KARACHI:
Tap tap tap… The sound of letters being typed fills the room as my sister with her consistent gaze on the screen rests her fingers to wait for her friend’s reply. As time passes so does her patience as she starts fiddling with her fingers, an evident frown forming on her forehead. A 15-year-old teen with a restless attitude finally settles down when a ding sound echoes in the room and the annoyingly but familiar sound of tap, tap, tap chimes again. This entire ordeal reminds me of the tales my grandfather used to tell. “This generation doesn’t know what it means to wait,” he would say. “Have you ever tried writing a letter?”
In the days when communication involved a pen and paper, waiting for a letter was an exercise that required patience, mostly followed by anticipation. The thrill of waiting for the postman to drop the letter in the mailbox was overcome as soon as the letter was held in your hands. With dilated breath, one would carefully slit the envelope, knowing that someone from afar took their time to write; with words meant especially for you. As you read the letter, the wave of emotions that would wash over is something the modern generation would never be able to experience.
However, in the modern era, with the advent of the internet and modern technology, communication has become faster than it ever could be. But at what cost? The desire to receive an immediate response has completely replaced the thrill of anticipation. Today’s modern generation, raised on receiving instant gratification, may never understand the joy of waiting for a response that may even turn out contrary to your expectations. For them, it may be outdated or unnecessary, even useless as they fail to grasp the depth of connection that can be forged through handwritten words. But in their quest for speed and efficiency, they risk missing out on the intimacy and personal touch that letters provide. Communicating using these advanced tools does have its own merits. It has undoubtedly made it easier to connect with distant ones and strangers, but simultaneously, it has sent the ones living in the same house far away. In our eagerness to embrace the latest technology, we risk losing the eagerness and thrill that taught patience and kept the far ones near and the close ones nearer.
In the fast-paced world where everything is constantly changing, we must slow down and learn about connecting and enjoying things that sometimes seem so mundane like bringing back this practice that kept us at the edge of our seats. That fills us with anticipation in our hearts rather than vibration in our hands. A practice that can be left as a legacy for your grandkids to read. After all, what can be better than reading your grandparent’s secret letters?
Ayesha Javed
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2024.
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