The joy of letter writing

The joy of letter writing

There is no doubt about it. Many readers of The Jakarta Post
do indeed stop to read the Your Letters column. Even the "not-so-
serious" readers, who just browse through the newspaper every
morning, apparently take an interest in this column, if a letter
is penned by any of their favorite writers. In any case, isn't it
a pleasure, going through someone's letter, though in a
newspaper, like peeping into your neighbor's home?

What's unique about Your Letters is that "there is room for
all". One can even criticize the Post and such letters will also
find a berth in this column.

The letter-writers obviously may not write in a journalistic
style but it's evident that they express their feelings and write
from experience -- from the way they look at the world. Usually,
our thoughts fly off in different directions. Writing is self-
improvement. It helps in crystallizing and harnessing our
thoughts, along the way enriching our own understanding of life.
Writing letters to newspapers is a shared pleasure, a satisfying
and productive hobby.

I read somewhere that India holds the distinction of having
the second-largest percentage of letter-writers in the world.
Interestingly, in Bangalore city, famed as the Silicon Valley of
India, the "compulsive" contributors to letter columns have even
formed a Karnataka Press Letter Writers Forum! The members of
this forum have taken to enlightening themselves about civic
problems and services, such as postal delays, bad traffic
management, etc. This breed's contribution is unpaid. They offer
their opinions and analysis free of charge.

Coming to Mr. Farid Baskoro's letter of Dec. 15, 1998, I'm
pleased to note that several contributors to the Post's Your
Letters column have their bylines acknowledged in the
international media too. It's no surprise though, as I am always
amazed at the range of subjects that are dealt with in this
column. Many letters are extremely well-written and are clearly
thought provoking.

Tom Peters, coauthor of the international bestseller "In search
of excellence", started his career in writing after trying his
hand in the letters column of newspapers.

Well, the inspiration for my writing came from my late father,
who once wrote a beautiful letter in the eveninger The Mail under
the title Anguish of villager, describing the grim flood
situation around our village.

In the 1970s, I wrote a couple of letters in the Indian
Express newspaper, followed by an article in the respected Indian
Review magazine. The article was about the secular nature of the
temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity of
Sabarimala in the Kerala State, where millions of Indians,
irrespective of their religious faiths, throng to worship this
God, usually around this time every year.

I must admit, however, that my writing improved over the
years, only after I started contributing to the Your Letters
column of The Jakarta Post. And for this, I owe my deepest thanks
to the Post.

D. CHANDRAMOULI

Jakarta