CONTENTS

PAGE
PART I. SOCIAL LETTERS
Writing Social Letters 3
Paper and Paging 3
The Envelope 4
The Heading 4
The Inside Address 5
Greeting, or Salutation 6
The Complimentary Close 7
The Signature 8
Typewritten letters 9
Invitations and Announcements 10
Wedding Invitations and Replies—Formal 10
Wedding Invitation and Replies—Informal 12.
Invitations to dinner (Formal) and Replies 15
Miscellaneous Formal Announcements 17
Invitations to Dinner (Informal) and Replies 18
Luncheon Invitation and Replies 20
Letters of Thanks 23
For Holiday and Other Visits 23
Children's Letters 32
Letters of Congratulations 34
Congratulations on an Engagement
From a Friend 34
From a Relative 35
Congratulations on Marriage
From a Friend 35
From a Relative 35
Congratulations on a Wedding Anniversary 36
 Congratulations on a Birthday 36
Congratulations on The Birth of a Child , 37
Congratulations on Graduation 38
Congratulations on Winning an Honour or
Distinction 39
Congratulations on a Speech or Performance 40
On an Election Victory 40
5. Family Letters 40
To a Daughter Working in Another City 40
To a Husband Away on Business 42
Letter to a Relative who has asked for advice 43
Letter to Children Away at School 45
To a Married Sister Living at a Distance 47
Letters to close Friends and Family
Letters to and from absent Friends 48
A Friend's Reply 48
Letters from Vacation ist to a friend 49
A Friend's Reply 50
Letter from a Student in a Foreign Country 51
Letters from a Friend in Distant Place 52
6. Letters of Sympathy on Illness, Injury and
Material Loss 54
Letters to Sick People 54
To those who have Suffered Material loss
or Damage 58
On Hearing of Sickness 59
To Injured in Accident 59
To a Patient in Hospital 60
7. Letters of Condolence 61
On the Death of a Parent 61
On the Death of Husband or Wife 64
On the Death of a Child 66
 On the Death of a Relative 67
When Death is a Release 69
When Someone is killed or Commits Suicide 70
To Friends 70
To a Relative 71
To Acquaintances 71
Replies to Condolence Letters 72
Formal Acknowledgements 72
Informal Acknowledgements 73
Some Famous Letters of Condolences 74
Model Telegrams 75
Anniversaries 75
Birthdays 76
Births 76
Bon Voyage 77
Christmas 77
Examinations 77
Condolences '/ ?
Congratulations 78
On Promotion 78
On Election to Office, 78
Success of Artist 78
On Opening New Store 78
On Making Speech 78
Public Service 79
On Winning Prizes, Awards, EtcT 79
Convalescence 79
Engagements '' 79
New Year Greetings 79
Love Greetings 80
Weddings 80
Letters of Introduction 81
Letters of Introduction to be delivered Personally 81
( vi )
Introduction Letters 85
To be Sent By Mail 85
References and Letters of Introduction
Letters of Introduction to be sent by post 86
10. Love Letters 87
To Husband 88
To Wife 89
To Wife 90
To Husband 90
To a Boy Friend 91
To a Girl Friend 92
Letter to a Boy Friend 93
Excerpts from the Love Letters of Famous Men
and Women 94
11. Earning Your Living 95
Job Applications 95
Dont's in Preparing Your Letter of Application 97
Applications for Job
Application in response to an advertisement 99
Application No. 2. 99
Specimen of modern Styles of application 100
Following up the original application 102
Following up the receipt of application 103
Following up an interview 103
Application for the post of Accounts Clerk 104
Testimonial for an employee 105
Advertiser's reply to an applicant 106
Application for Salesman 106
Application for Typist 107
For the Post of Junior Clerk 108
Impressive Application 108
( vii )
Enquiry about a post 110
Help from a third person 110
After getting the job 111
Asking for a raise 111
Resigning and Retiring 112
Retirement 113
Resignations 113
12. References 114
Specimen of a Reference 114
Checking up of the Reference 115
"Thank you" Letter for help in Getting Job 118
13. Complaints 119
Overcharged in bill 119
Defective Goods 122
Complaint for Repair 123
Reminder to the above 124
To a Tenant 124
Reminder to above 125
Reminding a payment 125
Income Tax 126
Complaint to Manufacturer 127
Reply to above 128
Complaint to Landlord 128
Reply from Landlord 128
Late Payment of Rent 129
To Railway for loss of luggage 129
For Delayed Payment 129
14. Miscellaneous Letters 130
Letters to Educational Institutions Asking for a
Testimonial 130
Reply to above 130
 Reply to above 131
Leave from class 131
For Fine 132
Delay in fees 132
Reply to above 132
From a father 132
For leave from School 133
Informing of Death 133
For Leave on Account of Death 134
Reply to above 134
Reply to above 134
Matrimonial Correspondence
Reply to advertisement 134
Another reply to advertisement 135
Invitation for tea 135
Accepting invitation 136
Reply in negative 136
Bank Account
Asking for Clarification 136
Stopping Payment 137
Mistake in Account 137
Sending Drafts and Documents 137
Asking For a Guarantee Letter 138
Asking for Advance 138
Advising Bank 138
Fund-raising letter? 139
Reply to above 139
Asking for a loan 140
Reply to above 140
Letter of Appreciation 140
Acknowledging a letter of appreciation 14l
Declining the offer of nomination 141
Accepting a resignation 142
Acknowledging an invitation for Membership 142
Informing a Candidate of his Election 142
Resignation from rembership 143
Proposing a member 143
Invitation for membership 143
Asking for a credit Note 144
Introducing a Member 144
Informing Change of Address 145
Invitation 145
Informing A Member's Election 146
Accepting Membership 146
Asking for Dues 146
Notification of Election 147
To Office 147
Letters of Resignation 147
Requests to speak or Entertain at a Club 148
Partnership Business
Dissolving the Partnership 149
Reply to Above 150
Retiring from Partnership 150
Informing Creditors 150
Transfer of Business 151
Informing Dismissal to a Party 151
Letter of Praise 151
Asking for a Statement of Account 152

Answering Box No. Advertisements

Order for Advertised Goods 152
Reply to an advertisement 153
Enquiry to a Builder and Decorator 153
To a Nurseryman 154
To an Electrical Contractor 154
Sale & Purchase 155
Reply to above 156
(x)
To a Bank or Insurance Company for Loan 156
After Inspecting the Property 156
To Seller's Solicitor 157
To the Surveyor 157
To the Buyer's Solicitor 158
Instructions for Payments 158
Claim under policy on car 159
Asking about investment from the Bank 159
Making Investment 159
Asking explanation 160
Asking for reference 160
Leaving the post 161
Asking for reference from an employee 161
Engaging a clerk 161
Dismissing a worker 162
Refusing increment in salary 162
Asking a manager to resign 162
Asking for increment in the salary. 163
Asking for promotion 163
For leave due to sickness 164
For leave of Absence 164
Asking for extension of leave 164
Thanking for increment in Salary 165
Expressing an apology 165

15. Literary Letters 166

From Mahatrna Gandhi to Jawaharlal Nehru 166
From Motilal Nehru to Sir Harcourt Butler 166
From Rabindranath Tagore to Jawaharlal Nehru 167
From George Bernard Shaw to Jawaharlal Nehru 168
From Jawaharlal Nehru to Mahadev Desai 169
From Mark Twain to Number 1365 171
From Robert Louis Stevenson to Dr. C. M. Hyde 173
 From Bartolomeo Vanzetti to Dante Sacco 174
From H. L. Mencken to Will Durante 176
From Elizabeth Barret Browning to Napoleon III 179
From John Keats to His Fiancee Fanny Brawne 182
From Abraham Lincoln to His Brother
John D.Johnson 183
From Napoleon to Josephine 185
From Samuel Johnson to An Old Friend 186
From Voltaire to his Beloved (Olympe Dunoyer) 186
From Samuel Johnson to the Earl of Chesterfield 187
From Leonardo da Vinci to Duke of Milan 189
PART II. BUSINESS LETTERS
Art of Writing Business Letters 193
The Ten Points to a good business Letter 195
1. Inquiry for News Agency 196
Quoting Terms
Reply to above 196
Letter to an Agent 197
Reply to above 197
Enquiry for readymade garments to he exported 198
Reply to above 198
Inquiry from a Bank 119
Reply to above 199
Enquiry for paints 200
Reply to above 201
Enquiry for Crockery 201
Reply to above 201
2. Placing Orders—Execution of Orders 202
Placing An Order 202
Order for Supply 202
Refusal to give more discount 203
 Order for oils With terms and conditions 203
Soliciting Order 204
Offering another brand 204
Placing the order 205
Dispute in order-execution 205
Reply to above 205
Complaint by Telegram and follow up letter 206
To Brokers & Commission Agents
Accepting an offer 206
Reply to above 207
Invoice despatched 207
Packing and Despatch
Supplier informs customer 207
Customer informs supplier 208
Delay in execution of order 208
3. Cancelling Orders 209
Reply to above 209
Letter containing confermation of Telegram 210
4. Invoicing, Accounting, and Settlement of Accounts 210
Error in totalling 210
Discrepancies in statement 210
Asking for crediting freight charges 2J2
Asking for credit terms . 213
Asking for monthly payment , 213
Reply to above 213
Asking for extension of time to pay 213
5 Complaints and Their Adjustment 214
Reply to above 214
Final Request 215
Reply to above 215
Delayed orders 215
Refusal to accept goods 216
 Reply to above 216
Returning defective goods 217
Reply to above 217
6. Collection Letters 217
Reminder concerning payment 217
Reply to above 218
Reply after receiving the news of a customer's
sickness 218
Reply to a customer with due account 219
Sending duplicate bills 219
A first reminder of dues 220
Hinting at the legal action 220
7. Bills of Exchange 220
Reply to above 221
Advice of Bill Drawn 221
Collection of Bills 221
Payment of Bills 221
Informing to draw B/E 222
Reply to above 222
Request for a duplicate B/E 222
Reply to above 223
8. Status Enquiry and Trade References 223
Status inquiry 223
Only a favourable reply 223
An unfavourable reply 224
Inquiry from the Bank 224
Checking of References 225
Notifying Applicant of Placing Letter on File 225
Acknowledging an Introduction 225
9. Export Trade 226
Enquiry & Order 226
Exporters writes to manufacturer 227
 (xiv )
Reply to above—sending samples 227
Final reply to party 228
10. Import trade 229
Informing Shipment 229
Reply to above 229
Importers inform brokers 229
Reply to above 230
11. Agency 230
To a Manufacturer 230
Reply from Manufacturer 231
Writing terms of agency 232
Accepting proposal 233
Offering to work as agent 233
Requesting for more Commission 234
Informing termination of agency 234
12. Banking 235
Sending and drawing of Bills in Current Account 235
Increasing rate of interest 235
Party refusing to accept draft 236
Party writes to customer 236
Party writes to bank 236
Banking and Foreign trade
Letter for opening current account 237
Instructing bankers for payment 237
Special Instructions 237
Request for overdraft 237
Reply to Above 238
Sending sight draft 238
Providing a guarantor for overdraft 239
Delay in clearing of Cheques 239
Complaint for dishonouring the cheque 239
Foreign Accounts
Instruction to a Bank 240

