What are you waiting for? Pick up a pen and write. , Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
IIn this digital age, soft copy has outnumbered all hard copies starting from birth certificates, land records, books, e-papers, e-certificates and even currencies. The art of writing is disappearing. Still, I remember my grandmother showing me the letter her father wrote to her in the 1960s. The letter was torn in half and its entire contents were written with fountain pen. Every time she reads the letter, she fondly remembers her memories with her father. At the end of the letter, I could see a teardrop at the corner of his eye. Such is the power of a hand-crafted letter. Being a child of the twenty-first century, I had little or no exposure to letter writing.
After reading several articles in the newspaper as well as on the Internet, I suddenly had the spark to write to someone. I went to the post office and bought a dozen inland letters and postcards. I wrote letters to my father, mother, grandparents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts on various occasions like their birthdays and other events. The response I got from him was phenomenal. I could empathize with their feelings and the emotions that the letter burned through in their voices. At that moment, the satisfaction I felt was uncanny.
In our era, digital media is ruling us. Greetings and other messages received through these disappear when there is a technical glitch. A status on WhatsApp or a story on Instagram is gone within 24 hours. But these handcrafted letters, if well preserved, when seen through the ages, will rekindle many emotions in us and bring back the glorious past before our eyes. Revisiting our school and college books is one such. What are you waiting for? Pick up your pen Express your feelings through the letter. Post this to your loved ones and watch out for the amazing response.
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