Pen, paper and nostalgia

Letters from Chitthi Exchange

Chitthi Exchange was first mooted in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic, in early 2020. It was an idea that came about as respite from the disconnected and disjointed virtual world during the lockdown. "The world was in survival mode when an intern at The Alipore Post, Tanishka Pandey, came up with this idea for some form of community engagement. It was a project that I had shelved a long time ago, and this brainstorming session sparked the interest," shares Rohini Kejriwal, founder of The Alipore Post and Chitthi Exchange.

Rohini Kejriwal

The art of letter-writing is lost in the digital world and the word ‘chitthi' brings forth a lot of memories. "During my time in boarding school, emails were rare and the only way we communicated with our families was through letters. I remember my father sending me letters during his travels, and there would be a sense of excitement to collect the letters from our hostel when the postman came knocking at around 12.30 pm," recalls Kejriwal.

The pen pal tradition has long been a part of culture but it's a rare phenomenon in India. Chitthi Exchange collects basic information from the participants like hobbies, interests, gender and demographic, and pairs two people with similar interests. "I have had pen pals who have stayed in touch till date. It is a chance of forming a special connection with an unknown person and the chance of a sustainable relationship that seem to be novelty factors which bring people to Chitthi Exchange," she explains.

Letter-writing is a deeply personal and vulnerable expression of our emotions; the act of penning down what we feel makes the engagement even more personable. With over 2,500 participants all over the world, Chitthi Exchange now conducts quarterly pairings, with their next session coming up in March 2022. Letters are tangible memories. There is a whole world in the postal system with stamps, creative postcards, doodles on the side of the pages and all of these make for a deeply personal experience. "I wish to keep going with Chitthi Exchange as people seem to have struck a chord with this initiative. I make my own postcards that I send out to my five-year-old niece and she can't get enough of it. It is an experience I wish to create for people all over and it has seen an organic growth. Unlike the telegram, I wish to keep the postal services alive as it is evident through this project that there is a gap that the digital world cannot fill. Letters are a piece of the person on paper and I hope Chitthi Exchange can do its part in preserving the art," shares Kejriwal.

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