A noble habit of senior citizens!

Anna and I used to get one hundred or more Christmas new year greeting cards. Over the last ten years or so, it has got reduced to a few! Most of the greetings of the season arrive as messages or mails or pick up cards form service providers. This year we received seven cards, three of  which were from senior citizens in the eight decade of their lives. Dr Frank and Val's envelope which I reproduce above was handwritten by Dr Frank. The two other cards were from Mr Peter  and  Katharine Makawer and Dr Janet Goodall, handwritten to remember and recollect years of friendships spread over thirty five years. 

I remember one of them mentioning that in writing with their own hand greetings of love  and  regards brings a sense of nearness and fellowship while writing and recollecting. 

While handwritten texts decline and face threat of extinction, these senior citizens brought  memories back of the habit of letter writing. Anna and I used to send out about five to seven letters a day till we left CMC in 2010. Now it is months since I wrote a handwritten letter. 

One of the habits of yesteryears was personal visits which also is on decline now. It was a handful of people who visited us during 2021. It is not because of COVID restrictions. The conversation own phone or messaging have replaced personal visits. I wonder whether the modern substitutes to visiting by messaging and conversing on phone would keep the nearness in friendship intact as it used to be. 

Friendships can be intimate or social. 

This comes up as an issue for consideration!

As I recall the recent friendships, I feel that the intimacy of friendships that used to be reinforced through visits and letter writing was refreshing. I am not sure if people seek out for friendships in the changing social milieu of today, that are mutual and upbuilding!

I write this to remember the senior citizens who stay faithful to the practice of writing letters! All of them are messengers of a quality of friendship that is fading in modern times,  where friendships have an acquired nature of utilitarian attitude!

A friendship is akin to living with neighbour consciousness!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)