Letters to the Editor in ‘The Hindu’ – Handwritten letters
I’ve heard some aspiring writers try to catch editor’s attention by sending ‘Letters to the Editor.’ But, I never attempted writing a letter to the editor till I read about the handwritten letters recently in The Hindu. ‘Writing letters’ (handwritten) is a topic close to my heart and I was involved in writing letters for over a decade. I began writing letters when I was 11. Thanks to my mother, who encouraged me to write letters and have penpals. In 1970’s, she had hundreds of penpals. Though I could never break her record, I had around 75 penpals. I used to take hours and sometimes, weeks to complete a letter. Writing letters of 4-5 pages were common and the longest must have been 12 or 14 pages long (long sheets of paper). Topics discussed varied from trends, my life at home and college and rarely, on attempting to teach a friend, ‘Malayalam.’ I no longer writer handwritten letters, but occasionally I read the old letters, of my penfriends. I still maintain contact with 15 or so