In the age of e-greetings, free SMS wishes, regular birthday alerts on Facebook and in a city as tech-savvy as Kochi, you would think that birthday cards, like letters, have spiralled down into oblivion. Well, think again.
Even today, birthday cards continue to fly off shelves and surprisingly, a large chunk of frequenters at greeting card outlets in the city belong to the age group 15-25. Though there has been a considerable drop in demand along the years, several young people stay devoted to this beloved tradition.
The reason is not hard to hit upon.
A string of birthday cards nailed across the wall was a part of everyone’s room a couple of years back. It was such a charming piece of decoration: cards of an exquisite variety of colours and designs linked together, bathed in the golden glow of a table lamp close by.
The thrills you get in buying the right card, writing a cheery message in it and sliding it down a post box is quite incomparable. Youngsters today prefer to send cards mostly to close friends, teachers and siblings who live or study far away. “You can send wishes to just anyone on Facebook. But when you get a card, it’s really special because only someone that intimate will do something like that,” says Siva Prabhakar, who studies engineering at NIT-Kozhikode.
Another reason why cards have stood the test of time is due to their permanence. The little box stacked with birthday cards and tucked in a dark corner of cupboards persists even today. Sheryl DÁlmeida, who is awaiting results of her entrance examinations, explains, “How long will we keep an SMS in our phone, no matter who sends it? We’ll always keep cards.” Athul Mohan, her classmate, agrees, “Cards show that people sending them are willing to take pains for you. It shows how important you are to them.”
Rahul C. Mohan, a student of Applied Electronics, feels that actually writing your message, scratch-outs and spelling mistakes included, adds a unique charm to the card, “You can make a perfect greeting card on the computer too, but it wouldn’t have the same feel to it.”
Youngsters today have a wide variety to choose from with major names like Archies and Valavi opening outlets in different parts of Ernakulam, and most fancy shops maintaining a modest but eclectic collection throughout the year. Messages printed inside the cards too are evolving constantly to keep up with today’s tastes. From teasing ones like “Another year, Another wrinkle”, the five-line texts sometimes border on the poetic.
Though most young people prefer to give cards directly to their loved ones, many go for the postal mode. Vibhu Vasudev, who is doing his M.A. in Mass Communication, finds it adds an element of surprise, “Last year I’d sent a card to a school teacher of mine in Kochi; she was not expecting it at all and that truly made her day.” According to an official at the Ernakulam Head Post Office, an average of 25 cards is sorted out everyday.
Vivek M.V., a B.Tech second year student, thinks otherwise, “When you give a card to someone, you can share his excitement too as he opens the card and reads the message scribbled inside.”
“I’d hidden a card for my sister’s birthday before I left home for college this week,” says Aswathi Krishna, a student of engineering at IIST, Thiruvananthapuram. “But if I live with that person, I prefer keeping it near the bed and giving her a surprise in the morning,” she adds with a smile.
So here it is, despite the advent of Facebook and e-greetings, birthday cards continue to hold the interest of city folk.
