For lefties...

God made everyone right-handed, the truly gifted overcome it. 

- Anonymous

If the left half of the brain controls the right half of the body then only left handed people are in the right mind. 

- W.C. Fields (American comedy actor (1880-1946)

Everybody is born left handed. You become right handed after your first sin. 

- Anonymous

Lefties – in great demand but limited supply! 

- Anonymous

To be hated cordially, is only a left-handed compliment.

-Herman Melville (American novelist (1819-1891)

Left handers don't just write differently, we also think differently. 

- Anonymous

(image source: www.lefthandersday.com)

When my son was a toddler, I was pleasantly surprised to see him use his left hand as the primary hand of usage. But babies sometimes tend to use both hands equally well initially and over a period of time, one gets to know whether they are left or right handed. So when my boy grew up and it was certain that he would be a left hander, I was very happy. The reason is that I have always been fascinated by lefties. Not like zoo creatures or something, but it is sometimes fascinating to see a minority do things in a way which the majority does not follow.

However, when he started interacting with friends, relatives and even complete strangers, the first question posed to him would invariably be, "are you left handed?" with reactions ranging from incredulity to fascination to surprise and at times, even apparent disgust.

I have seen some left-handers who use their right hand to eat. Now my little boy uses his left hand also to eat and you know where conversations lead to. "Do you use that hand to eat?" The human being is left wondering as to what he did wrong and what that hand was for in the first place!

Everytime, particularly at social gatherings like marriages, I would sit next to him and ask him to go about eating with the left hand without giving much heed to people commenting. However, over a period of time, he developed a minor complex. So, I would try my best to eat with my left hand in front of him - it is easier with a spoon in the left hand, actually. When we played cricket, I used to play left handed. Bowl and bat left handed. It is difficult for right handers to do certain things with the left hand, but I did this for him, so that he would lose his 'complex'. People who were pointing out his 'different' stance were politely told that that he was left handed and if one is left handed, one would obviously use it as the primary hand. Over a period of time, he did lose it. I am happy for him.

But what is it about the left hand that we dislike? Why is it such a poor cousin of the right hand? A bad compliment is called a 'left-handed compliment'. A left handed 'pat'. 'Left handedness'. Did you know that 'sinister' is the Latin word for left-handed? Apparently, the English word for left comes from the Old English word “lyft” meaning 'broken' or 'weak'! When we shake hands, we use the right hand. A left handed shake is unheard of and if it happens, it is considered impolite. A handshake with the left hand happens only when the right hand is injured or engaged in something.

Oh yes, across all religions, even the Gods bless with their right hand! Is there any left handed God? (Aside: Atleast there is unity among all religions on this!)

The possible explanation is that close to ninety percent of the world's population is right handed. With so much for a majority, it is natural that they trample upon left handers. Lefties are odd ones out. The world seems unfair to left handers. A lot of things in this world are designed for right handers, even the ubiquitous mouse clicks for computers.

Being left handed is certainly not a genetic trait. However, there is no definitive study to suggest why just a minor population of this world is left handed. There are a lot of famous lefites - Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Sachin Tendulkar (he batted and bowled right, though). Left handed sportsmen are called “southpaws”. This is a baseball term. The reason was baseball grounds were generally built with the homeplate in the western corner of the field. When a left-handed pitcher faced the batter, his throwing arm would be the closest to the south. Thus the word ‘southpaw’ came into being.

Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that lefties excel in sports (I still can't forget the 1992 Wimbledon final between Andre Agassi, USA and Goran Ivanisevic, Croatia where the latter pounded ace after ace!) There are studies to show that they have higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and even excel at Art.

August 13 is celebrated as “Left-Handers' Day.” No, we don't have a right handers' day. We chaps don't deserve it, for what we have done to poor lefties!