As quoted by the famous American author Agnes Repplier “Letter writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.” She understood and captured the worth of penning down one’s caring thoughts and wishes, which when delivered to a friend or the one we care gives them immense delight.
Remember the days when one would be always waiting to receive that one letter from a dear friend or a family member to know about their wellbeing, health and the things they wished to share with you?
Letters are wonderful. With the advent of smart phones, letters have disappeared, threatening the existence of pen and paper. With each passing decade, communication gets cheaper, easier and instant, and continues all through the day. The crisp sound of folding and unfolding papers, the smell of ink, the finesse of a cursive handwriting has a part of the dated ways. A simple act of receiving a letter showed that other people cared, even if it weren’t written in ink.
As fast and easy communication rules over the art of penmanship, this once-upon-a- time art has not lost its charm, yet, there has been a dramatic decline in handwritten letters. Oman Post confirms a 70 percent drop of handwritten personal letters.
“It was time when well written letters with a nice calligraphy and personal notes ruled and touched millions of heart worldwide, but now they are instant and crisp, not only cheap but time saving. Calligraphy and handwritten addresses are now associated only with wedding cards,” said Asma, a student at Sultan Qaboos University.
As post offices are breathing examples of this fading art form, the CEO of Oman Post, Abdul Malik al Balushi rightly pointed out, “People lack time and the inclination to sit at one place without a gadget and pen down a message. Most messages are now through phones, tablets and laptops, paper and pens are outdated. It is only parcels, B2B and B2C letters are exchange at the moment. Creative art of letter writing is hardly active. Communication now saves time and has become instant.”
Handwriting exposes the soul in a way where digital communication fails to perform. As technology closes all old doors toward “snail” mail, Oman Post is giving into the idea of celebrating the art of letter writing.
“We are yet to decide on the date, but we are thinking to celebrate a day dedicated to the art of letter writing in 2018. Letter writing Day, needs to be celebrated to keep the art of letter writing buzzing. Though the concept is new and lot of framework required, but we are sure that a day devoted to pen and paper will make us all recreate the lost epoch,” Abdul said.
It will as always be exciting and a nostalgic to pen down words in your own handwriting, making the heart, soul and mind content. So, are you and the people here ready to get the pens ready to reminisce the golden age and relive the art of hand written letters?
Swati Basu Das
axisswati@gmail.com
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