.
(XV)
13. Insurance Correspondence 241
Asking for insurance of goods in transit 241
Reply to Above 241
Asking for redr ;.on in the insurance rate 242
Reply to above 242
Reply to a firm asking for claim 243
Insurance Claims 243
14. Financial Letters 244
Inquiry for shares 244
Reply to Above 244
Selling shares of a company 245
I.U.U. form 245
Joint Note 246
Receipt Note 246
Non-negotiable note 246
Bill of sale 246
Sight Draft 246
Promissory note 247
Demand note 247
Negotiable note 247
Note payable at Bank 247
Negotiable draft 247
Due bill 247
Inland bill of exchange 248
15. Legal Letters 248
Engaging Solicitors 248
Contacting a lawyer 248
Seller's letter to the lawyer after hearing judgement 250
16. Correspondence of the Company Secretary 250
Requesting for auditing of accounts 250
Informing to call Board of Directors' meeting 251
( xvi )
Letters on behalf of the Chairman 251
A letter to Shareholder 252
A letter of thanks 252
Bookingf hotel accomodation for the Chairman etc. 252
Confidential office circulars 253
Informing Labour Leader 254
17. Sales and sales Promotion Letters 252
Introducing a new product 254
Reply to above 255
Soliciting a customer 255
Notifying price increase to retailers 256
18. Trade circulars 257
Admitting a new partner 257
On appointment as sole distributor 257
Retirement of a partner 258
Acquiring of a firm 258
19. Letters to the Editor 259
Exports and Imports 259
Pen-friends 260
Vanaspati prices 261
Clean Bombay 261
That's All 262
Water 263
ESI Scheme 264
Civic Affairs 265
Periscope. 265
Freedom Fighters 266
Text Books 266
Free Sale 267
Facts 267
Politic* 269
Gandhi Stamps 270
 PART I
SOCIAL LETTERS
CHAPTER 1

Writing Social Letters

Just as a person's clothes and general appearance create a

first impression that is likely to be lasting, so the paper and
envelope used in correspondence produce an initial effect,
favorable, or unfavorable, that carries over into the letter itself,
for good or ill. That is why these are the very first things to be
considered. Obvious, perhaps, but it is surprising how many
people are careless in this respect and therefore forfeit an
important advantage they might have gained at the start
We shall not dwell on these factors, since any good stationer
can give dependable advice on the subject, but a few remarks
may be helpful.

