Every year end is marked with the clamor of people looking for diaries. All business and commercial establishments make sure that their patrons, clientele and customers are kept in good humor and gifting of diaries and calendars is considered the ideal way to usher in the New Year.
For those who are take journaling or note taking seriously, diaries they receive as gifts take them to cloud nine, particularly if they are well printed and bound in leather. Most such diaries are a ready reckoner for holiday lists, income tax rates, PIN Codes and other such general purpose lists.
The diary written by Ann Frank, a German born Jewish girl who was one of the victims of the Holocaust during the Second World War is proof of what a diary can do. Frank wrote in her diary about the hardships and cruelties suffered by her and fellow Jews in concentration camps. Someone had saved Ann's diary from getting destroyed and later on it was published by her father as The Diary of a Young Girl, a 1952 book which continues to be published in more than 70 languages.
Diary notes by leading statesmen, literary figures, political leaders and artists have turned out to be the chronicle of their life story as they have expressed themselves in their writings. Every year-end people could be seen enquiring with their friends about the possibilities of getting diaries as gifts.
A number of avid diary writers have come down over the last few decades, while the new generation considers this an alien and outdated habit. Every day's personal experiences and major developments could be the topic of the diary. Jayaprakash Valliathan, a marine engineer with passion for globe-trotting keeps his more than six-decade habit of diary writing intact. "I maintain two diaries. One for my personal jottings and the other for the money I spent on the day. It has helped me to keep a check on my habits and also to find out whether I have squandered money," said Valliathan who returned to his village in Mavelikkara and opened a school where education is free.
Literary critic MG Sasibhooshan learnt the art of diary writing from his father, Kerala's teacher par excellence Prof S Guptan Nair. "I owe a lot to my habit of diary writing. In addition to personal experiences, I also note down major developments that hog the limelight," said Sasibhooshan.
Prof PG Haridas, eminent historian and former principal of the Sree Sankara Vidya Peetam College, never goes to bed without completing his diary writing. "It is a great feeling to know what I was doing last year on the same day. I speak to my diary about my encounters with people and incidents," said the professor.
But diary manufacturers have a different story to tell. "The orders for diaries have down drastically over the years. It is a clear signal that demand for diaries too has fallen," said Imtiaz Khan of Kolkata whose main business is printing of diary and calendar. Sivakasi , the head quarters of printing industry is almost dead, says Santhosh Kumar, a printer of repute. "There was a time when diary printing commenced by March of every year. Not anymore. Now, it has become a ritual," said Santhosh who is slowly switching over to packing materials.
Even public sector institutions such as banks and insurers have almost done away with diaries, which used to be their main public relations work. The world may not get any more Ann Franks as the next generation has switched to ephemeral media based on digital technologies. "We are left with no keys to unlock the past if diaries fall silent or become museum pieces," said Valliathan.
