Pause, break, and write a few letters!

Online, Offline, Away, Do Not Disturb, Last Seen or anything that indicates your online presence or absence – phew! So much, just because you are signed-on to multiple chat applications at a time in the name of better connectivity. This is a battle that is perhaps dealt with almost day in and day out in most of our lives. Easy accessibility just ruins the whole idea of longing for something you love. For now, the moment you long for something, the next moment it is with you (at least it is added to the cart) – anything from a product to a person. In the end, there is a lot of time left – so what follows is looking for reasons to whine about not being available online. “I saw you last at this time – but you never responded”, that’s what most of us hear. Well, how do you respond to this? Isn’t it a matter of choice or self-discretion?

Taking a detour for a change and going back to letter writing would give an immense sense of gratification and is an antidote to anxiety. It brings the mad rush to a grinding stop and ushers a new lease of life – letting you breathe easy. By all means it is time consuming – for it is the longer route that we are choosing to take – we are trying to break internet conventions – we don’t get to see the ‘’green’’ light indicating you are online – neither do we get to see the ‘’tick marks’’ denoting delivery of a message. In the event though, it teaches us a lesson, that of patience. The wait feels purposeful. We are not glued to the mobile phone in this case, you don’t become square-eyed looking at the phone; waiting for the notification to appear. There are other things that you might want to pay attention to, yet the degree of anticipation remains high. There is a lot of passion involved and the outcome, though sweaty, is sweet. When the letter does arrive at your doorstep, emotions reach the brim and flow out – because there is so much to read about and write a response to. As you read, the response forms up mentally and are translated into words.

Malayalam movie Ennu Ninte Moideen portrays this beautifully. Moideen and Kanchana Mala await each other’s letters with so many mixed emotions – tearfulness, sadness, anxiety, patience, happiness and what not? Yet the spirit of their love just does not wane. It only goes to show that true love never fails to understand. Beyond everything, being accessible/available all the time sort of brings the charm down. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all. There is a whole lot of pain that you may need to endure, but it is definitely rewarding.

While it is not always possible to adapt this method of communication, it is certainly advisable to detox from internet, occasionally and experience life as it unfolds. It only helps to recharge our batteries and come back stronger – for it fortifies relationships much more than any other treatment. For this is a great exercise for the mind, body and soul, entirely.