 Short Stories: July 31, 2019 Issue [#9681] |
This week: Using letters to give information Edited by: THANKFUL SONALI Library Class!  
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| Re-reading Savita Rao'ls Postcards from Ura recently, I was struck by how helpful the format of 'correspondence' is to an author. Some points I thought of, with excerpts from the book. |
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Namaste, Readers!
I was re-reading Savita Rao's picture book, Postcards from Ura, recently, when the thought struck me -- she got away with this because it was in the form of correspondence!
So what, exactly, can a writer get away with, by using letters as a tool?
1. Information
It's natural that if you're writing a letter, the correspondent isn't where you are. Thus, you can tell her/him things that, in other situations, may seem like an info-dump. In the extracts below, Savita seamlessly gives information about both, India and Bhutan.
2. Feelings
Personal correspondence is an ideal way to mirror someone's feelings. That's because it has the distinction of being personal yet distant, and gives the advantage of pouring our everything you want to say without interruption. At the same time, the correspondent not being present, the consequences of revealing something from deep within yourself, are not immediate.
3. Selective
Your character is writing a letter. Since he or she can choose what to write and what to leave out, so can you, the writer! I actually wonder what some of these incidents would've looked like if told from Dorjis mother's point of view -- what she would say about them, and what she would leave out, as compared to what her son has chosen to reveal / leave out.
4. One way or two way
While Savita has chosen to write only Dorji's postcards, and hint at some of what Toto wrote, you, the author, can choose to write both ways, giving the correspondent's viewpoint as well.
With that, I leave you with extracts from Postcards from Ura!
Thanks for listening,
FROM: ‘POSTCARDS FROM URA’ BY SAVITA RAO Published by Tulika Books.
Note: Bhutan is a tiny country lying sandwiched between India and China at the foothills of the Himalayas.
Ura is a village nestling in a valley in Central Bhutan. There are 40 houses in Ura.
Dear Toto,
My name is Dorji. My teacher says to tell you that many boys in Bhutan have this name. I am the Dorji who lives in Ura. There are many Dorjis in Ura. I am the Dorji who has a dog called Domchu. Many dogs in Bhutan are called Domchu. I am the Dorji whose house is sixth from the lane near the school. My teacher says my school and your school are working together. I have to write to you so that we learn about each other. I don’t like this because I have to stay after school to write. I only want to run with Domchu into the juniper trees.
Dorji – Class 5.
Dear Toto,
I did not know that there are no dogs called Domchu in India. What do you call them? Domchu likes to run around with me, and we bring back flowers and fruits from the woods. Domchu doesn’t like honey, but I like the honey from the juniper trees. When we cut juniper trees and carry them home, my friends cut the bark, and we all drink the honey from it.
Dorji.
Dear Toto,
Thank you for the photos. Your house is very tall. My house is not very tall. It is white, and made of stone and wood. You say funny things. How can you take one hour to go to school? My friends say you must be walking like my grandmother! I reach my school before Mother can climb upstairs and say, “Dorji, don’t run around after school.”
Love, Dorji and Domchu.
Dear Toto,
I don’t know how to play cricket. I like football. The big boys in Ura play football, but they don’t let me play with them. One day, I want to buy a big Carrom Board. My father wants to go to Poro to watch an archery game.
Love, Dorji and Domchu.
Dear Toto,
We are building Uncle’s house. I will send postcards after some days.
Love, Dorji and Domchu.
Dear Toto,
Uncle’s house is built. We had a lot of fun. We stamped around in the mud. My mother, my sisters, my aunts – we all stamped in the mud and made it ready. The men carried the stones, and filled in the mud. When it was ready, the painters came and we got to mess with the paints! They chased us away and we ran really fast into the woods to hide.
Love, Dorji and Domchu.
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To those who have started reading Gallico now, hope you like his writing!
Beholden  Thanks for this morning's newsletter. It's probably not the done thing but I had to email you since I had not thought of Paul Gallico for years - until you reminded me, of course.
I agree completely with your assessment of his work. He is a strange one, sometimes soaring to the heights of literary achievement and at other times downright odd. I loved "The Snow Goose" and consider it one the finest works to come out of WWII. Then there's the one you don't mention - "The Poseidon Adventure". I read it long before they made the movie and found it to be strangely stilted and poorly written. As you have said, he was immensely variable, both in genre and in quality.
You have also given me an idea for a story and I must thank you for that as well as for reminding me of an author long forgotten. Thank you.
J. Lynn Lindsay  Hello Sonali,
Thank you for introducing us to Gallico. I've read a lot over the years. I've read a variety of genres. Somehow I've never come across his writing. I will definitely read him now.
Thanks again, JLL
Paul  I am not familiar with him, but now I’m going to have to. Thank you.
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