From Personal Pages to National Records: A Mirror Writing Story
When I first started writing mirror way, I had no idea I was unknowingly practicing one of the most primitive forms of coding known to humankind.
Hello and welcome to my new write-up on mirror writing, don’t worry, here I am not going to write anything ulta😁, but I will tell you how my mirror writing journey started.
I was very young when I began writing a personal diary. I was
in fifth standard. I was quiet by nature, shy, and had a small circle of
friends. Conversations required a lot of efforts, and, to me, silence felt
economical. So I found my comfort in pen and paper.
The diary slowly became my safest place. The little me wrote
everything, literally everything, daily incidents, innocent dramas, things that
made me laugh, things that hurt, things I didn’t know how to say aloud. The
diary listened without interrupting. Over the years, it grew along with me. By
the time I reached twelfth standard, I had filled five or six diaries. Looking
back, they were dramatic, emotional, and thoroughly childish, but they were
mine.
That Summer Afternoon
Then came the summer after my twelfth standard exams. I was away from home for some work when my mother, who was also a teacher then, decided to rearrange my small library. That is when my carefully guarded secret stopped being a secret. She found the diaries. All of them. And she read them.
When I returned home, something felt off. My mother’s eyes
were swollen. She showed me the diaries and asked me, very calmly, what all
this was.
I was blank. Annoyed, yes, because something I had never
planned to share had been discovered. Clueless, because I didn’t know how to
respond. But what she did, out of concern and love and as a vigilant parent,
was absolutely spot on, something I couldn’t understand at that age.😐
She cried because she felt she hadn’t been available enough
for me, that I had to rely on writing instead of sharing things with her. That
day, we spoke for a long time. She had always been a wonderful mother, but from
that moment on, our bond deepened. We became closer, more open, more honest.
What Would I Do Now?
Writing had always been my comfort space. I had been writing
for years, and letting go of it was not an option. It was how I processed
things, how I stayed balanced. Without it, I genuinely did not know how I would
cope.
At that time, I also had a very limited linguistic resource.
Apart from Hindi, I did not know any other language. Switching languages wasn’t
possible. Changing the habit wasn’t possible. Stopping altogether wasn’t
possible at all.
So I had to think differently.
And that’s when an out-of-the-box solution arrived, silently,
without drama.
What if I wrote ulta? (What if I wrote in
reverse?)
What still amazes me to this day is that the very first time
I tried mirror writing, it was flawless. No practice. No warm-up. As if my hand
already knew what to do. I continued, and soon, I started enjoying it.
At that point, I wasn’t thinking about history, art, or
technique. I didn’t even know this kind of writing had a name. I was simply
trying to protect my words.
The best part?
Nobody could read it.😎
Even my mom couldn’t.😍
What Mirror Writing Is
Mirror writing is the art of writing letters, words, and
sentences in reverse so that they appear normal when viewed in a mirror or from
the opposite side of a page. It is considered one of the earliest forms of
cryptography.
Mirror writing of ‘Gayatri Mantra’ by me
Traces of mirror writing have appeared across civilizations: ancient
Greek inscriptions, personal notes by polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci, and
calligraphic traditions across empires, including extensive use in the Ottoman
Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Life Moved Forward But Mirror Writing Stayed
Diary writing gradually reduced as higher studies took
priority, but mirror writing stayed with me. Whenever I wrote something deeply
personal, a note, a thought, a line meant only for myself, it would
instinctively appear in mirror form.
Sometimes I would demonstrate it to friends or colleagues,
probably trying to look a little talented. Most people were curious and
appreciative. Some, however, mocked it comments like “iska dimaag ulta
hai” were not uncommon. Sometimes, I would be called “Ishaan Awasthi,” the
kid from the hindi movie Taare Zameen Par. Some naughty peers would say, “Oh
dekho, Ishaan Awasthi aa gayee” simply because I wrote in reverse, even
though it was out of interest, not because I didn’t know how to write the
normal way.
