04 January,2017 08:06 AM IST | | Krutika Behrawala
This Saturday, volunteer to spread cheer by penning motivational letters to strangers halfway across the world
A letter writing circle at a cafe in Sydney
If One of your New Year resolutions is to be kind, compassionate or make a difference to society, head to Scrumptiious, a cafe in Versova, on Saturday evening. Here, you'll be handed out pen and paper by 30-year-old Khushi Devikalar, with a request to pen a letter to a stranger, who could be sitting half way across the world. Devikalar is a volunteer with The Goodwill Tribe, a three-year-old organisation started by Dubai-based NRIs, Sonia Parekh and Chandni Sawlani, that designs projects and events around the world to foster deep human connections through small acts of kindness. After conducting letter-writing circles in Sydney, Kuwait, London, Pune, Chennai and Nashik, this event marks its launch in Mumbai.
Khushi Devikalar
"The idea is to write beautiful words to a stranger, which become a source of happiness and motivation for them. I've participated in the letter-writing circle in Sydney, where I wrote a letter to someone going through a bad phase in life and it felt so gratifying to be there for them," says the Nagpur-born, Sydney-based fashion merchandiser, who is currently travelling in India, and hence, decided to conduct an event here. The Goodwill Tribe receives requests for letters via Letter earthlings, a Facebook project launched two years back in Sri Lanka by Nivendra Uduman, which allows people from across the world to shoot requests using Google Forms. The form asks you to fill in the details of the person you wish to surprise with a letter, what you love about them and reasons why the person needs a letter.
One of the letters made at an earlier event
"We get letter requests from people in the USA, UK, europe, India, Sri Lanka and Singapore. There are all kinds of requests - sending a letter home to parents who may not be in a good physical condition, writing to a loved one who is going through a difficult phase personally or professionally, or just being grateful for having someone in your life," she informs. But wouldn't you like to write a letter to your loved one by yourself?
Devikalar thinks otherwise. She asserts, "The words gain more significance when they are from strangers, especially for those who are going through a bad phase in life. So, we post most letters anonymously. Plus, several guests can pen letters to one person too. So imagine the smile on their face when they receive five or six letters from strangers!" The walk-in event is open to all and Devikalar will provide stationery as well as fund the postage of letters.
"The only criteria is that the letters should be in english with no usage of swear words," she signs off, hoping to find more volunteers in the city who will take charge of the circle, which is usually held at the end of every month.
