At the age of 17, our eldest sister left our home in Kolkata to pursue a pre-medical course in Bhopal. She stayed in the hostel there and did not come home till she finished her course a year later. We all missed her very much.When her birthday came, one of our sisters, a good artist, painted her a pretty card which we—all five of her siblings, our parents and the cook—signed. Then somebody had the bright idea of getting the family pets—Putta the cat and Tina the dog—to sign it as well.
So we dipped their front paws in ink and added their paw prints to the card. How happy and touched our sister must have been to receive such a card, beautifully hand-painted and then signed personally by every member of the family, including the cat and the dog!Our father continued this tradition till the end of his life. We received New Year cards and birthday cards every year individually signed by him, mother, the cook, maid and gardener (but no pets!) Whenever I received a card, I would study the individual signatures and a mental picture would form in my mind.
I could see father calling the cook to come and sign the card for so and so and out she would emerge from the kitchen, smiling and wiping her hands on her apron and then proceed to sign the card importantly. The maid and the gardener would be next, grinning happily at their appointed task of signing the card.
There was a time when I used to make handmade cards for all my friends and family. Apart from using paints, I also made use of beads, tinsel, sand, feathers and felt paper. I learnt to make pop-up cards and also made slim embroidered cards that could double as bookmarks. I also often received handmade cards from friends and family which I have preserved till date.
How easily we have adapted to new technology! Today we prefer texting or WhatsApp messages to sending cards or making phone calls. With the New Year ahead, I am sure my smartphone will be inundated with text messages and WhatsApp videos. But seeing my name written in a loved one’s handwriting on a card, with their signature at the end, is a pleasure that can’t be matched by any phone message or video, however lovely it might be.