I have always enjoyed both writing and getting letters. During a recent review of my personal documents, I noticed how often I corresponded with friends and acquaintances. The letters I discovered reflected the way my family and I bonded whenever we found ourselves in separate locations.
Letters embody a concurrent nature of being delicate, sincere and personal. I remember that seeing the familiar script of my family and friends always made me feel more at home, a cure that ensured I would never feel isolated.
I recall the queue where I stood at the post office in central Ruwi, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, years ago, to send a registered letter containing the bank demand draft to my family in India. It was a reminder of the times we expressed our feelings through ink on paper; when an envelope held numerous unspoken words, long waits and myriad emotions.
When a letter, be it from a relative or an official document, was more than mere paper but a representation of trust – that it would surely arrive, in the correct hands, at the correct time. Remembering postal letters evokes memories of the smell of ink and adhesive, the sounds of pens scratching, the sharp thud of a rubber stamp and blurred figures queuing.
But now, the time has passed when letters were appreciated for their emotional importance and the care involved in writing them.
Currently, with various electronic communication methods, such as emails, cell phones and social media, letters have clearly become a scarce item. You won't have to wait hours to connect a trunk call anymore, nor will you endure waits for messages from a family member or friend about their arrival or departure from work far from home.
Certainly, it's undeniable that emails offer incredible convenience — they arrive in just seconds, eliminating the need to pay for postage or the time spent making phone calls and engaging in polite conversation.
The mail market in the 21st century, nonetheless, is experiencing a tremendous degree of transformation. The reality is that the mail market is experiencing a structural decline due to the increasing amount of business conducted via email and the Internet.
Yet, even with the risk of desiring inefficiency, there is a lack of something. A crucial emotion tied to communication has vanished.
People recall the joy of receiving them, the postman as a trustworthy carrier, and the lasting importance of handwritten letters as a personal and official connection — a sharp difference from the fast but often impersonal character of digital communication.
On World Postal Day on October 9, we reflect on the past, the enchanting charm of letters, the postman and a collection of tales anticipated with eager excitement. It recognises the role of postal services in linking people, companies and governments while enabling the transfer of letters, packages and documents.
“Postal employees create a network that provides more than just mail. It provides vital services, chances and confidence, accessing distant regions, linking towns and cities, narrowing the rural-urban gap and establishing a world that is accessible to all,” reads a message from the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Future generations might consider the hassle instead of the feelings found in letters from the past, when their forebears needed to purchase an envelope, write on paper, visit the post office, place stamps and send it. Once more, it would require several days to get into the other individual’s possession.
However, I consider myself lucky to have been born in a time when we avoided the invasion of technology. The red mailboxes that are imprinted in my mind fail to attract a second look from today's youth.
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