Postcards carry his greetings to the heart

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: These are the days when you could send attractive Christmas-New Year cards at the click of a button, or you could also simply send a custom-made card to your loved ones. Still, nothing can beat the joy of receiving a hand-written letter that carries the warmth of a heartfelt wish.Friends of Antony Muniyara, hailing from Idukki, have been receiving his Christmas-New Year wishes in hand-written postcards for the past 20 years.In the past two-three years, the number of letters that he sends has crossed the 2,000-mark.Antony, 48, from Idukki is a mediaperson working with Akashavani-Doordarshan. Ten years in media have given him  enough acquaintances. He has the postal addresses of all his friends.“The habit of sending letters is now about 20 years old. It started with 200 letters a year, which has now reached up to 1,000 letters per year. Last year, when it crossed the 2,000-mark, I thought of sending 2,011 letters. The coming year, I am planning to send 2,012 letters,” says Antony.Since he was busy with the Mullaperiyar campaign, he could write only around 500 letters so far.If you thought the 2,000-plus letters are hastily written messages which carry just a ‘Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,’  you are mistaken.“The letter carries a minimum of two-three sentences. I write what comes to my mind when I think of that particular person,” said Antony, who is also a poet.Before joining the media, Antony was a teacher. To inspire students to write letters, Antony recently arranged a function where schoolchildren posted his letters.More than 500 persons, most of them students, from Panikkankudi in Idukki, attended the function.Antony’s letter reaches various parts of the country. “The letters are sent to the distances where this 50 paise postcard would reach,” he smiles. It would take around 50 pens to write the letters.Do you get replies in the form of letters too? Yes, for 1,000 letters, I get more than 100 replies in letters, he says.Antony is not against using email, but feels letters convey  the message to others’ heart.  “Cards and mails are created by some strangers and there is no meaning in sending that. Only a hand-written letter could convey the message to one’s heart,” he says.“I have seen some of the people from my native place Muniyara who keep my letters. They give  great value to the letters and keep them which makes me so happy,” he said. Not just on special occasions, Antony sends letters regularly.