Do you remember the
last time when you wrote a letter to someone? Honestly, I can't tell
when the last time I wrote a personal letter to someone. My last written
communication was in the year 2009 when something was wrong with my SBI account
and I wrote an application to the branch manager regarding that. But it's been
7 long years since I have not used pen and paper for writing anything
thoughtful as a letter! Why am I tossing around letter writing? Because
recently I got a chance to listen to a lady who made me realize that nothing
can replace letter writing, although we now have better new age communication
mediums like email, texting, Facebook and more.
The lady, Laxmi, is
a social entrepreneur and most importantly a family person. She shared that she
traveled countries to countries for many years because of her work needs. And
during these years, she couldn't meet her aging father with much of time. However,
her father did an amazing thing in last two years of his life as he was
continuously sick. He wrote letters to his daughter and filled a notebook with
his thoughts about her. He addressed the strength and weaknesses of his
daughter. He also gave her suggestions for improvement of her life in that
notebook. After he passed away, Laxmi felt guilty of not giving much time to
her father. But she has letters of her father and those letters changed her
panorama about communication. Those handwritten letters still make her feel the
presence of his father. Letters have the same, unique yet very known
handwriting which is the best font of this world for her. Laxmi says
"whenever I read these letters, I feel connected with my father. This is
the same paper which my father had touched and now it is in my hands." How
thoughtful is that! Far after we are gone, no one will care about the million
texts we have sent. But a letter lasts.
I got emotional
hearing Laxmi's story how letter writing has become special in her life. Letter
writing is becoming a disappearing art, a vintage skill. The flow of the pen
gracefully etching out one's thoughts into the paper about someone else. I know
it is crazy to think about letter writing in this text-crazy world but I miss
it.My childhood has seen the charm of letter writing and whenever I recall
those days, I get nostalgic. I remember my massi
(my mother's elder sister) used to send my mother a letter every month and my
mother used to cry after reading massi's
letter. The affectionate way in which my massi
used to write letters to my mother, was really beautiful. I used to write
postcards to my grandfather. It was really fun to write a letter to someone.
You wanted to write so many things but space was limited. Still, feelings got exchanged
gracefully. There was no assurance when the letter would reach its destination
yet people used to write to their loved ones. And receiving a letter from your
dear ones was no less than an award which people used to treasure.
I have taken a
mission; it is to convince others that handwritten letters should and could
make a comeback! Every parent wants kids to inherit good part of his/her life.
And I am thinking about passing the legacy of letter writing to my son. For
that, I would also write letters to my son which I am hoping he'll read in
future.
Start writing a
letter to your loved ones, it feels really good, believe me!
Hello Shipra,
ReplyDeleteYou've such a wonderful perspective on letter writing. God knows I received my last letter written by someone a decade ago. I don't even remember when I wrote one! That said, would you be amenable to reading and reviewing a collection of short stories? Author Sharat Kumar has a collection of short stories coming out this time in January. In each of the 13 stories, uncovers the New Age woman and the chemistry between men and women in contemporary India. Whether spinning a yarn about an Army romance, or the affection between two divorcees; Kumar holds a mirror to how sparks fly.
If you're interested, I'd love to provide a PDF of the upcoming book to be reviewed in your particular fun, free and fearless way. Just ping me back at the email address hritvick.dv(@)gmail dot com.
Cheers, and keep blogging.
Hritvick