LET’S CELEBRATE THE LEFT-HANDERS’ DAY!

My little daughter, a left-hander, came running to me, saying, ‘Mom! August 13^th is Left-handers’ Day and I feel so special!’ The dignity with which she uttered those words made me wonder what place we have given to the left-handers in our society!

            Well! In this world dominated by the right-handed, the left-handers too must have their own unique place. Let me first highlight some of the difficulties faced by them, both as children and as grown-ups, and then proceed on to throw light on some interesting facts about these people, who constitute about 10-12% of the world’s population.

• Smudging ink on hand and on all over the page on which they write is one of their common problems in their childhood. However much they try, their paper leaves a trail of ink marks, making their whole work look untidy and leaving them frustrated.
• It is so annoying for left-handers to be made to sit and write on a right-handed desk. What a pity, they have to twist and turn until they find a comfortable position to write, which is indeed a herculean task for them.
• Another one of their common problems is to twist their hand to a very uncomfortable angle while writing in their spiral notebooks.
• Their woes do not stop here! Most of the scissors in market today are designed for a right-hander’s grip. You can feel the difficulty in having a straight cut on a paper yourself when you try to use those scissors with your left hand.
• Imagine using a tin opener with your left hand! It would leave you exhausted.
• Also, no right-hander would like to sit beside the left-handers as their elbows would stick out while eating or writing, thus creating a very embarrassing situation for both of them.
• To top their problems they are easily marked in any group and given names, like ‘lefties’.

Now for some amazing facts about them:  

• It is interesting to note that some of the famous celebrities like Tom Cruise, Oprah Winfrey, Bill gates and Barack Obama, among others, are in this club of lefties.
• In general, they have better IQ as compared to right-handers, according to a research conducted by St. Lawrence University.
• The usage of the right side of their brain is dominant, thus making them excel in the field of art and music. Also they are pretty comfortable in sports like fencing, basket ball, tennis etc.
• They are excellent swimmers and can see more clearly underwater.

The world observes August 13^th as the left-handers’ day to create awareness about the difficulties faced by them in this right handed globe, to celebrate their uniqueness and to create adequate facilities to enable them co-exist with the rights. Come on; let’s make it a point to rejoice this day to the fullest and in