For me, everything is personal; life, friendship, interpersonal relationships, work, victory, defeat, insult-praise and wishes. Am I dated, or has the world degenerated, sinking into a cesspool by animating everything; wishes too.
I remember the good old time of hand-written letters; heart to heart, personal and memorable. No wonder they were preserved not only due to their immense sentimental value but also as they reflected upon the prevalent social context and the intrinsic relationship between the sender and the receiver. Letters written by Jawahar Lal Nehru to Indira Gandhi are so powerful that they can make a right-winger switch sides. Letters by Albert Einstein, Hitter, and Winston Churchill are potent reflections of their times and turmoil. But then the email was invented, and cc and bcc ensured that the personalised expression was lost forever.
Missing the personal touch?
Courtesy of a generation inept at articulating and using words, in no time, everything got generalised, including wishes too. This destroyed the essence of any greetings intended to be heartfelt, personal even sacred. Why would I wish you? Of course, if you are important to me, I treasure you in my prayers and thoughts. Only then would I use birthdays to festivals to convey my wishes to you.
Sadly, most wishes are forwarded messages, bland, with not even an iota of sincerity or emotion. This Diwali was no different. Interestingly, some people are so much in a hurry to forward the message that they possibly do not read the content fully sent to them before sending it to others. The name in the designed creative of the original sender or their personalised pictures is also sent to the third party leaving the receiver wondering. Woo! Hold your horses before forwarding blindly.
Amidst the marathon of number games, likes, and friends, we are just another entry on WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram. And like an entry, in a mechanical way, we get selected to forward a message already forwarded a million times.
Posting a general Happy Diwali or Happy New Year is well within the limits of decency if done on social media walls. But then forwarding wishes without intent takes away the sanctity of the exercise.
The same goes for Birthday wishes too.
If someone is worthy of your wishes, take that effort to at least write a line with his or her name, personalising it and making the recipient feel special.
I have noticed people replying to birthday messages on their timelines with a single line announcing as there are too many messages. Therefore, responding individually is impossible, but a line of acknowledgement to the string of messages received on social media on your special day goes a long way. If not, How rude! Who are you? Amitabh Bachchan? Even if he is your role model, let me tell you that he still responds to every single letter with a personalised note. I know his team must be doing it on his behalf, but then I look at his gesture and think of addressing every fan with their respective names, responding to their queries. That’s what makes him an icon.
Every time I wish, I ensure that I write a customised message, maybe even a few lines of poetry; it makes a lot of difference and shows I care. I know it is time-consuming, but it is a small effort to make someone smile. I also accept that the recipient responds with a Thumbs-up icon on occasion. But then, if they won’t mend their ways, why should I? As long as I live and care to wish, it will always be personalised, heartfelt, and with emotions.