Page 49 - Seniors Today - Vol1 Issue 3
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letter – there is depth, detail, intimacy. These the eyes of a few friends and it is this revealing-
‘little signatures of time’ are what distinguish all character that makes them so attractive.
them from emails and other forms of digital There is no thought of their publication, and
correspondence. thus the restraint of the feeling that a thousand
And this is why emailing and texting do not feel eyes are peering over the writer’s shoulder and
as special. In the age of rapid-fire, efficiency- scrutinising every word, is absent. They create
obsessed, typed-with-one-finger-on-a-keyboard an intimacy that can only be forged one-on-
and one-eye–on-the-clock, things happen one, written in one person’s distinctive style to
on a screen -- emails fly in and pile up, texts another.
come and go, information crisscrosses and Thinking about the lost art of letter-writing,
on its way often gets lost or deleted. The bulk I am reminded of a heart-rending story. In the
of correspondence is forgotten, which just famous Hindi short story ‘Kaki’ a little boy
goes to show how all of these technological Shyamu, too young to understand what death
“advancements” have weakened communication means, has been told that his beloved Kaki
as much as they’ve strengthened them. “Ram ke ghar gayi hai”, which is higher than the
There’s something profound about being able to clouds. He misses her terribly and wonders why
reread a letter, to hear the voice of friends and she does not return. Watching kites flying on
loved ones in the words they wrote, and imagine the occasion of Makar Sankranti, he decides to
how they’d say the phrases. When we save use these joyously coloured kites to send a letter
and treasure letters, we preserve a part of that to Kaki imploring her to return. He attaches
person, and feel the love they felt for us. Can you strong ropes that would not break and on which
see yourself rereading a letter someone wrote Kaki can easily slide down. All this information
to you after that person has gone and as you is contained in his letter, pasted on the kite. The
gently move your fingers over the handwriting, envelope is simply addressed as ‘Kaki.”
you almost feel the touch that loved one? A A letter is a place where we all become
handwritten letter is a creative act, a deliberate storytellers, where moments are transformed
form of exposure, an expression of vulnerability, into memories of love and friendship, family
because handwriting opens a window to the and care, so that that future generations
soul in a way that cyber communication can will know what we valued and believed and
never do. What Kazuo Ishiguro says about achieved.
stories, applies equally to letters because they Long after after we are gone, no one will care
too contain, “small scruffy moments and quiet about the million texts we may have sent.
private sparks of revelation.” But a letter will last, will be passed down to
There is no other form that is so close to our generations. Letters are timeless and a legacy.
private lives as letters are, for they are only for Thus, we are able to create eternity with words.
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