When did you last write a letter?

Nayomini Ratnayake Weerasooriya asks....:

If I were asked that question, I would have to think long and hard to actually remember. It seems most of us no longer actually write letters and post them in ‘ snail mail’. E mail has been our chosen way of correspondence for the last (how many?) years, that we have lost count. Of course, texting on your mobile phone, an art that the young have mastered so brilliantly that if an exam was held for texting speed, every youngster would come out on top, takes the cake when it comes to communicating.

I personally prefer e mailing but texting would have to do when e mail is not possible. By choice, I write every word on every text in proper English. Personally, I believe that English was meant and is meant to be written the way it ought to be. Which means illegible abbreviations are not acceptable although the majority seem content to write and receive such.

Perfect writing

It might seem strange now but not so long ago, we actually used to write letters. We still do, when we have to but not as often as we used to. Writing a letter was a warm and fuzzy endeavor when it came to romance. You had to choose the stationary, use one of those scented, beautifully designed paper to write. The pen being used was also important, to ensure perfect writing.

Writing letters was an art. In the good old days, people wrote letters to ask after one another, share stories, break news and just about everything else. Some letters were masterpieces, as history records. There are letters sent by well-known world personalities to their spouses and families that have been left behind as testimonies to the kind of rulers they were. Letters exchanged between monarchs such as the Russia’s last Tsar, Tsar Nicholas II and his wife Tsarina Alexandra, have survived and have given the world a glimpse into the life they shared, their inner thoughts and who they really were behind the facade of absolute ruler-ship. With all the e mails going around today, replacing the letters, one hopes there will be something in print for the future generations to gauge us by, in the absence of actual letters. Of course, it is comforting to know that most of the world’s serious business is still conducted in black and white.

Pen-pals

Even today, schools teach the art of writing letters - the importance of the right greeting, the right introduction, content and the conclusion. The style of writing business letters is still one to be mastered. The rightly written business letter cannot only enable you to get the business but also develop a lasting relationship.

It used to be such a pleasure to hear the sound of the postman ringing his bell, announcing the arrival of a letter. It was all the more meaningful if the letter was one expected, anticipated and awaited with glee, from abroad. When we were children, we used to have pen-pals around the world. I remember my own pen pal who was a young British girl, same age as I. She was Allison and she and I used to write to each other prolifically.

Today, with instant access to millions of people throughout the world on internet’s social media such as Facebook and Twitter, today’s children sadly do not have pen pals whose letters they can cherish. My thirteen-year-old son has on-line friends from all over the world. They chat, play games and exchange information all on- line, in real time. Technology has changed the world beyond what we could have ever dreamed of but in the process, some enchanting hobbies and habits have been lost forever.

Good manners

Writing a letter in response to one or otherwise, was in itself a joy. The process of sitting down to write a letter, sorting out the thoughts, choosing the news to share, sometimes carefully casing bad news in a tactful manner, these were the real aspects that made writing a letter a delightful exercise. There used to be bureaus in the olden days, set apart for the art of writing letters. It was good manners to write letters in thanking and querying after one’s health. If there was no letter forthcoming for a while, it may amount to strained relations or simply bad manners. Writing properly constructed letters on beautiful stationary was considered a part of gracious living at one time.

We write concise, precise e mails today. There is not much time or space for proper greetings. E mail etiquette demands simplification and ease of reading. We don’t have to wait for the postman’s tinkle, watch out for his silhouette down the road to appear. The e mail receives a response from the receiver and is displayed on our computer screen. If the friend is on Facebook or Google, we can chat. In real time. Everything happens so fast that there is no time or the need to sit and think of proper address and good-byes.

Greeting cards

With e cards available in such a wonderful array of glittering, animated singing, no one sends greeting cards anymore either. E cards are easy to send, free and you are sent a notice when the receiver actually picks it up. Sounds great but where is the pleasure of receiving a card sent by a loved one who was thoughtful and caring enough to go to the card shop and actually pick a card he/she knew you liked?

Somewhere between technology driven communication and ‘snail mail’ still existing along side, I believe we have to teach our kids the importance of writing letters and sending cards. Along with those ‘old fashioned’ stuff, comes the wonderful sense of caring and staying in touch with loved ones.

They and we can re-discover the almost lost art of writing letters full of things that makes you want to read it again and again (like the stashes of love letters your spouse sent you before you got married, now hidden somewhere only to be relished when you want to feel the aura of that first love...). What a pleasure it is and we can only hope that the young will learn to express their thoughts and emotions in letters, an art of taste that texting or e mail cannot and will not replace.