Islamabad Stamp collectors, handwriting experts and analysts, calligraphy artists, writers and all those who feel that the dying art of handwritten letters has left a void, will be able to gather under one roof at the ‘Handwritten With Love’ exhibition here on April 5. This extraordinary exhibition, which is the first of its kind in Islamabad, features a number of unique handwritten letters, notes, musical scores and texts — recent and those of historical significance, from individuals from different walks of life including music, politics, science, mathematics and literature. Featured writers who have written exclusively for the exhibition include senior journalist Syed Talat Hussain, cultural attaché at the US Embassy Judith Ravin, popular music artists Abbas Ali Khan and Arieb Azhar, and political leader Asad Umar. Visitors will also be able to muse on reproduced manuscripts of Beethoven, Einstein, and Ibn-e-Sina among others, and will get the opportunity to read excerpts from letters exchanged between Jinnah and his wife, Jinnah and Gandhi, Allama Iqbal and Jinnah, and so on. The exhibition is being organised as part of the ‘Handwritten With Love’ campaign initiated by ASAP Mail Service, a new postal service in the city, in collaboration with Minerva, one of Islamabad’s most prominent social enterprises operating since 2011. The campaign initially commenced as a small endeavour in response to the APS Peshawar attacks, to encourage people to write letters of support to survivors and families of martyrs, but soon gained momentum turning into a nationwide campaign encouraging people to connect with everyone they love. “As the campaign started growing, we decided to broaden the scope and turn it into an exhibition of letters, manuscripts, notes, and texts,” explained Sana Khalid, founder of ASAP Mail Service and curator of the exhibition. “There is something about a handwritten letter that e-mails, texts, tweets and posts cannot replace. It somehow feels more personal; more permanent; and gives a lot of insight into the mind of the writer. The size of the alphabets, the slope, the loops, the stress on the paper, the paper itself, the scent, scribbled out words - they all add character and life to words,” Sana added. The exhibition will be held at Minerva and is a must-attend event for everyone.