PAPER AND PAGING

Paper. To carry on the parallel of a person's clothes, the
letter paper should be neither too plain nor too ornate. Paper
with ruled lines gives an impression of cheapness or of
immaturity. Some tactless correspondents use paper with bright
colors, gilt edges, or large, brilliant monograms, and sometimes
even paper cut in an unusual- shape. All this can be summed up
in two words, "poor taste," which cover a multitude of sins.
Such practices attract attention, but not the right kind.
( 3)
(4)
THE ENVELOPE
Clear information and proper form on an envelope are
important both to the post office and to the receiver of your
letter.
Correct Title. Address people by their customary signa-
tures—the ones they use on cheques and in business letters. The
title Mr., Mrs. or Miss should he used unless the individual has
some special rank, in which case use that.
Return Address. Be sure to place a return address on your
envelope, for use in case your letter goes astray or the addressee
has moved. Postal authorities advise that the sender's address be
placed in the left-hand corner of the envelope, on the same side as
the address. (In social correspondence, however, the return
address is often placed on the back flap of the envelope.) Such
special notation as "Personal" may be written on the front of the
envelope in upper, left-hand corner.
The postal authorities urge the inclusion of postal zone as an
aid to speedier and more efficient delivery of the mails.
THE HEADING
The heading, which is one of the standard parts of a letter,
is at the upper right-hand side, and includes your address and
the date. It should not be jammed against the very top of the
sheet. An upper margin of at least one inch and a right-hand
margin of about three quarters of an inch should be allowed.
This means that you must start your address, if in handwriting,
well toward the middle of the top of the page.
Inclusion of Both the Address and the Date. Sometimes, in a
letter to a friend, the address is omitted and on the date or the
day is given, perhaps not even that. It is just as well, however, to
include both the address and the date, even in a friendly letter.
Your friend may have forgotten your
<5)
address. It is entirely possible, too, that he may wish to refresh
his memory, for one reason or another, as to the date when you
last wrote. He may even wish to keep your letters and enjoy
rereading them later, in which event the dates would aid him in
identifying the incidents you mentioned. (Of course, only the date
is necessary if your address is engraved or printed on the
stationery.)
The Month and the Year. The name of the month should be
spelled in full: October, February, etc.; and the year also should
be written in full; 1973, not '73. An abbreviation is all right in
memoranda but not in correspondence. Except in very formal
letters, do not use the ordinal numbers or an abbreviation of
them ( first, second, 1st, 2nd). Write, for example, December 1,
November 3, The addition of st, nd, rd, or th after 1, 2, 3, 4, and so
on, is no longer considered desirable.
THE INSIDE ADDRESS
The inside address consists of the name and address of the
person to whom you are writing. (Your own address, remember,
is called the heading of the letter, discussed just above.) The
inside address is customary in business correspondence but is not
generally used in a letter to a friend.
Its use is proper, however, in some letters requiring a touch
of formality, as for example, in a letter you might write to
someone whom you had heard on the radio, and whom you
wanted to compliment or perhaps to question; or in a letter of
appreciation to a speaker or performer who had appeared at
your church or club; or in a letter to a prominent person whose
opinion on an issue or event you wish to obtain.
The inside address may be used, also, in a letter from one
official to another, or from a club secretary to a guest whom ,he
is inviting to appear at a club meeting. Such letters are some times
called official or semiofficial.
 (6)
GREETING, OR SALUTATION
As the term implies, this is your opening greeting to the
person to whom you are writing. You use it just as you would
address a person, formally, or informally face to face, before you
enter in to conversation with him. Further, as in that case, so in
correspondence, the degree of formality will differ according to
how well you know the person. In correspondence you should
maintain a degree of formality with all except those whom you
know very well.
Informal Letters. Even in informal correspondence, do not
use greetings such as Friend Paul, Dear Miss, or Friend Sati. Such
salutations give an impression of cheapness and poor taste. In
writing to one who is very dear to you, naturally Von may use any
intimate form of greeting you wish, observing tnc rules of
capitalization discussed just above; Dearest One, fy very Own
Darling, or any other endearing title.
Position. The salutation should be about one-half below the
position reserved for the inside address at the top of the page. In
social correspondence the greeting ends with a comma.
The Use of "I". There used to be a hard-and fast rule,
"Never begin a letter or a paragraph with the pronoun I," just as
there was a similar hard-and-fast rule, "Never end a sentence
with a preposition." As a matter of fact, these rules have been
relaxed because they seemed too arbitrary and artificial.
Nevertheless, it is not good taste to use the pronoun a great
deal in any letter, either social or business. Remember that when
you write your letters. Of course, in letters to friends of long
standing you do not need to be too particular on this point, but
even in such correspondence it is good taste to avoid undue
repetition.
Clarity. "Put yourself in the other person's place" is a
common bit of excellent advice too seldom followed. It is
(7)
particularly helpful in letter writing. If you need this advice, you
will make yourself entirely clear; you will say all that you mean to
say, and, just as important, you will npt say what you did not mean
to say. Moreover, you will express yourself in an interesting manner;
you will not repeat yourself—a very boring habit with too many
writers, as well as speakers.
If you put yourself in the other person's place, you also make
your letter "mechanically" and visually neat: if hand written—
clearly legible,, not crowded, free of blots and of words substituted for
words crossed out; if typewritten (sometimes even social note may
be typewritten)—neat in appearance, with a ribbon that makes
the writing clearly visible, with no jumped capitals above the lines,
and with no gaps from jumped space between the letters of a word
or between words. Whether handwritten or typewritten, only the
most informal letters may have insertions above the lines—words or
phrases you originally omitted.
THE COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
This is simply a graceful way of putting an end to your letter.
If you were talking with a friend or acquaintance, you would end
your conversation, not by just turning and walking away, but with
some kind of polite or friendly good-bye.
Punctuation. The complimentary close should end with a comma.
Sometimes in very informal letters punctuation is omitted in both
the salutation and the complimentary close but this is not usual.
Capitalize only the first word.
Wording. The following examples indicate the kinds of wording
used, which varies according to the formality of the letter and
degree of acquaintance with the person to whom you are writting.
VERY FORMAL : Respectfully yours, Yours respectfully. Faithfully
yours, Very truly yours, Yours truly.
LESS FORMAL : Cordially, Cordially yours, Sincerely,
(8)
Sincerely yours, Yours very sincerely, Always sincerely yours, As ever,
Ever yours, Always yours. You will note that, among these, there
is a varying degree of informality. Naturally, you will make your
choice according to how well you know the person to whom you
are writing.
ENTIRELY INFORMAL With much love. Your loving son (daughter,
nephew etc.), With all my love, Affectionately, Affectionately yours.
In family letters and other initimate personal letters, of course,
any terms of affection and endearment are appropriate in the
complimentary close. Naturally, the close for love letters can
hardly be laid down in any set of rules or principles. The
individual who is in love will doubtless have a lively enough
imagination to devise appropriate *<jrms of endearment.
THE SIGNATURE
Although at first one's signature might seem to be a ,v uter
of the utmost simplicity, requiring no discussion at aH, such is not
the case.
First of all, the signature written in wrong position mokes a
poor impression. The signature should always be handwritten, in
ink, and ordinarily no title is attached, though in formal1
correspondence a doctor may add M. D.
Finally, let us repeat that the signature should always be
dearly written. When you come right down to it, you are doing
your reader a discourtesy if you give him or her the task of
"unscrambling" a signature that is practically illegible. After all, if
you were asked what your name is, you would not mumble it
behind your teeth so that it could not be heard by the person
who inquired. Sign your name so that it is perfectly clear to any
one who can read. This applies whether the communication is
social or business, formal or imformal. Incidentally, it is often the
practice, in bussiness letters, to have one's name typed under the
hand-written signature to make sure that
(9)
the reader will recognize it. You will be wise if you write so that no
such artificial aid is necessary.
TYPEWRITTEN LETTERS
Now a word or two about typewritten social correspondence. As
we mentioned earlier, even social letters may sometimes be
typewritten. Strange and radical changes are taking place in the
modern world, and this is one of them. Until recently, probably
because of the complete association of the typewriter with business, its
use in social correspondence was considered extremely bad taste. But
now, its convenience, its neatness, its legibility, its accuracy for
arranging a letter on the page—all these factors have combined
largely to break down the former hard-and fast prejudics against
such use.
Advantages. After all, the typewriter does not dim the
personality of the writer or lessen interest in what he has to say. If
used skilfully, it improves the appearance of a letter and does away
with the necessity of stopping to decipher any difficult handwriting.
There is also the advantage that with a typewriter you can easily
make a copy for your files. Even with social letters, a copy may be
helpful to refresh your memory of what you have written. The copy
maybe helpful to refresh your memory of what you have written. The
copies will show how often you have written to a friend.
Increasingly in the future, the typewriter will probably be used
for social correspondence by people who can typewrite well. Others,
even though their handwriting may not be above reproach, had
better continue using pen and ink. Formal notes however, should
always be handwritten.
Form of Typewritten Letters. Single spacing is ordinarily
preferable to double spacing. Begin trie body of your letter just
below the salutation. Each new paragraph should be indeted five
spaces; the body of the letter should be indented one inch, or more if
the letter is a short one. Allow two spaces between paragraphs.
 CHAPTER 2
1
Invitations and Announcements
In the many kinds of social contacts that we all experience,
invitations and announcements play an important part. Some are
formal, more are informal, but in either case it is essential, for the
desired impression, that the form be correct and the content
gracious and pleasing. Even in the informal type, the degree of
informality will depend on the nature of the occasion and the
closeness of relationship between the writer and the recipient.
Since the cycle of correspondence includes the reply, we shall
here present some typical replies to serve as a guide for that phase.
Most formal wedding invitations are engraved or printed.
WEDDING INVITATIONS AND REPLIES—FORMAL
Wedding Invitations—Formal
Mr. and Mrs. Hans Raj request the honour of
your presence at the marriage of their daughter
Rati to
Shyam Monday, the the third of
May
at five o'clock
at Laxmi Temple
Chandani Chowk, Delhi.
(10)
(11)
Wnn RECEPTIONCARDENCLOSED.
Reception immediately following
ceremony
32 Elm Street, New Delhi. R.S.V.P.
or The favour of reply
is requested
Or
Mr. and Mrs. Hans Raj request the pleasure of your
company at the wedding reception of their daughter
Rati and
Mr. Shyam Jain Monday, the third
of May • at five o'clock at 32 Elm
Street
New Delhi R.S.V.P.
Sometimes a separate card is also enclosed with these
invitations. For a Home Wedding
Mr. and Mrs. S. Sen
request the honour of your presence
at the marriage of their daughter
Bela
to
Mr. Af un Ghosh on Monday, the
third of May
at five o'clock at 32 Ved
Colony
Kanpur R.S.V.P.
 (12)
Repfies to Wedding Invitation—Formal
Mr. D. R. Goyal accepts with pleasure Mr. and Mrs,
Hans- Rajs' kind invitation to be present at the
wedding reception of their daughter Rati and
Mr. Shy am Jain Monday, the third of
May
at six o'clock 32 Elm Street New
Delhi
