Why are handwritten letters special?
World Postal Day is celebrated on October 9 each year (“You should start writing letters”, Gulf News, July 13). This is yet another day which we need to remind us of days when postal letters, telegrams etc. meant everything and were the only means of communication. A letter from a loved one brought joy and happiness. Those days Telegrams were opened with a lot of anxiety. They were the fastest means of communications once upon a time.
With time and technology, new means of communication have come into effect like emails, Short Message Service(SMS), and now WhatsApp and Facebook have overcome with live updates. Now, people do not write letters as often as they used to in the past. The volume of personal letters sent and received has drastically reduced and is limited to official ones like bank and utility bills communications, invitations or periodicals.
The young generation ends up learning the art of letter writing only as a chapter in their grammar books. It may end up as another school activity to score marks in their exams. They may not ever write and post even a single letter in all their life. They would definitely resort to using emails and WhatsApp to communicate. We cannot blame them as these would be faster means of communication.
Perhaps because I belong to an older generation, I still prefer holding and reading a letter. I, therefore, make it a point to physically write and post at least one letter per year and send out cards during the festive season. I love to receive letters but unfortunately now hardly any. A letter from a loved one is comparable to a lovely book. We can definitely feel the emotions in a handwritten letter. During the 1990s, I used to receive letters from my mother, and it was so emotional to read it. When I proposed to my wife, I use to receive a lot of letters from her, and indeed it was the golden era. The feeling to receive a letter is nostalgic. Let us post at least one letter in a year, to recreate our memories so that the new generation may get the awareness. Anticipation is the best joy in life and to experience it, and we should resume sending and receiving letters to experience this joy.
From Mr Eappen Elias
Dubai
IPL 2020 in Dubai : Chennai Super Kings defeated KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets
Chennai Super Kings(CSK) have finally bounced back with a roar (“IPL 2020 in UAE: Chennai Super Kings beat Kings XI Punjab by 10 wickets — as it happened”, Gulf News, October 04). Congratulations to Shane Watson to notch up an unbeaten 83 runs to script a ten-wicket victory along with in form Fa du Plessis. We sincerely hope that they keep up this intensity, in the coming matches, to stake a place in the playoff. We still feel there are many chinks which need mending. Anyway thanks to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's team for giving CSK fans to whistle and cheer them. Incidentally, I feel pity for the King XI Punjab team, especially young captain KL Rahul, who for the second time in succession erred in defending a winning total. We feel they lack trained bowlers to restrict the opponents. Except for Mohammed Shami, no one was impressive till now.
From Mr N Mahadevan
Chennai, India
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