The lost art of “letter-writing”

Letter writing was the only form of communication for long distances once upon a time. I still remember as a child the fantasy of writing letters to relatives who lived even 10 miles away. Saving up coins through the year to buy envelopes, writing pads, and stamps were all a completely thrilling experience. Looking through the oxford dictionary to find the exact expression, referring to Wren& Martin to be doubly sure of the contents was a self learning process.

A well handwritten letter is a visual treat and the emotions in simple writing have immense value. I ask myself is this art is fading away and was it meant only for the older generation. One of the ancient art forms has lost its recognition or should I say the older generation lost to the war to cyber.

The email letters all have binary codes which carry more of emoticons rather than emotions. There is so much of oneself and oneness in a letter writing that the cyber letter can never do. All credit goes to technology for the speedy expressions but they are carried out without any soul in it. The eagerness of self learning has reduced, thanks to auto correction of spellings and grammatical errors in emails; today’s generation love for literature (ones mother tongue) is far behind. They have no understanding about the privacy lost in emails; you can never be sure it is only for you. It is claimed that in today’s world no one has the time to sit down with a pen and a paper to hand write a letter. The connection is more via email or phone which is easier but I would still say letter writing is a wonderful way to reflect and connect.

Effective letter writing has always strengthened distant relationships; a piece of paper that has changed several lives, the emotions poured into few words is a real treasure for ages. The pleasure of opening the envelopes and reading letters over and over again and feel the love of the person who has written it only for YOU is true joy.

Are you now thinking when you last wrote a hand written letter to someone you loved…let us make attempts to revive the lost art!