Chitthi aai hai: More Indians are turning towards letter-writing; here's why

At Lettering String, each note is wrapped vintage-style, turning words into keepsakes

Kabootar ja ja ja has evolved into pings and notifications. That happy feeling of receiving a warm letter is rare. But you can't deny that there's a personal touch that only letters can offer. Letters also allow you to be creative, and if needed, discreet. When my mother moved to Mumbai after getting married, her younger brother wrote her a letter in reverse. He held the page in front of a mirror as he wrote; she did the same when she received it and read it. This mirror writing and reading connected the two of them despite being in different cities.

Bollywood too has strung together many relationships (and songs) via letters. Whether it was a soldier receiving ‘sandese' from home in Border (1997) or Simran reading out a letter to her maa and bauji in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), only to find out a relative in India had found a match for her. Now that it's easy to call and see your loved one on a video call via a device, writing letters has found a new purpose.

The community Letters From a Better Place offers shared support for those experiencing loss and other difficult emotions

"I see it as a mindfulness practice," says Ashwin Tahiliani, founder at ATLASKeeda, a design studio. It's no news that writing on paper with a pen makes you feel more present and grounded. It's also why many therapists recommend journalling. "There's no ‘undo' or ‘backspace' button. I become more conscious of what I'm writing then," says Tahiliani, who practices postcrossing. Postcrossing is a hobby that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world.

Shivani Mehta, founder of Daakroom, a platform that is making a place for handwritten communication in the digital age, echoes what Tahiliani says. "I keep my phone away, and I'm not distracted by notifications either when I'm writing a letter," she says, and adds, "I don't write letters every day. But when I do, it's about sitting down and thinking about a single person. You write with more empathy for the person who will receive the letter."

Rina Panchal, Shrutee Choudhary, Shivani Mehta and Harnehmat Kaur

Tahiliani says that for him, writing on paper feels more natural as well. "The writing flows, and it carries a lot of emotion. It's my personality on paper," he says. That mindfulness that comes out of writing is exactly why Shrutee Choudhary founded the community, Letters From a Better Place. The online community and platform is a space for people to share letters of support for those experiencing loss, longing, and other difficult emotions. "You can write a letter for someone else, or for yourself to read later," she explains, "These are people who already write, it has just become about writing from a better place for them. For a couple of hours, when you write during the community meets, you strip yourself of any performance."

Choudhary, a poet and author herself, says that the ‘better place' is not a state of mind one has to put themselves into while writing these letters. "I see the ‘better place' as a space within ourselves that reminds us of our innate humanness. We all have it," she says. And says that she sees letter writing as part of the slow living movement. Mehta and her co-founder, Harnehmat Kaur, too, believe in the slowness of letter writing. The Daakroom has evolved into a platform that encourages letter writing to now host workshops in schools, and even writing carnivals full of experiences around writing and postage stationery.

Ashwin Tahiliani, founder of ATLASKeeda

Mehta says that even though school curricula include letter writing, it's taught on a surface level. "Formal letters have become redundant now; it's only informal letters that still hold meaning. But the way letter writing is taught in schools, children don't know the impact of receiving a handwritten letter," she says. It's why the Daakroom first held workshops in schools that taught kids the different types of letters, and even had a pen pal programme.

Tahiliani also hosts letter-writing workshops in Mumbai, saying that people have to be taught the art of communication. During his workshops, he gives participants a quiz, writing kits, prompts, and even ideas for whom they could write to. "We also have a list of NGOs people can send letters to," he adds. The workshops, he says, see people of all ages, right from Gen Alpha to those in their 70s. "For the older participants, it's all about nostalgia. Some even bring old letters to read out. During our last workshop, someone brought in a typewriter, so everyone got a chance to experience that as well," he says.

Choudhary hosts letter-writing workshops with her ‘better place' in mind. She says that she ended up creating the community after hosting her first one. "I initially designed the workshop to be quite basic: how to write the salutation, date, address, etc. And during the workshop, I realised I had to improvise because the audience included people who already write," she says. Her workshop then turned into how letter writing could be used as a reflective tool. "Letters are the oldest way to bare your heart. From the salutation itself, you meet someone more kindly on paper. When we communicate digitally, it's more curt and to the point," she says.

As Daakroom has transformed into a tangible business, Mehta says that over the years she has realised that people do want to write. She says, "Most people are aware of why it is good to write. But they don't do it because they don't have a reason to." That insight is why Daakroom eventually leaned towards hosting experiences that gave people a reason to write.

So, is letter writing now a meditative practice rather than a medium of communication? Tahiliani says that offline events and letter-writing workshops are valued because people don't do enough writing already. "Sadly, letter writing will become more of an event, rather than being a part of everyday life," he says. Choudhary adds, "Letter writers have become a community, and I see more of these popping up. Brands, too, are looking to host such experiences. But this return to analogue, which Gen Z is leaning towards, is inevitable."

Meditate the write way

Shrutee Choudhary has tips for practising letter-writing as a mindfulness activity.
>>  Pause and breathe; set an intention for the letter
>>  Write by hand to slow down
>>  Forget perfect words: Write like you're speaking to someone you trust
>>  End with gratitude, for them or simply for the act of writing itself

Keeping the romance alive

Vapi-based Rina Panchal has never received a handwritten letter. But she's helping hundreds experience that joy through Lettering String, her gifting service that turns emotions into artfully written notes. From love letters to apologies, Panchal has crafted over 800 customised messages. "People DM me their text; the emotion is theirs. I just write it down and make it beautiful," she says. Each note is wrapped vintage-style - brown strings, florals, stamps, and stickers - turning words into keepsakes. "It's the sender's raw emotion on paper," Panchal says. "Something they will want to re-read again and again."