Mr. and Mrs. S. Bajaj regret exceedingly that
they
are unable to accept Mr, & Mrs. Hans Rajs' kind
invitation to be present at the wedding reception of
their d uighte* Rati and
Mr. Shyam Jain
Monday, the third of May
at six o'clock
32 Elm Street
New Delhi
WEDDING INVITATION AND REPLIES INFORMAL
Wedding Invitations—Informal To A RELATIVE Dear
Aunt Ruma,
( 13)
On Tuesday, November the third, at four o'clock, Satish and
I are taking the important step. We are being married at the
Saint that charming little Bunglow—you know it—at 14 Ridge
Road.
I hardly need to tell yon that we would not consider it a real
wedding if you were not present. There will be an informal
reception in the evening afterward, and we want you there, too.
Always affectionately,
Lalitha To A FRIEND
Dear Billo,
Well, here's the goods news for you, among the first. I suppose
that you, as on of Hari's best friends, knew it was coming. Hari,
and I are getting married and the date and place have been set.
The wedding will be at Laxmi Temple, at three in the afternoon.
December fourth, but it will be a quiet affair with only a few
friends and relatives present. You Billo, are one of the few.
We are counting on you, so please don't disappoint us. You
must come to the informal reception, also, at my home. The
occasion wouldn't be perfect without you. Be sure to say yes.
Always your friend,
To A FRIEND Meena
Dear Bose,
Kamal and I have decided on Thursday, April the fourth, as
the date for our wedding. We both want an extremely simple
ceremony, so we are going to have only our two closest friends
present, and they will act as witnesses. The reception, at my home,
at four o'clocK, will also be of the simplest kind, with just a very
few relatives and special friends invited. We certainly want you
among that group.
 ( 14)
1 Don't disappoint us. You know how much it will mean
to us both to have you there.
Most sincerely,
Ratan Replies to a
Wedding Invitation—Informal
RELATIVE'S ACCEPTANCE Dearest
Lalitha,
You have no idea what a thrill your note gave me. My Lulie
getting married, and to that wonderful man ! You know how
much I th«nk of you both, and how many good wishes I am
sending along right now.
Yes, indeed. I'll certainly be at your wedding, and at the
reception, too. I wouldn't miss a minute of the occasion. And
while there I'll hope to be brought up to date on all the family
news. It's been so long since I've seen any of you. I had hoped to
visit the family long ago, but one thing after another interfered
with my plans.
Please give my love to your mother and father—and don't
forget Janki. I'll be seeing you soon.
Lovingly,
FRIEND'S ACCEPTANCE Dear Meena,
That certainly is good news, and for some time I had been
hoping to hear it. Congratulations and all good wishes to you and
Hari. I don't know any two individuals whom I'd rather see
starting out together; and I don't know which of you is the
luckier.
You may count on me—reception and all. It is good of you to
say it will mean a lot to have me with you. For my parts, it will
mean a great deal to me to be there.
Again, heartiest congratulations to you both.
Cordially,
! (15)
. FRIEND'S REGRET Dear Ratan,
It is with the greatest disappointment that I have to tell you I
shall be unable to attend your wedding reception on April
fourth. You were so good to include me among your guests.
Unfortunately, I have to represent my firm at a special con-
ference in Bhillai at that time, and I can't possibly change my
plans to permit my return for the occasion.
„ My congratulations, and my very best wishes to you and
Kamal for all the years ahead.
Always your good friend,
INVITATIONS TO DINNER (FORMAL) AND
REPLIES
Invitation to Dinner—Formal
Mr. and Mrs. Rajendra Kumar
request the pleasure of Mr. R. N.
Segal's company
at dinner on Tuesday evening, August
the first
at seven o'clock 14, Band Stand, Bandra R.S.V.P.
Acceptance Note, Formal
Mr. R. N. Segal accepts with pleasure the kind invitation of
Mr. and Mrs. Rajendra Kumar to dinner on Tuesday evening
August the first.
Note of Regret Formal
Mr. R. N. Segal sincerely regrets that a previous engagement
prevents him from accepting Mr. and Mrs. Rajendra Kumar's
kind invitation to dinner on Tuesday evening, August the first.
 ( W) Invitation to Dinner, Formal, To Meet
a Special Guest
Mr. and Mrs. G. Patel
request the pleasure of
Mr. Vijay Kant's company
at dinner on Tuesday evening, August the
first
at seven o'clock to meet Mr. Hiren Bose
70 South Avenue Santa Cruz (West) R.S.V.P.
Invitation to Dinner, Formal, On a Special Occasion
Mr. and Mrs. Ramesh Shah request the pleasure of
your company
at dinner
on the Tenth Anniversary of their marriage Saturday, the
eighth of May at eight o'clock
Shreyas
Nariman Point The favour of reply is
requested
Invitation to Dinner and Theater, Formal
Mr. and Mrs. K. Nayar
request the pleasure of
Mr. R. Pandya's company
for dinner and the theater
on Monday, May the first
at seven o'clock
30, Linking Rd.,
Khar
Kindly respond.
 (17)
Cancellation of Dinner Invitation, Formal.
Mr. and Mrs. Govind Patel
announce with regret that
owing to sudden illness
they are obliged to recall
their invitation for dinner
on Monday, May the
first
MISCELLANEOUS FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Engagement Announcement—Formal
Mr. and Mrs. Krishna Nayar announce the
engagement of their daughter Minu to
Mr. Raj Bahl
on the fourth of October
one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one
in Jammu.
Wedding Announcement—Formal
Mr. and Mrs. Sudhir Ghosh have the
honour to announce the marriage of
their daughter Bela to
Mr. Ranjit Roy
on the fifth of December
one thousand nine hundred and fifty-one
in Bhawanipur
Calcutta Birth
Announcement—Formal
Mr. and Mrs. Santu Sippy take
pleasure in announcing
 ( 18)
the birth of a son
Jaki
on Thursday, February the first
Ninteen Hundred Fifty-one
INVITATIONS TO DINNER (INFORMAL) AND
REPLIES
Note of Invitation to Dinner
My Dear Miss Rati,
It will give Mr. Bose and me great pleasure if you and your
fiance, Mr. Shankar, will dine informally with us at our home on
Tuesday January the fourteenth, at seven-thirty, and spend the
evining. If it is agreeable to you and Mr. Shankar we plan to drive
downtown after dinner and dance for a short time at the Hotel
Natraj.
I hope that nothing will prevent your being with us.
Yours sincerely, Note of
Acceptance
My dear Mrs. Bose
How very kind of you to invite Mr. Shankar and me to
dinner on the fourteenth of January. We are delighted to accept
and, as we are both very fond of dancing, we know that the
entire evening will be most delightful.
Sincerely yours,
Note of Invitation to Dinner and the Theater
My dear Mrs. Sharma,
Mr. Denni and I should be delighted if you and Mr. Sharma
will come to dinner Friday evening, October the twelfth, at six-
thirty, and attend the theater with us afterward. I am writing
some time ahead because, If you accept, I want to be sure to get
tickets for the theater Guild's presentation of Hamlet, which, as
you know, is extremely popular.
( 19 )
We do hope that you will find it possible to be with us.
Cordially yours,
Note of Regret
My dear Mrs. Denni,
Because of the necessity of your securing theater tickets
well ahead of time, I feel I should let you know at once that
Mr. Sharma and I shall have to say "no," very regretfully, to
your alluring invitation. We should have been happy to spend
that pleasant evening with you and Mr. Denni, but unfortu-
nately there is uncertainty as to Mr. Sharma's business plans.
He may have to be away at the time you mention, and I do
not feel that it would be fair to you to delay a definite reply.
Thank you for thinking of us, and perhaps you will be
kind enough to repeat your invitation at some later date.
Cordially,
Letter of Invitation to Dinner to an Intimate Friend
Dear Amy,
You know how much both you and I have missed .'Bella
Dutt since she married and moved to Delhi. Good news ! She
and her husband are to be in town, for a few days next week
and they have accepted our dinner invitation for Monday,
March third.
Billo and I want you and Joy to share the happy occasion.
We hope that Bella's husband will tell us about his latest
movie venture, and 1 know that we shall all have a wonderful
time together. We just can't take "no" for an answer, so let
us hear soon and please make it "yes".
Yours always,
Letter of Acceptance from Friend
Dear Tarun,
Your irresistible invitation calls for just one possible ans-
( 20)
wer—"yes". Of course Joy, and I will come and we can hardly
wait for the day to arrive. I'll tell you a secret. We did have
another engagement for the evening of March third, but we
managed to change our date. So we'll be knocking at your door
just before dinner.
It will be so good to see Bella again and to meet her husband.
She will be kept busy bringing us to the minute on all the news.
Joy says to thank you, too. We'll be seeing you,
Ever yours,
LUNCHEON INVITATION AND REPLIES Letter of
Invitation to Luncheon Dear Kity,
I hear that you are leaving in ten days for a month's vacation
in the Hills. Certainly I envy you both the vacation and the place
where you are to spend it. You know, that is familiar territory to
me. I have jbeen there a great deal, particularly at Dal lake,
where you are to stay. That is where I learned to swim and sail,
and I count among my best friend many of the native Kashmiris
as well as a considerable propotion of the summer cottagers.
Won't you lunch with me Tuesday, June third at Venice
Restaurant—you know where it is—at one o'clock ? We can
enjoy just the right atmosphere there in which to talk over your
plans ana I want to give you some introductions that will make
your vacation the more enjoyable.
Cordially,
Letter of Acceptance Dear
Mohan,
Youri very friendly invitation is the perfect touch to make my
vacation just right. And that idea of the Venice Restaurant for
this particular occasion is so appropriate. It takes you to think
of something like that. I remember the many happy luncheon
meetings we used to have there—the
 ( 21 )
juiet atmosphere and good food, the courteous waiters—just
the ideal place.
Indeed I do accept with the greatest of pleasure. I'll be at
Venice, Tuesday, at one o'clock sharp. I'm sure they will add a
great deal to the pleasure of my stay on the Lake, for at
present I have very few friends there.
Thank you for your thoughtfulness, and I'll be looking
forward to seeing you.
Sincerely,
Letter of Invitation to a Card Party
Dear Akbar,
Bela and i had such a good time at your card party last
month that we want to play host and hostess this time. Could
you come over Monday evening, December the second, about
eight thirty? We'll play either Bridge or Canasta, whichever
you prefer. The Mitras and Nortons will be here, too. You
know them. I believe, and they are all excellent card players.
The game and the evening would not be complete without
you. Please say you'll come.
Sincerely,
Letter of Regret
Dear Suresh,
I appreciate your attractive invitation to play cards at
your home on December second. 1 can't think of a pleasantei
way to spend an evening, particularly as I am Canasta enthu-
siast at the moment. Unfortunately, it will be impossible for
me to be there v, ith you. My Aunt Harriet in Lucknow has
asked me to visit her for a week, beginning December first I
haven't seen her for years, and I have already accepted her
invitation. I am really looking forward to a pleasant rest and
change.
(22)
I regret that I can't accept, and 1 do appreciate your
thinking of me. Perhaps, after I return, you'll ask me again.
Cordially,
Invitation to Prospective House Guest Dear
Shanti,
First of all, welcome home! That is welcome back to city of
Taj—next Sunday. I know that you'll be on a business trip as a
professional buyer for your firm, and that you had to leave your
family in Delhi. That's the penalty you pay for being an expert
career woman.
There are many old friends just waiting for a chance to see
you again. Gopi and I insist on your making our home your
headquarters for your four-day stay. It just wouldn't be right
any other way! Then wr. can plan to invite some of your best
friends to renew acquaintance. In that way, you won't have to take
your brief time running here and there to see them. But don't
worry-we'll not wear you out. We will leave you some time for
your business.
Please make us happy by accepting this invitation. We are so
sure you will, that I am alrealy getting ready for you the room
you enjoyed so much when you used to " visit us. I'm keeping my
fingers crossed for the return mail, and I'm sure it will bring the
good word.
As ever,
Letter of Acceptance
Dear Madan,
Your invitation, with the warmth of friendship that is con-
tained, was one of the pleasantest things that ever came my way.
I was hoping that I had not been forgotten in Agra and now 1 am
sure of it. Such a "welcome home" as your indeed warms my
.heart.
Of course, I accept, and thank you very, very much. I can't tell
you how much this means to me. Please thank Gopi, too.
(23)
It will be wonderful to see you both again and to have such an
opportunity really to "catch up." You'll have to help me save
enough time for my business, while I'm with you, or I may be
a lady without a job when I return.
I'll look forward eagerly to seeing you next Sunday.
Yours affectionately,

