being manufactured. In fact, my specialty is to bring old junk machines to full functionality. Although I still have a few new machines – two of which he supplied to All India Radio, Manipal office last year – but they are too expensive.” 

The old models which are available today range between Rs 4,000 for a basic model which is 40 years or younger to even Rs 1 lac and more for the rare antique typewriters.

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But Who Buys Them Today?

You may have heard of Hermes bags but have you heard of a Hermes typewriter? Palta’s collection boasts of such gems.
The Royal Safari typewriter which was also used by author Ernest Hemingway. 
(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@classictypewriter)

“We still have the pavement typists to the elite creative young generation,” says Palta when asked about his customer base. But why are millennials trading their swanky laptops for rickety typewriters?

“Digital detox is one of the key reasons why young people are turning towards typewriters because when you work on a typewriter there is no distraction,” says Palta on the resurgence of interest in typewriters among youngsters.

Writers and artists top the list of customers among young generation. He fondly shares an incident when a youngster came looking for a Royal Safari model because his favourite author used to type his books on it. There are others still who come searching for typewriters because unlike computers, they feel, it promotes clarity of thought.

Then there are the pavement typists, typing institute owners and students, courts and few firms which are defiantly holding on to the typewriters. If it is the lack of options that keeps the roadside typists going, the lure for a government job draws many youngsters to typing institutes.

Even interior designers and antique collectors come to Palta looking for typewriters.

For some places, however, typewriters are a matter of convenience. They are easy to use, economical and work even without electricity. “Not just this, typewriters are great at maintaining secrecy,” says Palta.

“In what can be seen as a giant stride backwards, many spying agencies are ditching computers for typewriters to keep their work a secret. In fact, we have even supplied a typewriter to a top businessman in India who wanted the machine for his personal work, away from the reach of his employees.” 
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One Man’s Junk is Another’s Gem

Revealing his trade secret Palta says many a times he acquires non-functional vintage machines which are discarded as junk by their owners. He buys them for a few hundred rupees, repairs them and brings them to full functionality. Thus, a new gem is added to his collection.

Sometimes though he gets the most unusual machines from the most unusual quarters. Reminiscing about one such incident he says, “A lady once gave me a rare model of typewriter along with an image of her father. The typewriter belonged to her father and she wanted me to preserve it.”

Lately, a gentleman from Mumbai, upon knowing about Palta’s plans of setting up a museum, expressed his desire to gift his Hermes typewriter to him for display.

While Palta’s enthusiasm about typewriters is infectious, a cursory glance at his shop will tell you he hasn’t forgotten to diversify his business for survival. On being nudged, he says, “I am in this business not because it makes business sense but because it is my passion.”

“Realistically speaking, I don’t think typewriters can make a comeback in full swing,” he shrugs adding, “Computers have just too much to offer.”

But is that all? Or there is more?

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What Lies Behind the Slow Departure of Typewriters?

You may have heard of Hermes bags but have you heard of a Hermes typewriter? Palta’s collection boasts of such gems.
One typewriter has 2700+ spare parts. 
(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@classictypewriter)

It’s not just the efficiency of computers that has superseded typewriters. Repairing typewriters is an expensive affair. Weighing the commercial viability of typewriters, Palta says:

One typewriter has over 2,700 spare parts, whereas a refrigerator 3-4 times the size and weight has only 300 spare parts, or even less than 300. And the kind of accuracy this spare part assembly needs in a typewriter is something very special.

Because of the high costs involved, a lot of spare part manufacturers are also shutting shop making it even more difficult for the typewriter. Even Palta who once had a big team of technicians now works with only two typewriter technicians.

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Palta’s sentimentality for typewriters runs deep. When his family fled Pakistan for India during the 1947 partition, they carried with them their most prized possession – four typewriters.

He is still holding on to the nostalgia.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Typewriter 

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