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In a world where instant gratification is the order of the day, letter writing may seem like a habit of the Stone Age. Yet, despite the technological simplicities and conveniences of e-mail, nothing can quite equal the pleasure one derives on receiving a handwritten letter from a loved one.

It may not be filled with emoticons or colorful graphics and groups of acronyms. Instead, a handwritten letter exudes a sentimentality that is clearly lacking even with the fastest modes of communication. Among the fortunate few who continue to experience this emotional and intrinsic pleasure in today’s technological driven era is Ms. S, who, for as long as she can remember, has been writing to and receiving letters from her oldest school friend in Chennai, India, on a regular basis.

“She is 33 years old and quite tech savvy. She also has access to the Internet. Yet, my friend and I prefer to write to each other,” she says. “I am very close to her and have been writing to her ever since I came to the United Arab Emirates.”

The letters are often four to five pages long; sometimes it could be just a page, but at least once a week, she sits down to write her thoughts to her.

“I look upon letter writing as a kind of conversation – it is like telling a story through letters, sharing pieces of your life in a personalized style,” says Ms. S. “Recently, when my friend had twins, I got to know of this glad tiding immediately. But when my friend’s letter arrived, it brought in more joy as through her words, I could ‘see’ what the babies were doing, how they were playing, sleeping, what they enjoyed doing the most and so on.”

Writing a letter by hand takes time and effort, she agrees. “It’s not as quick as typing and requires more discipline and concentration as I have to put down my thoughts properly and also remember to write neatly and legibly,” she says. “My handwriting is not very easy to read and may seem like alien messages from Venus, but my friend’s is almost like printed calligraphy.”

What she likes best about the letters, says Ms. S, is that “when I hold the letter in my hands, I like the feeling that I am holding the same paper that she held. Despite the physical distance between us, it is almost like touching the person you love very much. My friend wears a distinctive perfume and when I open her letters, I can almost smell that scent. And there are times when she puts in some rose petals too, for an extra special touch.”

Ms. S converses with her mother and other family members mostly by e-mail “because that is their mode of choice,” he says. “The real ‘love affair’ is not between my husband and me; rather it is between my friend and me!”

However, when a message needs to be conveyed immediately, she agrees that it is e-mail that she depends on to get in touch with her. “But that lacks the personal touch, for you instantly get into business mode with e-mail,” she says. “There was another friend of mine from my school days whom I stayed in touch even when I was getting married. But after she moved to the USA, our correspondence was chiefly by e-mail and gradually, we lost touch with each other.”

Ms. S that had they continued with handwritten letters, perhaps they might have still maintained their friendship to this day. The best thing about a handwritten letter, she says, “is that each one of them is very special. Unlike e-mails, they do not get deleted and can be enjoyed again and again, even years after you have received them.

“I’ve got all the letters that my friend has written to me and years later, I know I can show them to my children’s children and they too would be able to ‘touch’ her through these treasured letters, “she says.