A few days back I received a letter from a friend, via post! [I know most of you can’t believe this… but ya.. its true..] I wouldn’t have believed it too… if only he didn’t tell that to me when we met online… {He spoilt the fun for me! :-(} So before going to dinner one day…(a couple of weeks back..).. I checked out the Hostel Assistants room for any post…. and “it” was right on top of the pile!! [Now that I speak of a pile don’t imagine that a lot of people here get personal letters… most of them were business correspondence, magazines or likewise…] Neways.. it was a great feeling to even look at it!! A white envelope… and my name on it.. in his most familiar writing on it…[no.. i don’t get letters from him often.. we have been classmates for quite some time.. so…] … the stamp [A leapard cat!]… and the two postmarks.. [of Pilani & Zuarinagar!! :-P]… Holding the letter in my hand.. it felt wonderful!! [I wanted to read it right then…. but went along for dinner…]

After dinner… and a little time in the Children’s Park… [relaxing.. wid 9,UC,Voodoo n Ringo]… I opened it! It was absolutely thrilling… to see a couple of pages written in ink [he still uses ink pens!! ;-)]… With full enthu.. i read the letter.. and obviously once wasn’t enough to satiate my hunger.. i went through it over and over and over… [i wanted to scribble down a reply ASAP… but we had waves and quark coming up.. so i waited for them to get over (I could’ve written another one right??)…to get more matter into my letter..]

Why is such a simple joy of getting a letter from a friend [there is email.. but… for me its nowhere close to snail mail…] become so rare these days?? [Something that was such a regular feature of the recent past.. is almost extinct now!!] Telephone and the Internet…. they are the culprits… (are they??…..) In today’s global village… is post a bit too slow for comfort? Will survival of the fittest ensure the extiction of this wonderful species in the world of communication…??

Is a letter just a matter of communication…?… Isn’t there anything more to it… [Obviously there is… otherwise I wouldn’t be writing a blog-post on it…I would never think of writing a post on an e-mail I get!! (unless it is superhuman.. or something..)!!] Aren’t we losing out on something wonderful??

To attract good fortune, spend a new coin on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend, and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon. – Chinese Proverb

The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life. – Andrew Brown