CHAPTER 3
Letters of Thanks

This type of letter should be, at least theoretically, easy to

write. When someone has sent you a gift, done you a favour,
shown you hospitality, or the like, it ought not to be difficult to
express appreciation. The sample letters herewith may be helpful
in indicating what else besides more "thank you" is properly
included in this kind of correspondence. Such letters, if well
written, are an excellent opportunity further to strengthen the
friendship represented by the occasion for which you are
expressing gratitude.
FOR HOLIDAY AND OTHER VISITS For
Courtesy to Another
My dear Mrs. Razdan
This letter is to tell you that your courtesy to my daughter
last week, while she was in Delhi, was something that I shall
never forget. I wanted her to call on you and remember me to
you, but your insistence that she be your guest for four days really
touched me. You certainly added greatly to the pleasure of her
stay in the city.
(24)
The dance on Tuesday and the theater party on Thursday
were experiences that Sarla will remember for a long time. She
cannot say enough about you and your friends I know she has
written you her thanks, but I wanted to add my own. 1 hope that
1 may have the opportunity some day to return your kindness.
Very sincerely yours, For
Holidays Dear Samir,
That vacation with you and Malti was a treat long to be
remembered. I have written her a "thank you," but I want to
send you a special note for yourself .
It is so long since the days when we were in college together
that my visit meant a great deal to me, permitting us, as it did to
catch up on the years between—and that isn't always easy. It was
such a pleasure, also, to see how very happy you and Malti are.
Remember, I always told you that you'd find just the right girl,
and you certainly did, I congratulate you again. Samir and your
wife, too.
Helping you with the building of that sun porch was great fun.
You used to tell me I was good at that kind of thing. And that
day's sail on the Motor Boat was a rare treat. I'll dream about it
on long, cold winter nights.
Thanks again, Samir a million. Long life, prosperity, and
happiness to you both.
'As ever, For Dinner My
dear Mrs. Saxena,
It is a double pleasure to write my thanks for your charming
hospitality at dinner last Wednesday. First, it is pleasant to
express appreciation for such gracious entertainment. Se-
(25)
condly, in writing, I live over again an evening so delightful that I
like to recall it as often as possible.
You were very kind to afford me the opportunity to meet
Randhir. I had formed a flattering mental picture of that rising
young author, and I must say that he more than made it a
reality. You may be interested to know that he has sent me
tickets for a lecture that he is giving next week. In fact we had a
brief talk about the topic of his lecture, and he plans to include
some of the ideas which he and I discussed at the dinner.
Again thank you most sincerely.
Cordially yours, To
Relatives Dear Maya,
Thank you so much for the perfectly beautiful little alarm
clock you and Bhai Saheb sent us ! It's one of the very nicest
wedding gifts we have received.
Ramesh sends thanks too ; we hope you will come soon and
see how lovely the clock looks in our new home. You just could
not have made a better choice !
With love from both of us,
Yours, To Friends
Dear Prakash,
How very sweet of you to send us such a beautiful table lamp
! We are delighted with it, and we just can't thank you enough.
We are looking forward to seeing you Tuesday at the dinner.
Thanks again for your wonderful gifts.
Affectionately, Dear, Miss
Atrey,
Thanks for the lovely, lovely Tea Set! I am sure it will be
(26)
one of our most useful gifts. Raj said to sure and send his
thanks, too !
With best wishes from both of us.
Cordially yours, Dear Mrs.
Banerjee,
It was most kind of you and Mr. Banerjee to send us a gift
and such a handsome one ! We are simply thrilled with the Sandal
wood pieces, they are just what we needed for our drawing room.
We hope that you and Mr. Banerjee will come soon, and see
for yourselves how beautiful the book ends look.
Cordially yours, For a Bon
Voyage Gift Dear Shekhar,
It was certainly grand of you and Bhabi to come and see tne
off at the airport! I know it was not easy for you to get to the
airpot at such an early hour, so I appreciate it all the more.
Flying over water can get dreadfully boring after the first
few hours, and your book of detective stories came in very
handy. It was sweet and thoughtful of you to think of it.
The flight reached Paris on the schedule time. Ramesh and
Mohan met me at the airport and we went straight to. their
charming little place. 1 know I am going to enjoy it here; I am
looking forward to two wonderful weeks of fun and gaity over here.
I will write you again, Shekhar, in the meantime, my thanks to
you and Anis for your many kindnesses to me—and my love to
you both, always !
Truely yours,
 ( 27)
For a Gift to a Newborn Baby or Young Child
Dear Mrs. Patni,
Thank you ever so much for the beautiful little dress you
sent the baby. She wore it home from the hospital, and I just
wish you could have seen how sweet she looked in it !
You were very kind to send a gift, and Mr. Mehta and I
appreciate it very much. We hope you will come and see the
baby now that we are home.
Sincerely yours, Dear
Neelu,
I just wish you could see how Babloo adores the cute little
doll with black eyes ! I am sure that if she could write, she
would say, "Thank you, Aunty, for sending me this beautiful
doll to love ! You are the very best aunt in all the world !"
But little Babloo can't write as yet, so let me thank you
for her. You are always so thoughtful and generous.
Come and see us soon, Neelu. It's a long time since you
have been here.
With love,
After Visit to a Friend
Vinod, dear !
This is to tell you again how very much I enjoyed the week
end at Simla. Everything was just about perfect; the weather,
the company, the beautiful surroundings—no wonder 1 am
finding it difficult to get down to business this morning ! The
office seems so dull and prosaic after Simla.
I hope you and Karim know how much I appreciate your
hospitality, and your many kindnesses Ito me. I count myself
fortunate indeed to have two such generous and charming
friends !
Affectionately yours, Dear
Mrs. Chopra,
I would like you to know how much the week at your
lovely house in Lonavala has meant to me. I not only enjoyed
(28)
myself immensely, but I feel relaxed and refreshed as I haven't felt
in months !
Please give my1 love to Kity. It was so nice being with her
again—just like our old days together at school !
Many thanks to you and Mr. Chopra for asking me.
Sincerly yours, Thanks for
a Forour Receired
Dear Mrs. Agarwal,
My nephew, Ratan, has written to tell me how very kind you
have been to him during his stay in Delhi.
Mr. Chopra and I deeply appreciate your courtesy, and we
hope to have the opportunity of reciprocating when you are in
Calcutta.
With many thanks to you for entertaining Ratan so gent-
ruusly.
Sincerely yours. Thanks for
a Letter of Condolence
Dear Uma,
I shall always remember with gratitude the letter you wrote
me when you learned of Radha's death. No one but you, who
knew my sister and loved- her as her own family did, could have
written that letter. It brought me comfort. Uma, at a time when I
needed it badly.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for your letter and
for your many kindnesses to Radha during her long illness.
Affectionately, Dear
Kumar,
Thank you for your kind note of sympathy, and for your
offer to help.
I am afraid there's nothing anyone can do to help us right
now. Only time can help us get over the terrible shock of Amar's
death.
(29)
But it was good of you to make the offer, and I appreciate it
more than I can say.
Always affectionately,
Dear Mrs. Sharma,
Mother has askeu me to write to you, as she cannot do so
herself just now.
She wo aid like you and Mr. Sharma to know how much she
appreciate the letter of sympathy you sent. You have both
been very kind.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Mohan,
I don't need to tell you and Kiran how greatly I appreciate
all you have done for me in this trying weeks—and how grateful I
am for the comfort and understandi'ng you gave me when I
needed them so desperately.
No one knows better than you two what Kamla meant to me
and what an aching void my life has become without her. But I
am trying to take your advice, Mohan—and I hope that
returning to my work next week will help fill some of the em-
ptiness.
You and Kiran have done a lot. I really don't konw what I
would have done without you. Thank you for everything.
Affectionately,
Thanks For a Letter of Congratulation On a Birthday
Dear Mrs. Mahendra,
I just can't tell you how flattered I am that you should have
remembered my birthday. It was a real pleasure to receive your
charming note this morning.
Thank you so much for your good wishes,
Sincerely yours, On an
Engagment Dear Chandran,
What a wonderful letter! Thanks so much for your good
(30)
wishes, and for all the nice things you wrote about Laxmi and me.
I guess I'm just about the happiest man in the world,
Chandran. I know now what you meant when you said 1 and
Laxmi were made for each other. I feel the same way about Laxmi.
Thanks again for your letter. If the future holds only'half the
fine things you hope for us, we'll be lucky indeed.
Affectionately,
On a Marriage
Dear Mr. Sundaram,
Thank you ever so much for your charming note of cong-
ratulation. My nice wife and I appreciate your letter, and your good
wishes for the future.
May we have the pleasure of meeting you in person when you
happened to visit this city. Please remember us to all.
Sincerely yours, Dearest
Ruma,
Of all the letters Ashok and I have received since our
marriage we enjoyed your the most ! Thank you, darling, for all
those good wishes. If our life together proves half as rosy as you
predict, we will be well content.
You say Ashok is to be congratulated, but I think I'm to be
congratulated, too. He's a wonderful, wonderful husband, Tluma,
and I just can't tell you how happy I am !
Thanks again for your good wishes. Ashok joins me in hoping
you'll come often to see us in Simla. With affectionate greetings from
us both,
Sharmila.
On a Wedding Anniversary Dear
Waheeda,
Your letter took us back ten years and brought so many
(31)
happy memories to mind ! Thank you, dear, for remembering our
anniversary and for your kind thoughts of us. Sunil joins me in
sending our love and appreciation.
Affectionately, On the Birth
of a Child
Dear Mrs. Bose,
What a lot of fine big wishes you made for our very tiny new
son ! Thank you ever so much—for Mr. Nayar and myself. We
deeply appreciate your good wishes and congratulations.
Sincerely yours, On
Graduating from College
Dear Mr. Kunte,
That was a wonderful letter you wrote me ! I certainly
appreciate your congratulations, and your invitation to come and
see you about a job.
But as Papa must have told you by now, 1 am interested in
industrial design and hope to find an opening in that field.
It's quite an exciting adventure, starting out in the business
world—and I guess I'll need all the good wishes my friends have
been sending me !
Thanks ever so much for your interest, Mr. Kunte, and for
your very kind offer.
Sincerely yours, On Winning
an Honour or Distinction
D«ar Mr. Nambiar,
Thank you very much for your note of congratulation on my
election as president of the college union.
It was good of you to take the time and trouble to write, and I
sincerely appreciate your kindness.
Cordially yours,
JasB^^ais^ji^^
( 32)
CHILDREN'S LETTERS
Thanks for gifts
Dear Aunt,
Thank you very much for the new doll. I call her Rani. She is
just the doll I wanted.
I hope you and Mala will come to visit us soon.
With love, Dear Uncle,
How did you know I wanted electric trains for Diwali ? I have
been hoping for this all year.
I wish you could have come to my birthday party last
Sunday. Daddy showed movies of the whole family and with some
good games. It was lots of fun.
Please come to visit us soon,
love, Dear
Grandma,
Thank you very, very much for the wonderful bicycle. It is the
gift I wanted more than anything else in the world.
Daddy is teaching me to ride it. I fell off twice this morning, but
I did not hurt myself. I expect to be whizzing off to the park on it
quite soon. All my friends have bicycles, and nosv I can ride with
them.
I hope you will come to my party on Sunday. By then I think I
will be able to ride on the bicvcle comfortably.
Lots of love, Dear Aunty,
I cannot tell you how excited I was when I opened your
package this morning and saw the lovely dress you sent. It is
gorgeous ! And it fits like a dream, I will be able to wear it for a
party tomorrow night.
It was terribly sweet of you to send such a wonderful gift. I do
hope you will be able to visit us soon and see how well it
looks on me.
Yours,
( 33)
Thanks For Invitation Dear Mrs.
Sinha,
Jog is celebrating his sixth birthday with a little party on
Saturday afternoon, June the fifth. He particularly wants to have
Muni come.
We plan to start the celebration about half past two and until
about five.
Very cordially, Dear Damu,
Please come to my sixth birthday party on September' the tenth
from 3 to 6 o'clock.
We are going to have cake and icecream in plenty. I hope
you can come.
Your friend, Dear Mrs.
Ray,
It was very kind of you to ask Muni to Jog's party on
September the tenth. She will be most happy to be there.
Cordially, Dear Muni,
Thank you for inviting me to your party. I will certainly
attend.
Your friend, Dear Mrs.
Sen,
Muni was delighted at die invitation, and she would very much
like to attend. Unfortunately, she has not entirely recovered from her
sickness and the doctor thinks she should not leave the house for
another week.
Thank you very much for asking her,
Sincerely, Dear Shashi,
I wish I could come to your party on Wednesday, but we are
going to visit my grandma that day.
Happy birthday and thanks for inviting me.
With love,
(34)
Thanks for hospitality
Dear Mrs. Sinha
This is to say thanks you for the wonderful tune I had at your
house. I enjoyed the Friday-night party tremendously, and the
exciting snow fall on Saturday was something, I will never forget.
The holidays were one of the best I ever spent.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mala,
I want to tell you that the week end at your house was just as
I had anticipated, I had a wonderful time.
Please te'l your mother I still cherish her wonderful cooking, and
I would like the recipe for her Brinjals I have told my mother all
about how delicious they were, and she had agreed to prepare them
as soon as I have the recipe.
I hope you will visit us for the Dussera holidays. Daddy bought
me a beautiful dress for my birthday that you will love to see and we
are planning a picnic at Ooty.
Yours loving friend,

