The Letter Writing Project

I recommenced my letter writing project by buying a bunch of envelopes at the Vengal Rao Nagar PO which has long been my favorite PO (for over four decades I should think) because it has this rustic ambience to it. Its tucked away from the main roads in a quiet gully, trees around it - peaceful. Many a letter have I bought and posted from this very place and now after a gap of almost two decades I am actively thinking of writing letters again. (I would write letters to everyone - in India, away, friends, family, relatives, siblings of friends...)

I realised that an inland letter costs Rs 2.50 and an envelope Rs. 5. 

I began by writing to Shashi maushi in Pune. I had written to her in the past but the letter never reached her! This was a year ago. I wrote again and posted it hoping it will be delivered this time but sadly after a month it has still not found its way home. I tested it out by writing letters to Anjali and Shobhs - and they were delivered the next day.

So - local letters are likely to be delivered while outstation one's are not. 

I wrote a letter to a couple more friends - one to Choudary at Shamshabad - on his birthday, which never got delivered. By now I got smart and started taking pictures of the written letter so I could Whatsapp that if it didn't get delivered. Two letters to Suhana and Samaira, Jui's daughters, got delivered after three weeks! Real snail mail. Another trick I am up to now, though its expensive,is to send outstation letters by Speed Post! I have sent out the first lot yesterday so awaiting results.

I found letter writing a strange experience after all these years. I felt very self-conscious and had to peel away a couple of layers to get to write down comfortably. I wondered why and then slowly realised that letter writing is a very personal thing. We share what we are with that person - from our handwriting to what we write and how we write - we give away so much of ourselves. And its a shade that that person knows! With the advent of mail and Whatsapp and other forms of communication the authenticity, vulnerability, genuineness have disappeared and we have become more transactional, we hide behind technology and typed letters and emojis and short expressions and lose ourselves. So it took me a couple of letters to find myself!

On the flip side I found an old bag full of letters received and its such a treasure. It has inland letters, post cards, envelopes, greeting cards, picture post cards, telegrams, aerogrammes and what not.Every single one screaming of genuine intent, warmth and affection. I also suddenly realised that so many of them who appeared casual otherwise were serious letter writers - or card givers. Greetings cards were a good proof of love - you searched high and low for an appropriate card well in advance of the birthday (if the person was away), wrote the most appropriate messages which was an art, posted them so they were received in time.

Letter, cards - proofs of love. More power to them.