When was the last time you wrote a letter, addressed an envelope and dropped it into a post box? For a generation that grew up with postcards, inland letters and long waits for a reply, the practice is familiar. For those who came of age with smartphones, it may be less so.
The Department of Posts is giving the handwritten letter another chance to travel through the postal system with the national-level ‘Dhai Akhar’ Letter Writing Campaign 2026-27.
This year’s theme, ‘A Letter to Mother Earth: My Promise to Protect Nature’, invites participants to write about their relationship with nature and their commitment to protecting it. “Every year, we conduct the competition with a different topic. The intention is to encourage youngsters and others to think about issues around them and create awareness through writing.
This year, the focus is on nature and its protection,” says a postal official.
The competition is open to Indian citizens in two age groups — those up to 18 years and those above 18. Each age group has two categories: Inland Letter Card and Envelope.
“The competition is not just about what participants write, but also about how they write it. Unlike many writing contests where entries are typed and submitted online, Dhai Akhar requires participants to put their thoughts down by hand. That is an important part of the competition,” the official said.
Letters can be written in English, Hindi or any vernacular language, making it possible for participants in Kerala to write in Malayalam as well.
For participants from the state, the entries will first go through the regional selection process, with three entries shortlisted at this stage. The selected letters will then move to the Circle level before the final selection at the National level.
The Circle-level winners in each of the four categories will receive `25,000 for the first prize, `10,000 for the second and `5,000 for the third. At the National level, the prizes are `50,000, `25,000 and `10,000 respectively.
As snail mail clubs and letter-writing communities find new enthusiasts across Kerala, the annual competition offers another avenue for those who enjoy putting pen to paper.
“Letter writing may have become less common, but it has not become irrelevant. There is something about receiving a letter written by someone’s hand that a message on a screen cannot replace. Competitions like Dhai Akhar give people another reason to write letters and discover that pleasure for themselves,” says Aiswarya J, a member of a snail mail club in Thiruvananthapuram.
The rules retain some of the old postal details too. Envelope entries have to be handwritten on plain A4-size paper and should not exceed 1,000 words. They must be enclosed in an embossed envelope or one bearing the prescribed postage stamp. Inland Letter Card entries have a 500-word limit. Typed letters will not be accepted.
Entries should be addressed to The Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) Kerala Circle, Trivandrum 695033, and marked ‘DHAI AKHAR Letter 2026’. Participants also have to include a declaration stating whether they are below or above 18 years of age as on January 1, 2026.
Entries collected directly from schools, colleges and other institutions by the respective postal divisions may be exempted from the requirement of affixing postage stamps.
The Circle-level results are expected to be announced by December 31. Until October 31, people wishing to return to pen and paper have a chance to make their voices travel the old-fashioned way.