Syed Mamun Abdullah, a retired government official residing in the capital, felt a tinge of nostalgia and emotion he had not felt in years when he found an Eid greeting card in an old book.
It is the card, he kept inside a book to hide from others, once given by his school friend, whom he liked most. This traditional Eid card - made of paper - carries lots of nostalgia, and triggers fascinating memories of childhood.
In his younger years, it was once routine work for most young people to spend a significant amount of time selecting card designs. He used to spend hours writing poetic messages to express feelings of joy on the biggest Muslim religious festival Eid-ul-Fitr, Mamun reminisced.
Stylish and beautiful handwork on the cards carries the emotion of the sender and creates appeal for receivers, which is absent in virtual greetings.
Even in today’s modern era, where technology interferes in every aspect of daily life, children and the young generation are not much familiar with the customs of sending Eid cards to one another.
In today’s era of cell phones, social media, and technological revolution, handwritten greeting paper cards have lost their glory.
With the invention of technology and different means to communicate, the popularity of paper-made and handwritten cards is on the verge of extinction today, people are now making such wishes through modern technology and social media platforms.
There is everything in place to celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr but one particular thing is the tradition of greeting through traditional paper Eid cards. Sending out Eid greeting cards has become history, thanks to the technological revolution.
There was a time when beautiful handwritten Eid cards were given as gifts to greet friends and respected ones. With the evolution of time, beautiful handwritten Eid cards and people's attraction towards them have been lost.
In course of time, people's business has helped them to choose different ways of greetings their loved ones, not only that, people today are greeting people through bulk SMS instead of Eid cards, where people are less hearted, such greetings are only considered as corporate.
Years back, there were makeshift small shops in the neighbourhood, and students and young ones used to buy cards from shops even sometimes from brand shops like ARCHIES Gallery, and Hallmark, and distribute them to friends. It was a joy.
Traditions and distribution of Eid cards are no longer seen today, which not only weakens our relations but also our bondage with others.
Not only that, with the change of time, the people who were involved in this kind of business are losing their business today, thousands of people are unemployed, and this business is limited only to official use.
However, political leaders, corporations, and business organisations are still maintaining this practice to some extent.
When the tech-savvy generations are living in the modern era, globalisation, and the fourth industrial revolution, we cannot ignore technology but can hope for the revival of traditions where emotions will prevail over technology.
“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people,” as said by Mahatma Gandhi. It is important to bear our traditions and culture in our hearts and to transfer it to the next generation.
Hope the tradition and ritual of sending Eid cards will return to our life with emotion as culture is an important part of the way we experience life.
