Back in school, we’d be asked to write letters in our language classes, and I always wondered, “Who speaks like that?” They always seemed too formal, especially in Hindi, which was a world apart from the Hindi I spoke every day. So I chalked it up to academia being out of touch with real life again and forgot about it. Then earlier this year, I came across my father’s old letters that he had preserved throughout his life. They were addressed to his father, siblings, even friends, and as I started reading them, there was that same language — it was real! — people did speak like that. The more I familiarised myself with his letters, I realized — letter-writing is its own medium with its own etiquette, which, after the achingly dull nonchalance of online interactions, feels incredibly refreshing. The ‘formality’ is really a way to address another person with respect and sincerity, and truly open up to them without some obscure idea of closeness that we’ve made synonymous with ribbing each other, especially in India. It’s a whole other way of relationality that I think is lost in the shoddy emotional transactions of the digital age. 

Which is the perfect excuse to take part in a national letter writing competition by India Post, called 'Dhai Akhar (meaning 'two and a half letters,' which the mystic poet Kabir Das used for 'prem' or love). The 2026-27 edition invities people across the country to put pen to paper on the theme ‘A Letter to Mother Earth: My Promise to Protect Nature.’ The competition is open to every Indian citizen, with no age restriction, and is divided into four categories: Inland Letter Card and Envelope for participants up to 18 years, and the same two categories for those above 18. Entries can be written in English, Hindi or any regional language. Dhai Akhar is an annual initiative by the Department of Posts that encourages handwritten communication while bringing younger generations closer to the postal system and the culture of philately.

To participate, you must write the letter by hand and address it to the Chief Postmaster General of your respective Circle. For the Envelope category, the letter can be written on plain A4 paper and must be within 1,000 words, while letters written on an Inland Letter Card have a 500-word limit. Typed entries will not be accepted. The permitted stationery is an Inland Letter Card or an embossed envelope/envelope with a stamp affixed for an A4-size letter. Entries collected directly from schools, colleges or other institutions by the respective postal division may be exempt from the stamp requirement.

The deadline is October 31, and the most impressive part is the cash prize. At the Circle level, first, second and third-place winners in each category will receive ₹25,000, ₹10,000 and ₹5,000 respectively. At the National level, the prizes are ₹50,000 for first place, ₹25,000 for second and ₹10,000 for third in each of the four categories — not bad at all for a 'dying art form.' The Circle-level results are scheduled to be declared by December 31, 2026, with the winning entries sent to the Directorate by January 15, 2027. The final national selection will have 12 winners, with three from each of the four categories. If not as an outlet for your angst about a dying planet with its first trillionaire, do it for the money; either way, I hope you write a letter.

Find out more about the competition here.

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