Outsourcing love letters for Valentine’s Day!

22 per cent orders for letter writing startups come from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: A romantic composition as a Valentine’s Day gift, written by a stranger sitting in a different city and could not be thought of in the past, is now a reality.

Millennials have no qualms sharing what they want to convey to their beloved. In what can be termed as a latest trend, lovers are outsourcing these handwritten love letters drafted by strangers as Valentine’s Day gifts! These letters are shipped to the clients for Rs 99 a piece!

This Valentine’s Day, many in the age group of 18 to mid thirties are taking help from letter writing startups and what is more, 22 per cent of the orders are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Jashwanth Cheripally, a software professional and Anubhav Ankit, a marketing professional, who started The Indian Handwriting Letter Company (TIHLC) in 2016, are now cashing in on the sheer laziness of the people who cannot put down emotions into words.

Most of the content writers in this startup are in their 40s. Three Telugus- Tarani Bharghav, Krishna Reddy and V S Mohan sit in Bengaluru and each one writes close to 3-7 letters a day. Handwritten personal letters in Hindi, Oriya, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada and Marathi, besides Telugu, are now on offer.

Starting from the second week of January, orders have been pouring in from all over India and a sizable quantity from Guntur, Vijayawada, Chirala, Warangal, Secunderabad and other places, says Anubhav Ankit.

Sharing an interesting order, he says a software professional Vamshi Krishna, 28, from Guntur, wanted eight letters to be delivered to his to-be wife before the D-Day.

For every ceremony, a letter in Telugu and another in English were delivered to her. His wife was so touched by the gesture that she now writes letters and keeps them in the bag, on the table and in a vase.

In India, there are three such startups - Callyally, Lettermail and TIHLC. The companies provide business and personal letter writing. For personal letters in regional languages, people are asked what they want and a draft is first sent and after approval it is finally posted.

Sumit Jain, one of the four co-founders of Lettermail, says, “A handwritten letter boosts happiness level. It is a proof of love and care and leaves a deep impression.” Started with an investment of Rs 50,000 in 2016, they would break even this year.

But why are urban educated couples seeking a stranger to write a letter to their beloved on their behalf? Prof C Ganesh, Head of the Department, Sociology, Osmania University says, “Social life is being lost and this trend is not good for society. People just do not have patience to put pen to paper.”

“I see it as cheating and creative bankruptcy. Using an imposter for such a tender feeling of love, however well it is packaged, is unacceptable,’ says Sudha Gorthi, a soft skills trainer.