CHAPTER 4
Letters Of Congratulations
Congratulations on an Engagement From a Friend
Dear Radha,
I have just learned of your engagement to Kumar Sen. Lei me be
among the first to wish you both every happiness. I have known
Kumars for years, and I am very fond ofthe

i^«;jk£«i&aS<£l*, »«t, -«u

(35)
boy. But I think he is lucky to have won a grand girl like you; and
tell him for me, my dear that I congratulate him.
Affectionately,
From a Relative
Dearest Radha,
Your mother has told us of your engagement to Kumar Sen. I
cannot tell you, my dear, how pleased your Uncle and I are by this
news. We have been very close to Kumar's family for years, as you
know—and we have always thought of him as an unusually fine and
dependable young man. In fact, we don't know anyone we would
rather have you marry than him.
So we send you our love, Radha and our wishes for a lifetime of
happiness. Give our love too, and tell him how delighted we are to
welcome him into the family.
Always affectionately,
Congratulations on Marriage
From a Friend Dear Rita and
Monu,
We were thrilled and delighted to receive the announcement
of your marriage in Bombay last Tuesday.
Ashok and I send you both our love, and best wishes for
every happiness that life can bring.
We hope you will let us know when you return to New
Delhi, so that we can give you our congratulations in person.
Affectionately, From a
Relative Dear Anita,
You will always be little Annu to me......even thogh you
are now a staid and dignified married woman ! It's hard for me
to believe you are old enough to be married. Why, it seems only
yesterday I dangled you on my knees !
Give my congratulations to that nice new husband of yours, and tell him
I think he's a mighty lucky fellow,
t-, JLiifc._ «vJi»L_«j-*iai«UB*.J&U«~. ——
J-a-iu" .«M«5MEM«^ sA *SS3X«,» - -
J. iM-
(36)
My very best wishes to you, for a lifetime of happiness.
Yours,
My dear Mala,
Congraiulations on your recent marriage.
I wish you and your bridegroom the best of luck, and every
happiness as the years pass by.
Sincerely yours,
Congratulations on a Wedding Anniversary
Dear Laxmi,
It does not seem possible that it is five years since you and
Narayan were married ! Somehow I still think of you as a bride
and groom. May be it's because you 're just about the most
devoted couple I know !
Congratulations to you both, and may the years ahead bring
you continued joy and contentment.
Affectionately,
Dear Mrs. Reddy,
We have heard that you and Mr. Reddy are celebrating your
fortieth wedding anniversary this week.
It must be a great source of pleasure and pride to have
reached this milestone in your long and happy life together, and
to be able to look upon a rich and full life and know you have
accumulated so many devoted friends.
Mr. William and I send you warm congratulations, and we
hope that there are many more years of happiness ahead for both
of you.
Cordially yours,
Congratulations on a Birthday Radha
dear,
You may not like to be reminded that you are a year older
today—but that's not going to keep me from saying . "Happy
Birth^y",
(37)
Let us see...Is it twenty-seven, or twenty-eight—? Or
perhaps I would better not ask.
Anyway, my love to you on your birthday, and many, many
happy returns of the day!
Affectionately, Dear Uncle
Ashok,
To everybody else in the world, this may be Columbus Day.
But to me it's far more special day than that! It's the birth day of my
favourite uncle—the uncle who never forgot my birthday when I
was a child and who always made me so happy !
1 wish you weren't away out there in Calcutta uncle. I'd love
to see you on your birthday and help you celebrate. But I can't—so
I'm sending you a little gift I hope you will like. With it go my
congratulations, and all my love. I hope you'll have many, happy
birthdays, and that you'll never lose the cheerful outlook and gay
spirits that have made you so well-loved by all the family.
Raman and the children join me in sending congratulations and
love from all of us.
Alka Congratulations on
The Birth of a Child
Dear Ajni,
What a wonderful news it is ! I know you wanted a baby girl—
and I can just imagine how thrilled and happy you must be.
Kishu must be just about bursting with pride. Tell him that
Raj and I send congratulations and best wishes.
We wish you both all possible joy and happiness in your new
little daughter.
Fondly, Dear Mrs.
Patkar,
Your husband just told me the good news. I am so glad to
( 38 )
hear it's a boy, for now little Minni will have that baby brother
she's been wanting!
Congratulations from Mr. Ghosh and myself. We wish you
joy and happiness with your son.
Sincerely yours,
Congratulations on Graduation
Dear Vinod,
Congratulations upon having received your doctorate in
Philosophy from Bombay University. I know this has meant years
of study and hard work on your part, and it's an achievement you
can well be proud of.
Your Aunt and I have followed your progress with pleasure
and interest : and we are sure, from the fine record you have
made, that you will be a success in whatever you undertake.
No doubt you are tired after the strain of the past few
months; and if you would like to come to Jaipur for a few weeks
this summer, we'd be very happy to have you. We remember that
you always used to like it here as a boy; and although it may be
too quiet for you now, the relaxation might do you a lot of good.
And we'd certainly enjoy hearing about your plans, now that you
have completed your course.
Think it over, Vinod, and let us know!
Affectionately, Dear Mrs.
Roy,
We hear that Tarun has graduated from Delhi Academy
and that he made a very fine record for himself there. You must
be proud of his splendid accomplishment, and we are very happy
for you.
Please give Tarun our congratulations, and our best wishes
for success and happiness in his chosen work.
Sincerely yours,
(39)
Congratulations on Winning an Honour or Distinction
Dear Mr. Karron,
My warm congratulations to you on your election as
president or the state medical association. It's a fine tribute from
your colleagues, and a reward you richly deserve for your many
years of splendid service to the profession and to the people of
the state.
1 can't think of any man who would have been a better
choice. My very best wishes to you !
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Ayer,
I read in this morning's paper that after twenty-five years
with Jainsons, you are parting out for yourself and opening your
own agency business.
I would like to add my congratulations to the many you
must be receiving. With your brilliant background and long
record of fine achievements, I am sure the new agency will be a
great success. I sincerely hope you will find in this new venture the
happiness and satisfaction you so richly deserve.
Dear Ajay,
I ran into Kamath the other day, and he tells me you were
recently appointed managing editor of the Berar Times.
It's great news, and I am delighted to hear it! I knew it
should be only a matter of time before your unusual abilities
were recognized.
It's fine to know you have achieved the goal you've been
working toward all these years, and I wish you the greatest
possible success. In my opinion, the Berar Times at last has an
editor who can make it the dominant, outstanding daily of the
capital.
My heartiest congratulations !
Yours truly,
(40)
Congratulations on a Speech or a Performance
Dear Miss Mala,
Congratulations on your triumph last night! Everyday in
Bombay is talking about your brilliant recital.
Mother and I are especially fond of Thumri and your rendition
of it was simply superb, I just can't tell you how much we enjoyed it.
Sincerely yours, On an
Election Victory
My dear Mr. Pant.
As a citizen of our town, and one who has its best interests very
much at heart. I want to be among the first to congra-. '*ne>you on
your election as Mayor. The large majority given > i by the voters
proves that there are a great many like my-s»e'f who definitely
wanted our local-self government removed >um incompetent,
dishonest hands and entrusted to a man who is honest, efficient,
and loyal to the highest standards.
You may count on me to help in any modest way I can.
Very sincerely yours,

