I have grown up watching my Granny write letters to my Uncle
who lived in England, and waiting for his replies. When Granny was ill, I would
be her scribe – she would dictate, and I would transfer the spoken words
verbatim to the letter. When I was in Delhi pursuing higher studies, Granny
would send me letters full of guidance and love. I still have most of them
preserved with me.
I also developed a fondness for letter writing – I had few
pen friends. I had never met them, and we would not be able to recognize each
other had we crossed paths ever. But we used to pour out our hearts, perhaps
because the fact that the other person would not be judgemental provided a
comfort cushion.
Letter writing is not only about writing few words on a
paper. A friend of mine used to write amazing letters, mostly in graphics –
creating tiny sketches depicting each aspect. As children, we had fancy for
writing letters in code language, sometimes in invisible ink, etc.
6 comments:
I loved letters too. When I was in college I used to write long letters to my mother . They were like journals where you patiently explained what happened and offered an opportunity for self introspection too
Such a shame this has become a lost art. I too remember older relatives writing letters, and I had a pen pal when I was younger - these days it would just be a skype call! Nice entyr for 'L'.
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/13/l-is-for-lisbon-portugal/
Yes, I'm afraid it is a lost art nowadays. I too had penfriends and was lucky enough to meet one of them. Now I exchange emails with people all over the world.
I remember writing letters when I was traveling on that very thin airmail paper so as to keep down the weight and the cost of postage. Letter writing is a lost art these days, which is a shame in many ways.
You can still find pen pals. They aren't as prevalent, of course, but I know the whole mailing letters thing is still around for some.
This made me feel nostalgic. I used to write letters to a friend back in high school. I still have them stuffed in a drawer somewhere. There was a certain level of excitement finding her letter in the mailbox.
Post a Comment