The oversensitive girl in me did feel hurt, but over time I
learned an important lesson: not every voice deserves attention. I continued
anyway.
During my MBA, a classmate casually remarked, “Oh, this is mirror writing.” That was the first time I formally learned the name of what I had been doing all along. I began reading about its history, its presence across cultures, scripts, and centuries. Not much data was available; the most notable reference was Leonardo da Vinci’s personal notes.
Technical Details and Practice
Reading mirror writing can be tricky. A mirror helps, of
course. One can also flip the page toward a light source or use dark ink so
impressions are readable from the other side.
Over time, my practice expanded. I have mirror-written the Shree Hanuman Chalisa, the Shree Shiv Tandav Stotram, Japanese Syllabaries Hiragana and Katakana, and a Marathi poem. I mirror-write fluently in Hindi with near-perfect accuracy, and with good accuracy in Sanskrit and Marathi. I am currently learning to mirror-write in Latin (English).
My work is not limited to paper. I experiment with glass
using glitter glue, pottery, and other surfaces, constantly exploring how
mirror writing can live beyond the page. I am also working on a patriotic
mirror-writing project that I hope to share in the future.
By profession, I am a data specialist.
By inclination, I am an artist.
And somewhere between the two, mirror writing continues to exist as a steady
companion. 😊
Bangalore: When the Writing Stepped Outside
This journey took a significant turn much later, when I was
living in Bangalore. By then, life had grown fuller, work, responsibilities,
marriage, and the quiet rhythms of daily life shaping my days.
What had always remained private stayed that way, until one
ordinary day of casual scrolling. I stumbled upon a Facebook page that spoke
about records and unusual skills. That’s when I came across information about
the India Book of Records. A few days later, out of curiosity, I sent them a
sample of my mirror writing, the Indian National Anthem in Hindi. During that
conversation, they suggested I could attempt breaking the existing record. I
remember thinking, why not try, without wanting it too much.
By God’s grace, I was able to mirror write the Indian
National Anthem in Hindi in 1 minute and 49 seconds, breaking the previous
record by a few seconds. Suddenly, the value of a second felt very real.
What had started years ago as a way to keep personal words
private had quietly found recognition at a national level.
That achievement was never mine alone. It belonged to the
grace of God, to my mother, my friends, my colleagues, and yes, my diaries too.
Record References
You can refer below to see the details of my record and my feature on India TV:
- India
Book of Records – Video documentation of the record attempt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeFF-MyQAno
- India
TV feature covering the record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfEE5el060c
- India
Book of Records – Official record page:
https://indiabookofrecords.in/fastest-to-mirror-write-the-national-anthem-in-hindi/
Here are some snapshots of my mirror writing creations, from prayers and poems to scripts across languages.
Gayatri Mantra
Shree Shiv Tanadav Strotam
Japanese Syllabaries: Hiragana, Katakana
This is the mirror writing translation of the poetry written by a very well known Marathi poet and a novelist Shri Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, also known as 'Kusumaagraj'
Over the years, a question naturally began to surface: what
else could this be used for?
Mirror writing demands coordination, focus, patience, and presence. It slows the mind down. It asks for attention. It invites the brain to see familiar things differently. While I make no clinical claims, I do believe deeply in art as a supportive, grounding practice, especially for children, for pregnant women, and for anyone seeking calm, mindful engagement. Sometimes, healing does not come from fixing something. It comes from doing something slowly, patiently, and with care.
Writing, whether poetry, prose, or mirror images, has always
been that for me. A way to breathe. A way to process. A way to exist gently.
This platform is an invitation.
To look twice.
To read differently.
To allow words to move the other way and still make sense.
A Thought to Leave You With
What began as a moment of discomfort and limitation became a
strength. Mirror writing taught me that even challenges or “negative” moments
can be transformed into creativity, expression, and something truly meaningful. 😊
May this story inspire you to look at your own challenges
differently, to embrace curiosity, and to find hidden strengths in unexpected
places.
Happy reading!
Best regards,
Gayatri
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