Letter writing

A recent incident tugged at my heart. We received a post card from our daughter who is studying in kindergarten. Her teacher made the kids write a postcard on the occasion of valentine day to their parents expressing their love. The teacher also made them post those cards. It was a lovely surprise to receive the card.

It made me go back and dig out my old correspondence from the attic. There are scores of letters and greeting cards which I saved over the years. I also found an old address book which contained (now outdated) contact details of various people ranging from my school teachers to celebrities.

I spent innumerable Sundays writing pages and pages of letters. Somehow I could never fit in my letters on a postcard or in the blue inland envelope. The replies that I got back are equally lengthy. Nothing significant was discussed in the letters expect mundane life happenings which we simply wanted to share.

There are greeting cards for all occasions. For my birthday – every year and during the New Year. (now e-cards are a click away). What I treasure most are the cards that I received on special occasions – the one sent by my school teacher after I won one of the prestigious competitions, inspirational cards by some when I was going through tough phases,  the one that my Dad gave when I joined my first job, the one sent by my sister expressing the importance of our relationship, some cards given by my husband on various occasions. Then there are cards that friends sent for no specific reason other than the fact that they remembered me.

I felt a surge of emotions as I went through each one. All those memories came back as I fondly remembered the people who touched my life over the years.

I really am sorry that letter writing is no longer there and I felt bad that my daughter would miss out on all the fun.

So what did I do? I spent the Sunday making a greeting card along with my daughter. We used up all her crayons and gum, but we managed to put together a ‘thank-you’ card for her teacher.

Friendship !

It has been quite some time since I posted something. I have been catching up with old friends after a long time. Thanks to technology I am able to catch up both online and offline. 

Most common question: 'Have you been in touch with others?'

Most dreaded question: 'How's your work?'

We have changed as individuals but we share common memories. It was an amazing experience to relive those moments. We used to write letters to each other. It was good fun going through some of those. With the advent of email there isn’t any more emotional attachment to the communication. Either you archive them or you delete emails. In any case the content is mostly so short that no one sees any value add in saving a mail except for the address.

Technology is helpful in bridging gaps, but it also creates new ones. I have been able to locate my school friends through various networking sites. But mass communication has made keeping in touch very impersonal. Many of the mails that I get are forwards. Even if someone has to write a personal note it is a short email. 

The re-unions make you realize how much time has passed and you regret not having spent more time with your friends when you could.