Pen those thoughts

In the world of emails and text messages, hand-written letters now seem so old-fashioned! Today, who has the time to write a personalised letter and post it? Bringing back the art of letter writing, three youngsters — Anubhav, Shashank and Jashwanth have started their own company that sends out special, handwritten letters.

The Indian Handwritten Letter Co, was started by the young lads who share a passion for and understand the charm of a well handwritten letter.

The company which started recently has already sent out a whopping two thousand five hundred handwritten letters! “I began writing letters to my family when I was in boarding school. Then, we were only allowed to talk to them once every two weeks. In addition to writing to my family, my grandfather wrote to me every month. This went on for around 10 years” says Anubhav Ankit, who understands the emotional connect in letter writing.

Though the trio hail from different fields, they share a passion for handwritten letters which is what inspired them to start TIHLC. They are backed by a team of four, who  write and mail around fifty letters on a daily basis.

“The best part about letters is that they are perfect for every occasion – be it birthdays to get well soons and I miss yous. It’s just more meaningful when the letter is handwritten,” says Anubhav, one-third of the group who hails from a marketing background and has worked with companies like Star and Red fm.

And what did his family think of this massive jump from working at a company to starting one, just at 29? “My family has always wanted me to do other things,” he says coyly adding, “Not that I’ve ever listened! So they weren’t surprised when I told them about TIHLC. They’re just happy that I’m earning enough to feed myself.”

Though the letters have beautifully scrawled handwriting in them, Anubhav assures us that his anything but beautiful. “My writing is not perfect because I tend to write very fast. But what people like about it, is its imperfection. You want the letters to look handwritten, not printed,” says Anubhav who also makes sure the letters are delivered to the person by the mail man dressed in his khaki uniform, to deliver the authentic feeling of snail mail.

The trio also write letters in a number of languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and have even got a request to write in Russian! “We don’t know all languages, but manage with Google translate,” he explains. But the best part of it all? “We get to touch people’s lives and help improve relationships from the outside, without getting involved,” he concludes with a warm smile.