Recreating the magic of letter writing
Born in the 1960s, I literally grew up on letters, mostly from my father who was away from the family for a better part of our childhood. He was a voracious letter writer and used the letters to connect with us and keep us focussed on our studies and preparation for competitive exams. Syntax errors in my replies were promptly corrected by the return mail. Initially, I hated such tutorials but soon realised their utility when I saw that my grades, especially in English, started improving. After school, I joined a military academy where letters from near and dear ones were most looked forward to because of the cheer they infused in the tough routine.
The pre-marriage period of romancing my would-be wife through letters remains one of the sweetest in my life. We exchanged a steady stream of love letters for almost a year. Fast forward to the present and the letters have given way to the internet. By the time our daughters were going to school, the internet culture and smart phones transformed the mode of communication. Not to be outdated, I joined the race and bid adieu to letter writing.
Recently, while going through my old letters, I relived the joy and thrill of receiving letters and the sense of fulfilment in writing a good one. A letter could engage me for hours. Besides literary abilities, the aesthetic requirements such as choosing the right paper, cover, ink, pen and correct spacing along with good handwriting made it an artistic pursuit. The fragrance of the letters that I stored remains intact till date. I wondered if I could give my daughters the feel and thrill of traditional letter writing that we used to experience in the pre-internet era. So I decided to pen down a letter to them.
Instantly, I found a world of difference between a handwritten letter and the normal email or social post.
The letter was serious business and required formal salutations, selection of paper, a relevant topic, and interesting content. I decided to write about that part of our childhood when we relocated from our village to a city, and our struggle to make a place there. I took two days to procure the required stationery and poured my heart and soul in bringing to life the migration of our family from a joint family in a remote village to a metropolis. The letter, which reached my daughter through ordinary mail, left her thrilled. She called me up at once to convey the wonderful feeling generated by this personal touch. She even posted the cover on social sites and carried the letter with her, re-reading it several times.
I was happy to have recreated the magic of handwritten letters.
The difference between virtual communication and traditional letter writing is the same as between fast food and homecooked food. One is taken in a hurry to merely satiate hunger pangs and is devoid of any emotions or personal touch, while the other is all about love, care and human touch generating lasting good effects, emotionally and physically.