Family Letters

To a Daughter Working in Another City

Dearest Kammo,
I was so very, very happy to get your nice long letter this
morning. Thank you, darling, for not making me wait too
(41 )
long. I was so worried about that cold of yours; but now that I
know you are completely better. I won't worry anymore! Just
take a little rest and don't go to office too soon.
I am sending you a blouse for your new skirt. I know you
can get anything in Bombay, but I happened to see '.this
one in the market the other day and I felt that you will like it
most.
You asked about Maya. She doesn't expect her baby until
the end of July. I just heard that the girls are planning to give
her a grand welcome home at her house next week. But I
thought you might like to send her something from Bombay. It
would be a nice surprise for Maya and I know it would please
her very much. You could send it right to Maya, or send it to
me and I'll have take it over the day of the Welcome, Nimmo is
doing very much better in school now. She got 60 in her last
test...... ..which only goes to prove she can get
good marks when she tries. But I do think her eyes may have
had something to do with it. She seems to be able to concentrate
much better since she started wearing glasses. You know that
she has grown two inches since you saw her last. She can
actually wear my clothes now and she will be taller than me, I
think.
Your daddy is fine. The only thing that seems to be both-
ering him these days is that he's losing his hair. He thinks a
lot about you two.
Now take care of yourself, darling..... .and don't over
work yourself. You know how I worry when you aren't well ! I
wish you would take things a little easier and try to get more
rest.
Your daddy and Nimmo send you their love. We all miss
you darling. Your letters are a great comfort, so write soon
again.
Devotedly,
mother
(42)
To a Husband Away on Business.
Kishan dear,
You have been gone exactly two weeks today, but it seems more
like two years to me ! I have been so lonely without you.
But I am glad to hear you had such a successful trip this time.
That order you got in Delhi is marvelous ! I don't blame you for
being so elated about it.
Are you coming directly home, dear, or do you plan to make
some stops on the way ? 1 hope you will be home in time for Poonam's
birthday party next Sunday. She is waiting for you to join her
birthday party and to entertain her little friends.
Poonam keeps asking every day when you will be back. She
says you never finished that story you were' telling her about the
boy who lost his way in the jungles. You better hurry and think
up a good ending for it. She won't be happy until she knows exactly
what happened to the boy and how he got back to his home.
Everything at home is fine, except that we miss you so much, I
have been busy with the cleaning. Yesterday I washed the kitchen
walls, and now the kitchen looks as though it has been repainted. I
made some new green curtains, and they look very good.
The weather here has been lovely. It is almost like summer today.
1 let Poonam go to school with just a little sweater on instead of her
coat. Everything is beginning to get green, and before you know it
your rose garden will burst into bloom. I can see it begining to stir
and waken already.
I went to see your mother yesterday. Her cold is all gone, and she
looks very well. Your sister looks wonderful! She took off about
fifteen pounds since she began dieting, and it's very becoming. But
now she's complaining that none fo her clothes fit!
l\
(43 )
Let me know exactly what day you'll be home, dear. I
want to have your favorite dinner ready. Please come home
soon, because Poouam and I are very lonely for daddy.
Love and kisses to you, darling—
Yuurs,
Letter to a relative who has asked for advice
Dear Dayal,
You asked for my advice and I am going to give it to you.
This is not the time to start a new business. I think you should
wait until conditions are better, until the downward spiral is
stopped and the prospect for small new businesses is more
promising.
I'd like to quote to you from editorial in this morning's
Economic Times. It says: "The death rate among businesses this
year will climb like a kite in a spanking spiral breeze ! Only a
miracle can pull a number of new small businesses, particularly
retail establishments, through the new year without a collapse
"
So there is the answer to your question Dayal. You
would be taking a big chance : and I don't think you have
the right to take that chance with Maya seriously ill and to
join the college.
I don't mean to say that you should stay where you are
indefinitely. I don't think any one should let himself get into
a rut of living or thinking. I belive in change, and I under-
stand fully the impluse that makes want one to strike to aga-
inst regimentation and find new interest and adventure in a
business of your own.
But this just isn't the time for if, Dayal. So I say waij
perhaps six months, or a year, or may be even longer. Be pati-
ent, and make your plans; then when the time comes you'll be
ready. And I'll be ready then, too, Daya, to help you financi-
ally and in other way I can.
(44)
If you want to talk this over more in detail, I'll be glad to
meet you.
Arti and I send affectionate greeting to all the family. We hope
Maya will soon be well and strong again.
Sincerely, Dear Prem,
Your marks have just come, and I am delighted. I must say I
am very pleased with the steady improvment you have shown,
especially in French.
Getting 75%marks in French is certainly better than 50% you
got last time. It shows that you are really trying. That is important
things tome. As long as >ou keep trying and improving, I will be
satisfied. Even in English and History you have improved a lot. But I
am specially pleased with your marks in French because you failed
twice in that subject. I think the trouble has been that you dislike
and resent French, and therefore have trouble concentrating on
it. Naturally it's easier to concentrate on subjects you enjoy and find
interesting.
You know, Prem, I'd feel much worse if you had difficulty, with a
subject like Science or Mathematics. After all; such subjects require
intelligence. But a fellow doesn't need much intelligence to master
French ! It's just a mater of memorizing, as I have told you in the
past. All that is necessary is to concentrate on the job and do it.
That is what you are apparently doing now and that's why I am so
plesed with you.
Everything at home is fine. Your mother is well, and very happy
about the good report from school. She says to tell you she sent your
parcel yesterday; you should receive it in plenty of time for Diwali.
Take good care of yourself Prem. Your mother and I may drive
up to see you soon. In the meantime, we all send you our love and
we hope you keep up the good work.
Affectionately,
\ ( 45 )
Letter to Children Away at School
Dear Nandan,
How are you getting along at camp ? I hope you are having
fun and enjoying your friends and all the activities.
*• o you have passed the test ! That's fine—Now you had the
sweet taste of success. Your mother and 1 are very proud of you
for learning to swim so quickly—and so well.
We miss you very much at home. But it is a good thing you
are away, as it is very hot here and you are away in the
mountains. We will come to see you next week, and your mother
would like to know if there is anything you want us bring along.
We are all fine. Your baby sister is getting fat and very
pretty. She keeps mother busy, which is a good thing—otherwise
she would miss you too much.
Next time you write, Nandan tell us more about what you do
at camp. Have you been on any hiking in the mountains with
your friends. We enjoy hearing about all the interesting and
exciting things that go to make up your day at camp.
So write again soon, Nandan, and that too in detail.
Affectionately, Dearest
Raju,
I went this morning to get the books you wanted, and when
I got back I found your letter waiting for me. Thank you dear, for
writing so promptly! I was anxious to know how you came out in
your exams, and I am delighted to hear that you did so well. I
have every confidence in you, and I know you will always apply
yourself to your studies and try to be at the top of your class.
If you only knew how happy your letters make me ! This last
one is especially interesting—just the kind of letter I love to get
from you—all about your work at school, and your
(46) /
/ friends..
It's a wonderful letter, Raju, and for a little whil/ I
felt like having you here in the room.
I can just imagine how thrilled you are to be on the football
team. Daddy will be very pleased when he hears about it. No
doubt he will write and tell you so himself tonight, after he reads
your letter. Yes, you may get whatever you need. I agree with you
that it's better to buy things like that rather than send them from
New Delhi. So just get what you need.
Don't worry about your fish—I am taking very good care of
them. 1 feed them regularly every morning, and 1 always put the
food in the glass ring, just the way you showed me.
Munna misses you very much, dear—I wish you would write
to him once in a while. I told him that your letters are for all of
us, but he is always disappointed when the postman comes and
there is nothing for him. I am sure you would send him a letter
every now and then, even if it's only a few words.
I hope you won't let football practice interfere with your
school work, now that you are on the team. But I am sure you are
too sensible for that ! Dad and I want you to do the best you can
in whatever you undertake, and we will be proud and happy if you
distinguish yourself in football or any other sport. But not at the
expense of your studies ! We hope you will continue the fine
progress you have been making and not let your enthusiasm for
football take too much of your time and effort.
I am sending you a bpx of those chocolates you like so much.
Jn your next letter be sure to let me know if there is anything you
need. My love to you, dear... .and many thanks for your nice long
letter. I will be eagerly waiting for the next one !
Yours,
(47)
To a Married Sister Living at a Distance
Dear Bimla,
It is your birthday tomorrow and you are nearly a thousand
miles away. I certainly wish you lived a little closer, so we could see
each other often. It is not much fun when a favourite sister
marries and goes off to another part of the country.
But any way, "Happy Birthday, darling!" Here I send you
my twenty-six kisses and an extra kiss to wish you good luck,
happiness and all that is good for ever, and not just for next year.
Mother and Daddy have sent you somthing special for your
birthday. I am not going to tell you what it is, but I know you'll
be thrilled. I sent my gift last week, and no doubt you have
received it by now I hope you like it. Jaya is embroidering a
bridge cloth for you...but you know Jaya very well ! She will
probably finish it by Diwali. It's very pretty, though; it's pink,
and it has a beautiful design. She is proud of her handwork, and
she shows it to everyone who comes into the house. " It's for my
sister in Khartoum"; she tells everybody.
I am still with Batras; but one of these days I am going to
tell just what I think of them, and walk out. I don't know why I
put up with tentrums and tempers. Dad wants me to leave and
take that job Uncle offered me, but I don't like the idea of
working for a relative. Just between you and me; I now want to
get settled.
Do you think you will be coming for a visit soon? Write soon
and tell us all the news. Are all of you so busy as ever ? I am also
enclosing the recipe of Chicken Salad that you wanted mother to
send. She says to be sure and let her know how it turns out.
Many happy returns, darling—from all of us!
With love,
(48)
Letters to Close Friends and Family Letters to
and From Absent Friends
Dear Naresh,
I just can't get used to the fact that you are not in our old
home town any more, nor in the office with me. Let's see, how long
is it now since you left here? The calendar says it is eight months,
and you can't argue with the calender, though I'm inclined to do
just that.
Neither of us is a very good correspondent, but I think it's
my turn to write, and first of all I want to say, give me more
news about yourself. Is the new job in Bombay proving worth
your having take such an action? Is the manager easy to get along
with, and does he appreciate your talents and ability? I've heard
he is rather "hard boiled." Have you found a good apartment?
Last time, you wrote, you were still looking. How about
recreation? Is there a good cricket club for you to join? 1 Know
you'd be lost without one.
As for me, you'll be glad to hear that I am to be promoted
next month—Assistant Sales Manager, no less ! You'll have to
address me as "Sir" after this. I'll get considerably more salary
and that will be most welcome, with the cost of living apparently
going up indefinitely. Madan and I plan to spend our vacation
together next summer at Simla. He likes the outdoors as much as I
do. Kity Sue in our office—you remember her— has at last
become engaged to Tej, the Personnel Manager. We all saw that
coming—or perhaps he didn't.
Well, that's about all. How am I doing? Please do at least as
well when you answer, and let that be soon, Naresh.
Always yours, A
Friend's Reply
Dear Baijal,
You see, I'm answering you promptly this time, and let's
both keep up a good schedule. I think, however, that letter
\ (49 )
mean more to me than to you, since I'm the one who has
moved away, I really do appreciate your letters.
Now as to your questions. It is a little early to tell definitely
whether or not the new job will be all that I hoped, but the future
looks promising. Already, I have been able to save the Production
Department a tidy sum by reorganizing methods and making certain
shifts in personnel. The manager is appreciative, too. He is not as
"hard boiled" as some make him out to be. Probably you, like me,
have noticed that such is often the case. Regarding an apartment,
the outlook is good. I've found one 'I want, and I think that I'll
be signing up for it next week. I enjoyed all your news, especially
the item about Miss Sue, with the accompanying comment.
By the way, let me know how young Joshi is doing. They took
him on in the office, you remember, just before I left, and I was very
much interested in him.
Write me again soon. In the meantime, my best regards to you.
Please remember me to my other friends in the office.
Yours as ever, Letter from
Vacationist to Friend
Dear Kanta,
Well, here we are, Raj and I, at Dhanush Kodi and all our
dreams of last winter are coming true.
The old houses and tree-shaded, narrow streets, with tar side-
walls that get soft on hot days; the bracing salt air, and the
brilliant sunshine on sparkling water; the white sails off shore,
and the little lighthouse standing sentinel at the end of a long
breakwater; the town dock with the fishing boats that come and
go—all these are only part of the fascination that is Dhanush-Kodi.
We only wish you could share it with us.
(50) /
Then, too, there are attractive trips here and there. Gay
Head, at the extreme tip of the land, is one of the choicest
spots of all. It is only about twenty miles from here, and well
worth the trip. A lighthouse stands on the top of a cliff, widely
famous for its varicolored sands, and the view is gorgeous—a
great sweep of sea out to the arc of the horizon, I just can't
describe the beauty of. You have to see it and, when you do, you
never forget it.
Raj and I are taking it easy, for the most part—not trying
to follow any schedule or be too strenuous. We have rented a
little Woods Hole catboat and enjoy sailing about the harbor
and up into Bay, where we go ashore, laze around on the
smooth sandy beach, and revel in the magnificent ocean view.
We swim every day from a beach near the harbor entrance.
Enough of us. Please write to give us all your news. I
know you are leaving soon on your own vacation, and we are
counting on your keeping us informed about all the good times
you will certainly have in France.
Raj joins me in sending best regards and good wishes.
Affectionately, A
Friend's Reply
Dear Sunanda,
It certainly was pleasant to receive your breezy letter—
and I do mean breezy. Right here in the hot city I could almost
smell the salt air that you described so vividly. Evidently you and
Walt have selected an ideal place for the kind of vacation you
both like the best. I envy you, and it was all I could do to
restrain myself from resigning and coming right up there.
Compared to all you told me, and the way you told it, my
letter will be very dull, I fear. Just the old routine, with hectic
days at the office, especially for me, as I am trying to put every
thing in perfect order before I leave. When I arrive home at
night, often quite late, I am so weary that it is hard to work on
 (51 )
i\
my itinerary, which I must do if I am to make the most of this
rare opportunity of a trip abroad. But everything will be
worth while when I finally do leave.
You may be sure that I will write you en route, and I'll
send you my various addresses as soon as I know exactly where
you can reach me, and at what time.
Please remember me to Kiran, and my best to you, as
always.
Ever yours,
Letter From a Student in a Foreign Country
My dear Mohan,
I have just received your kind letter and am very happy to
get it. I was actually waiting for it. I just do not know why I feel
a kind of consolation when I get your letter. As you asked about
hostel, truly speaking Mohan, up till now I have enjoyed my
stay in this country so very much, that I have never enjoyed in
my life and 1 will remember my stay dm ing my whole life. This
hostel in which I am living is called Cite Universitair. Life there
is very charming and attractive. But Mohan, this cannot be an
ultimate goal of somebody's life. If a man wants to progress in
his life, his approach towards the charms of life must be very
restricted. You will be glad to know that I went to Holland in
my last vacation. In all we were 8 students. We visited
Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden and Amsterdam. The distances
are very small. The distance between Brussels (Capital of
Belgium) and The Hague (Capital of Holland) is only about 100
miles. Really Mohan, I liked Holland so very much that I would
like to settle here, only if I can. It is in true sense a heaven. A
very very charming and beautiful country. The natural beauty,
the persons all are fascinating. Particularly you like a place
more if you have good climate all the time. Now let me tell you
something about this country. Apart from other, Rotterdam,
The Hague,
 (52)
Leiden, and Amsterdam are the four major cities in
Holland. Persons here speak Dutch and English. So here,
there is a language problem like Brussels. Rotterdam is the
biggest harbour in the world. It handles about 160 million
tons of cargo every year. New York harbour is second
highest in the world. It handles 100 million tons of cargo
each year. The third in the series is Antwerp in Belgium
handling about 55 millions tons of cargo in a year. I need
not explain you The Hague. You know very well that is the
capital of Holland and also the seat of international Court
of justice. Leiden is known for its University. Amsterdam is
a very beautiful city. In whole of the city there is a network
of canals. You can go either by road or by boat. They ply
boats in the canal just like buses and trams on the road.
The market of Amsterdam is so well decorated and
maintained that in the night it looks better than any place
in India. It has become a center of tourist attraction. This
city also has many monuments of Second World War.
Persons in this country have suffered so much in the war
that they shiver when you talk to them about it.
Rest is as usual. Convey my regards to all.
Yours truly,
Letters from a Friend in Distant Plaee
My dear Shekhar,
After winding up my affairs in London, I look a plane
and left London on 5th August, 1968 at 6-30 a. m. I reached
Brussels at 7-00 a. m. after covering a distance of 300 miles
in just 30 minutes. I have dispatched my luggage by "S. S.
Cathey" of P & O Lines.
My course has commenced from yesterday only. First we «
had the inaugration at 10 a. m. At 12 noon we had Grand
Reception and Lunch. From today we have started extensive
,
(53)
lectures. These lectures start at 9 a. m. daily and end at 5 in the
evening with break of 3 hours from 12 to 3 p.m. for lunch etc.
Like this we have to attend five lectures of one hour each. This is
too much for me. I have just returned from lectures of today and
I am feeling very tired and exhaustive. Lectures ^ire not so much
tiring but the preparation of lecture and the discussion that follows
is terrible. About 30 American students and 24 European
students are taking part in it. And you know very well that these
Americans talk too much though most of it is senseless. But to be
at par, I have also to say something relevant or irrelevant.
Belgium, and particularly, Brussels is a beautiful city.
People here speak four languages—German, French, Flemish and
Dutch. Hardly one percent speak English. Yoa must have read in
the papers, only a few weeks before some riots took place here on
language—just like India. It is difficult for a person who does not
know any of these languages. Though I have a very limited
experience, yet I feel that the persons here are of a very nice and
helping nature. The main mode of transportation in the city is
trams. I hope you must be knowing that Belgium is a member of
European common Market commonly called E. E. C. (European
Economic Com-rninuty). The other members are Holland,
Luxemburg, West Germany, France, and Italy. Therefore
products of the member countries are cheap here. But generally
speaking the standard of living is very high and his much costlier
than London. Except the members of Indian Embassy and Air
India there are in all four Indian families living in Brussels. The
other big cities of Belgium are Antwerp, Namur, etc.
I am feeling homesick and a strong urge to give up the course
and go back to London. But that is not possible. By the time I settle
myself at a place, it is time to leave.
Uncle had arrived in London on 3rd May from Delhi, I
( 54)
was with him for 3 days. He is staying with one of his friends in
London.
Rest is alright. Please reply soon and convey my regards to all
the friends.
Yours,

