There was a time when communication moved at the pace of the heart. Letters were written slowly, read carefully and preserved lovingly. They were not hurried exchanges, but quiet conversations that carried emotion, patience and presence.
My memories return often to my college hostel days, when distance from home was first truly felt. In those quiet evenings, I would sit at a small desk and write Letters to my parents. I wrote about my studies, the hostel routine, the weather everything except how much I missed them. Like most children away from home, I softened my words, hiding homesickness between emotional lines.
Writing and receiving letters was a joy no wealth could buy. The happiness of seeing familiar handwriting, unfolding carefully chosen words and feeling loved across distances was priceless in every sense.
The joy lay not just in writing but in waiting. Days passed with anticipation until the postman arrived. When a reply came, my parents handwriting felt like home itself warm reassuring, and full of silent prayers. Those Letters were read again and again carefully folded, safely kept, as if preserving a piece of love.
Letters connected everyone then, friends shared laughter and dreams, teachers sent words of guidance, and neighbours exchanged simple wishes that strengthened community bonds. Every letter had a personality. The handwriting revealed emotion, the ink smudges spoke of urgency and the pauses between lines carried unspoken feelings.
Today, communication is instant, yet strangely empty. Messages arrive and vanish within seconds. There is no anticipation, no lingering warmth, no memory to hold on to. Technology has given us speed, but it has quietly taken away sincerity.
The art of letter writing may have faded, but its memories remain deeply rooted. Somewhere in old trunks and yellowed pages lie reminders of a gentler time, when words travelled slowly, but love travelled far. Not all memories are saved in devices, some are folded carefully inside envelopes of the heart.
In this age of the internet and instant communication, perhaps we are missing something deeply human, the patience of waiting, the sincerity of thoughtful words, and the quiet joy of feeling emotionally close to someone far away. We have made communication faster, but somewhere along the way , we may have lost the warmth that once travelled gently inside an envelope.
Mamatha’s choosing of articles are awesome. The forgotten joy of letter writing is deeply touching. The nostalgia woven through her memories of hostel days, waiting for replies, and opening envelopes with excitement reminds readers of a gentler time that technology can never replace.
A heartfelt appreciation to the author for choosing such soulful and meaningful topics that reconnect readers with emotions often lost in modern life.
Mamatha has once again brought out a classic piece of writing, so emotional that It brought back all my childhood memories at one go.
Well letter writing when we were in school was a must do every week. Sundays was reserved for letter writing. My dear parents made it compulsory for me to pen one letter every week to all my cousins numbering about 5 and to my grand parents. Through letter writing we all learnt about other places where my cousins stayed and we also exchanged ideas and notes. As mamatha rightly pointed out receiving a letter from our dear ones was something unexplainable. Through letters we debated, we discussed and above all our language improved tremendously. Today I can frankly say my language fluency is mainly because we wrote letters and exchanged ideas.
Letter writing in it’s true sense may have vanished but it continues Through electronic media posts. But all in all that excitement of waiting and opening and reading a letter is something very different and it cannot be compensated in any way by the present email.
Thanks to mamatha for penning this lovely emotional article.
So nicely written it brought back old memories 🙏
Beautifully written. Letters carried more than words — they carried time, patience, longing, and presence. A handwritten letter was not just communication; it was emotion preserved in paper.
Today we speak instantly, yet so much feels temporary and forgettable. The old world moved slowly, but relationships often felt deeper because people gave each other the gift of attention and waiting.
Perhaps technology made communication faster, but somewhere along the way, we lost the quiet warmth that once travelled gently inside an envelope.
Nice topic; it’s “loss” captured very nicely by the author. Handwriting definitely added/adds an extra dimension to the contents. Now, in addition to the business-like and official feel of a text the use of ONLY emojis by some makes the abbreviated version in texting even more impersonal
A very good article by Ms Mamatha – I follow her writing every week for many years.
In my career, all the correspondence, accounts etc was always written by hand. I have not used the type writer in those days as my thoughts were much clearer when I wrote.
In those days applications for jobs handwritten. While writing application for job in BBTC – it was also written by hand. They say that one’s handwriting disclosed a lot about the person!
After reading the article in CLN I was remembering the days when I was always writing in Post card; then came Inland letters, envelopes. All the writing to kith and kin was handwritten. lf I continue writing it will be very long – so I will stop ✋😊
Very good article by Mrs. Mamatha Subbaiah. I would extend the concept of writing by hand to writing in general. Even to this day I write only by hand as the words seem to “flow” when my pen touches paper 📝.
It has been scientifically proven that handwriting remains a fundamental human skill, and its profound impact on cognitive processes continues to be a topic of intense scientific scrutiny. I can endorse this view fully.
Delightful article by Ms Mamatha Subbaiah. Brought back fond memories.
Beautifully nostalgic piece.
On the north side of York city
Where I slogged for a career
I read and penned
Little notes to my friend
Long letters to my family
With an envelope and stamp
I trotted to the post box
And waited for an envelope
That would take me to
The banks of my home
Where I played and sported
Amazing Mamata, this lovely picture tickled my old memories.
This wonderful article brought back vintage memories of a redundant concept – “pen pals”. We had local friends and on occasion foreign pals and we exchanged views on culture, food, places we visited, nature, hobbies, books – just about everything. Very rarely did anyone actually get to meet each other in person – that would’ve made a great story in itself. I’m tempted to conclude – not necessarily with any form of logic that the pen is mightier than the sword!
In school, sometime around 1997, while reading India Today, I happened to come across a book review by C.B. Muthamma. The review was for A Study of the Origins of Coorgs by Lt. Col. K.C. Ponnappa.
I went looking for the book at Crossword and other bookstores, but it was nowhere to be found. I was in Gujarat. The next question was: how does one even contact the Colonel living in Coorg, whose phone number and mailing address I did not know? I decided to write a letter addressed simply to:
Lt. Col. K.C. Ponnappa
C/o The Head Postmaster
Madikeri – 571201
…and then I crossed my fingers.
About a month later, I received a reply from the Colonel himself, and the book. From then on, the Colonel and I became pen friends. I kept troubling him with endless questions about Coorg, its history, and all sorts of youthful curiosities about Coorg, and he patiently kept replying.
The joy of receiving letters written in someone’s own handwriting is truly something else. A deeply lovely and personal feeling.
Letter writing is a deeply personal, tangible form of communication that fosters profound emotional connection. Mamatha Subbaiah’s article conveys all of the above and the picture from CLN captures the aura extremely well.
What a beautiful picture! Lines are so emotional and nostalgic! Brings back the memories!