Playwrite is a typeface engine that allows the creation of primary school cursive fonts.
According to the Indian National Curriculum Framework, students must be taught three languages, starting with their home tongue, and English can be among the languages they learn. Students should learn how to write in Grades 1 and 2, but the document does not specify any methods or models for teaching handwriting.
The new NCERT textbooks for English are titled Mridang. The book for grade 1 teaches students print-style letterforms. No cursive writing instruction appears in this or the grade 2 textbook. However, NCERT’s previous English textbook series, called Marigold, focused on cursive writing in grade 2 (7–8 years old) and showed samples in a style similar to one developed by Irish-born British diplomat, Vere Foster, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Further, handwriting textbooks produced by a major private publisher directly attribute the samples in their volumes to Foster’s model.
This slanted continuous cursive style features medium-length extenders and draws inspiration from Vere Foster's New Civil Service writing models. The script includes decorative capital letters, with 'A' and 'H' particularly notable for their elaborated crossbars. Lowercase letters are designed with loops on both ascenders and descenders, and several letters begin with curved entry strokes. The letter 'r' is distinguished by a knot, and 'q' is characterized by a short exit stroke in its descender.
