Letters and Nostalgia

I have been a voracious letter ever since I have been a kid. 

Some of my fond and earliest memories of letter writing as a kid were writing letters in Urdu to our grandfather. Aboo taught us to fold the letter in half. On one side would be our letter to Dada Jee and the other side would be blank. So we would post our letters to Dada Jee through the Embassy Pouch. And, Dada Jee would send us back our corrected letter on the other side. 

The sweetest thing about writing those letters in Urdu were starting with "Pyare Dada Jee." 

I am afraid my Urdu writing never progressed further than 3rd or 4th grade and we never really wrote many more letters in Urdu which is too bad. 

So, most of my letter writing has been in English. I used to write dedicated letters to all my girl cousins and, God knows what I used to put in them because there were so many cousins I'd write to. I guess I would just talk about school, classes, homework and other nerdy things. 

I also had friends that I had made in each city and country I have lived in and so they also needed to be written to. I have managed to stay in touch with many of my childhood friends and we have been good friends through all these years. There are a couple of friends that shared my love of writing so much that we primarily contacted each other through letters. I feel I have a deep bond with them as we have shared with each other our concerns, desires and special moments through words as we have grown up and moved on in our lives. 

Finally, when we left home for university, I started writing letters to our parents and little sister. Those were sweet times as well. 

Since I started working, though, I have been in places where sending and receiving post has been tricky but I still managed to do it via the UN pouch. 

Now that I have started working for myself, I haven't bothered to find out whether Liberia's post actually works. I have heard it does indeed work but I have been too lazy to make an inquiry myself. I should given how much I love sending letters. 

What I have been doing in the meantime is to send letters via anyone leaving Liberia and asking them to put it in a post box next time they see one. And I have sent postcards to friends and family from where ever I have gone to visit. 

I know post cards and cards still do get sent. I am sure people still write letters. But e-mails have replaced letter writing for most people. Not only do e-mails reach the receipient almost instantaneously, but are much faster to write than taking quill to paper. And because one can send an e-mail countless times in a day, they can be as short as possible.  Where before, one would sit and write about what happened in the previous month, one can talk about what happened the day before. I think letters were a much more measured way of writing to one's friends and loved ones but e-mails can be equally eloquent and romantic. 

I still love writing a letter when I get the chance and posting it. It gives me almost a childish sense of glee because it connects me back to my childhood and how I was taught to communicate with my loved ones. 

I feel quite nostalgic for bygone days this evening. It has actually been prompted by a number of incidents. First of all, Haresh is in India to be with his mother who has undergone a critical by pass and valve replacement surgery. My own mother is going to have a similar operation next month. 

And, finally, Wesley's brother has finally returned home to Cape Town, South Africa after several years. It must have been a bittersweet family reunion. He has come home after the passing away of his dear father (Wesley) and elder brother (Wesley). I heard it was a wonderful reunion but full of tears. 

Being alone in Liberia for the first time in so many years, I definitely feel nostalgic and a bit lonesome. I have been thinking about distances, from loved ones, from one's country and the passing of time. We can't stop time, hold on to something forever and not experience change. But we can hold on to memories. 

So I decided to dig out my old shoe box and take out some letters and envelopes to comfort me and linger over happy memories.