Genre : Fiction
Format: Hardbound / Unbound
Pages: 43 Postcards / 86 Pages
ISBN: 978-81-943921-2-5
Unlike memory, nostalgia has a wistful longing attached to it. It is an act of remembering a yearning collage of the past to recreate memories. While living in present, we sometimes tend to step back in our leisure to roam aimlessly in past. The jewels retrieved therein are like postcards from our loved ones, saved and treasured in a shoe box, with the wish to read them someday in future.
The book, ‘Letter to Myself’ is a multitude of memories recollected in tranquility, where 43 pages of recreated postcards-in-a-box may offer its reader a divergent experience of reading. The stories, short yet soulful, by the author, Piu Mahapatra are a personal reflection of the city, Kolkata, when postcards were a part of life and living.
Praise for the Book
‘Such a lovely collection of reminiscences and reflections, that many of us will identify with. There’s a certain warmth and freshness, that I’ve come to associate with Piu’s writing. These are prose that are almost poetry if not actually poetry in a different guise. Coming as they do in the unusual format of a box of cards , they take the character of an art object rather than a book. I love the meticulous drawings, form and shadow, that sit on the address side.’
~ Manjari Chakravarti
(Eminent artist, writer and illustrator of multiple books published by Scholastic Singapore and India, Armour publications Singapore, Tulika Books, Pratham books, Ektara and Oxford University Press)
Review Letter to Myself on Goodreads
THE LETTER TO MYSELF ADDA
February 6, 2021 LIVE on Facebook
Priyanka Bardiya –
THE EYES TELL YOU ALLI am a slow reader – and am reading these one by one – each and every story is an experience – an experience through the eyes of a little girl .
And the place where Piu Mahapatra succeeds very well is how she paints a complete image , a complete experience through very small details of the objects that belong to certain time , space and culture . She very easily transverse from the daily objects to human body , dotted with little conversations with the other and the self .
Ref – THE EYES TELL YOU ALL
Solomon (verified owner) –
Piu’s poetic linesEnjoyed beautiful memories so brilliantly captured. Here are a couple of poetic lines from these letters:
What is grounded can be uprooted!
Reflections are bound by realty, but shadows are free!
Solomon (verified owner) –
NostalgicPiu’s letters are such a joy to read. I found a few poetic lines within these letters.
What is grounded, can be uprooted.
Reflections are bound by reality, but shadows are free.
Malathi Kasthuri –
Piu is a first rate poet and thinker and designer for sureMany many thanks for the precious Letters to Myself that arrived yesterday!
I’m stunned by the unique absolutely original appearance of this book, if I may call it that!
Of course, it’s more like a bunch of stuff that fell off my own desk drawer accidentally! Blogs and conversations with ones near and dears jotted down meticulously—reluctant rosy memories of days gone by! Piu certainly seems to have affinities with me in so many unexpected ways!
Or is it that refreshingly effortless style of writing, that feeling of trodding on familiar terrain in the subject matter—that give any reader the illusion that it’s unbelievably close to who I am myself, somewhere in the dark recesses of being?:
I need to read all of these delightful postcards several more times to unravel it all, actually!
Thank you again for this amazing experience!
Piu is a first rate poet and thinker and designer for sure!
Prabal Das –
So nostalgic writingsI read all the letters…so nostalgic writings …liked it very much…well done Piu Mahapatra .
Boisali Biswas –
Absolutely in love with the collection and the unique idea of the presentation“Sometimes it becomes hard for you to wait. For me it was waiting to get Piu’s “Letter to Myself” in hand which she has saved for me. But the uncertainty of the pandemic was postponing that indefinitely. So, one fine day I decided to order a set without letting her know ? It’s one of the best decisions I have made recently. For it to land in my mailbox was the best piece of real mail!
A postcard a day, with one of her short stories reminiscing about a small anecdote or a favorite character in her life or a precious moment that has stayed with her over the years has been the best accompaniment with my morning cup of coffee!
Thank you for the treat Piu and Blue Pencil for bringing us this special experience. Absolutely in love with the collection and the unique idea of the presentation!”
Michigan, USA