World Letter Writing Day on September 1 recalls the tradition of handwritten letters

Digital technology has transformed life in today's fast-paced world. With a single click on WhatsApp, email, Instagram or text messages, a message reaches anywhere in the world within seconds. But in this digital rush, the lovely tradition of letter writing, once the mainstay of conversation, is slowly fading.

To recall this written conversation, preserve the warmth of letters and encourage people to pick up pen and paper again, World Letter Writing Day is celebrated enthusiastically around the world on September 1 every year.

The day was started in 2014 by Richard Simpkin, an Australian writer, photographer and artist. In the 1990s, for a book project, he sent handwritten letters to many well-known people. When he received handwritten replies from those eminent figures, the joy and closeness he felt were unforgettable. That experience led him to decide that a special day should be set aside to preserve the warmth of handwritten letters in the age of digital communication.

Typing and sending an email or message is easy today, but it carries far less emotion. A handwritten letter, by contrast, has a distinct personal touch. Every letter on the page, the smell of the ink and the writer's handiwork make the message special and precious. Letters are not merely a formal exchange of words; they are a bridge of feeling connecting two hearts and an unending store of memories. Old letters can be kept for years, and every time they are read, old memories come alive again.

On World Letter Writing Day, schools, colleges and educational institutions around the world hold special programmes. Today's digital generation is taught how to write a letter, how to write an address on an envelope and how the postal process works. Students are encouraged to write letters by hand to friends, parents or teachers. This enriches children's language, improves their sentence construction, builds their ability to express themselves and gives their creativity and imagination a big opportunity.

Writing a letter gives a person time to think. Instead of sending a hurried message, sitting down calmly and putting one's thoughts on paper is a therapeutic experience that eases mental stress. Sending a handwritten letter to a loved one, a friend or a close relative adds sweetness and trust to the relationship.

On the whole, use of technology is necessary, but the art of letter writing, which nurtures human feeling and closeness, must never be allowed to die. So on this World Letter Writing Day, step away from the screen for a while, write a handwritten letter to someone close, and feel the sweetness of this conversation once again.