This October, we celebrate a beautiful, personal and heartwarming art form – the handwritten letter. The tradition of writing letters by hand is, unfortunately, getting increasingly sidelined in an era where emails, SMS and social media are dominating our communication. The warmth that a handwritten letter brings is indeed special and it is this warmth that we have attempted to capture in this issue. We present a delightful selection of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that celebrate the handwritten letter in multiple ways. We earnestly hope that this edition inspires you to take up a pen and paper and write to a loved one and in the process, rediscover the joys that only a handwritten letter can bring.
Set in the pre-independent era, two men, one a fiesty Bengali and the other a rebellious Tamizh, share the moments from their life and times, through words, hued with utmost respect, patriotic vigour and a tinge of poetry. Bhargavi Chandrasekharan presents a series of moving handwritten letters, as seen from the vantage point of one of the pen pals.
Snippets from letters that a mother writes to her daughter over a period of time reveal what the mother infers from her daughter’s letters and what she, in turn, tells her little one. Shobhana Kumar writes a poem that captures the conversation between a mother and a daughter, from the mother’s perspective.
A boy from the future remembers the day he had first realised that letters could actually be written by a human hand. And as he learns the art, the past becomes the new future. Archita Suryanarayanan tells the story.
Children often gift their parents precious moments in their small handwritten notes on cards, which they offer for no reason other than love. What if parents are too busy to read these little notes? What happens when the children grow up and leave their homes, leaving behind these paper memories? Debleena Roy writes a poem.
There were times when handwritten letters pretty much helped Anupama Krishnakumar sail through tough times when she stayed away from home. Unfortunately though, letters soon made way for emails and SMSes. While admitting that she has been caught in the digital frenzy for years now, she is determined to bring letters back into her life. She shares her thoughts in this piece.
A mother who lives away from her husband and son receives a handwritten letter. It is a sweet surprise for her, for receiving a handwritten letter in this electronic age is quite incredible. Vijaya, in her poem, captures the feelings of the mother as the surprise unravels.
Handwritten letters have played a big role in Hindi films. Parth Pandya writes a humourous piece on the use of the letter as a plot device in Bollywood. Read on.
Krishna Kumar stayed in a hostel and once wrote a letter to his family. He posted it after writing ‘Free for the Blind’ atop the envelope. He shares the process of writing that letter and the reply that he received, in this poem.