Greeting Card - A Thing of the Past

Reliving the past - Memories

It was my birthday. 

Birthday Wishes were pouring in from my family and friends in WhatsApp and Facebook. I received animated E-greeting cards in my phone - 

“Happy Birthday” texts moving from left to right, Cake images of different shapes popping from in between, balloons flying high in the phone and crackers bursting in my mobile screen with no damage to the phone what so ever…  

Wooow, How fascinating … Technology has gone beyond our imagination.

Everything is available with a click of our fingers. No more squeezing our brain, no more effort and time spent on purchasing attractive colourful cards and writing few words of wishes in different coloured pens in irregular fonts. No more spending money on materials to make original cards. No more... no more... It sounds so simple, right!

But I ask myself. How much satisfaction this gives me... Just to select some card online in an app or from a website and forward to the deserving person. 

I remember, when I was in school, my sister and I would make greeting cards at home for every festival and function and post them to our cousins. All thanks to our mother, she encouraged us to do so...

We buy chart papers of different colours – White, pink and yellow. Spread them on the floor, along with all our stationery items. We fold and cut the chart to our desired length and start drawing pictures with HB pencil. The moment we lay our hands on the chart our imagination shows its work. We keep drawing, keep colouring, paste stickers here and there, draw borders, cut the chart along the borders to give shape, pen down our wishes in so many different font styles, sizes and colours. 

Would have no idea what we are upto. 

I am sure the card looked flawed, but still beautiful. It looked disorderly, but colourful.

We make many such cards and post them 10-15 days before the D-day. It was very exciting and overwhelming. We loved making these cards and admiring them. 

As days, months and years passed by we were gradually letting go of this practice without our own knowledge. 

During my college days, instead of making my own cards I started buying these cards from stationery shops with beautifully written content in it. 

But now I don't do that either. 

Today when I was out shopping, my eyes fell on the greeting cards hung from the stand of a stationery shop. The sight of these cards kindled my memories, and this post is the result of that. 

Times are changing, world is changing, people are changing, thoughts and opinions are changing. We say “Change is permanent”.

But I believe few things are not be changed, but to be restored, to be practised and to be cherished.

Those little moments of happiness, excitement and joy of making the greeting cards are still fresh in my mind and I would like to relive those moments. 
What would be the better time than "Ganesh Chaturthi"! 
With the festival round the corner, I have made a greeting card of “Lord Ganesha”.

Wish you all have a wonderful divine celebration of the festival.