Found an old book rummaging through my collection. From my school days.
Titled :Model school essays, letters and paragraphs.
I am copying a letter called First letter to a pen friend from it.
——
282 Bunglow,
Sector- 16A,
Chandigarh
Dear Monita,
I saw your name and address in the Hindustan Times dated …. under the heading of ‘Wanted Pen Friend’. Enclosed please find my photograph and details like education, hobbies, extra curricular activities, political ideology etc. as desired by you.
Please send me your photograph along with other necessary details at the earliest. I hope, we will prove good friends.
With best wishes,
Yours Truly,
Sunny
——
The first thing which strikes me is the so formal tone of this letter. Maybe I have grown used to the casual copy like the ‘flickr is having a massage’. While in the first paragraph he is slightly hopeful but still very polite. In the second paragraph he suddenly becomes much more confidant ‘demandin’ she sends in the picture. Obviously she will only do so if she likes Sunny’s details.
Fun to realize that this is what the “Fraindship request’ used to look like in those days. This book was published in 1992.
What do you remember from those days?
We used to write letters (15 paisa post card) to our mausi that time and so would they.
The letter will hardly have anything new in it. The content was as if frozen by post office people, we jus had to ink it in our handwriting.
How are you? Hope you are doing good. Nikki, Nisha aur Nitin miss you. etc. etc.
I still have a post card which my dad had given me, when i was leaving for IIT in the hope tht I would write letters like all other kids used to Pre-2000.
I have some kinda emotional attachment with tht without text post card. mus be a rare clear postcard
Don’t we sound like oldies, talking about ‘those times’.
I remember when I used to read the letters, there seemed to be that person speaking in our head. Complete with voice modulations :).
So did you write letters ?