CHAPTER 6

Letters of Sympathy on Illness, Injury and Material Loss

These are written to cheer friends or relatives, who are ill, or
who have been injured in an accident, and also in case they have
suffered material loss due to fire, flood, theft or other unfortunate
circumstances. Such letters should be tactful and sincere. Apart
from the illness or loss it is very minor the tone should be lighter of
your letter, but in case of grave illness or serious loss, one should
never attempt to be facetious. Though your bright and witty
letrer is written with the best intentions in the world, to cheer the
invalid or unhappy victim of misfortune, you may be sure it will
be resented. Because people take their trouble seriously, and
expect you to feel the same. But it doesn't mean that your letter
should be gloomy or pessimistic. On the contrary it should bring
courage and comfort to the person who receives it.
Letters to Sick People
Make them feel as if the recovery is just nearer to them and
he or she will be as hale and hearty as ever. Try to minimize
(55)
the illness instead of dramatizing its seriousness, let the person
who receives your letter feel better, and get a mental uplift, and
a cheerful outlook.
When you write such letters, the length of its matter is not
important. The important thing is what you say in the letter.
Make it like your personal visit to the person, warm and friendly,
which brings brightness and cheer into the sickroom, giving escape
for a minute or two from the loneliness or pain.
Whatever you write, keep in mind that your outlook is
optimistic towards the reader and he should feel well to be on his
way to complete recovery.
Dear Mr. Kohli,
I was so sorry to learn of your illness. You must hurry and
get well ! Everybody in the office misses you, and we're all hoping
you'll be back soon.
My wife joins me in sending best wishes for your speedy
recovery.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Gandhi,
Mrs. Desai and I are extremely sorry to hear of your illness.
We often wondered how you could keep going as you did day and
night. It was bound to catch up with you sooner or later.
We do hope you won't rush your recovery—that you'll
think of yourself, for a change, and get a good rest before you
return to your practice. We're sending you some books we think
you'll enjoy.
With best wishes for your quick and complete return to
health.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Joy,
I've just this minute heard that you are in the hospital. I
(56)
think you are very Wise to find out once and for all what's causing
your trouble, and get it over with.
/
I hope that by the time this note reaches you, you'll be feeling
a great deal better. I'm sure that now it won't be long before you
are entirely and completely yourself again.
By the way, Joy, the boys, are postponing that fishing trip
until you can join us. We've decided it wouldn't be nearly as much
fun without you. So hurry and get well!
Affectionately, Dear Maya,
I hear you are making such a rapid recovery that you'll soon
be out of the hospital and back with your family and friends.
That's wonderful news. Maya! I've missed you so much. You've
been on my mind constantly, ever since you went to the hospital. I
just can't tell you how -sorry I was that you had such a difficult
time of it.
But all that's over now; and you'll soon be as good as new. I
met Dr. Carleson at my sister's house yesterday and he tells me you
are his prize patient. He says you rallied beautifully, and that from this
point on you'll show steady improvement— until you have all your
old health and strength back again.
I saw Navi yesterday. The poor man is like a lost sheep
without you ! He says he's counting' the very hours until you come
home. Minu was with him; how she has grown in the past year !
You have a lovely daughter, Maya. As gracious and charming as she
is sweet to look at. You must be very proud of her.
This morning I walked by your house on the way to the post
office, and I stopped for a moment to look at your garden. I still say
it's the most beautiful garden in town ! Your roses are magnificent
this year. And I do hope you'll get home before the lilacs are gone—
they're simply gorgeous !
( 57 )
Ajit sends his best wishes, and he says to be sure and tell you
how delighted he is to hear about your fine progress. Keep it up
Maya, and come home real soon to those who love and
miss you.
Affectionately,
Dear Ramesh, ^
I just can't tell you how sorry I was to learn of your accident.
Your family tells me that you are progressing nicely, and that you'll
be oat of the hospital in about ten days. Fm certainly relieved to
know that!
In the next day or so you'll receive a little package from Maya
and me. I hope you like it, and that it will help to pas's the time
more pleasantly.
With good wishes for your swift recovery,
Sincerely, Dear Mrs.
Gilbert,
I feel I simply must write this note and tell you how much you are
in the hearts and minds of everyone in the club.
We were shocked and saddened beyond words by news of the
crash. But we were greatful, too, that your injuries were not
serious.
The affection and best wishes of the entire town are with you,
and everyone's hoping for your quick and complete
recovery.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Mahesh,
I've just learned young Prem was hurt in a football game.
I'am ever so sorry to hear it, and I hope his injuries are not serious.
I know just how you feel because I had the same experience with
Ratan a few years ago. I guess it's just something all mothers of
growing boys must expect!
Please let me know if there's anything 1 can do to help.
Perhaps you'd like to send Kity here for a week or so, until
(58)
Prem is better. We'd love to have her, and I'd see that she got to
and from school safely. Just phone me. Mahesh and I'll come
and get her.
Tell Prem I'm sorry he was hurt, and that I hope he'll soon be
fit as a fiddle again.
Affectionately, To those
who have Suffered Material loss or Damage
People who have suffered material loss or damage generally
appreciate a brief message of sympathy from their friends. But it
should not be a probing letter, filled with questions—a letter
prompted more by curiosity than kindness. It should merely
express sympathy, and perhaps offer help. Here are a few
examples :
Dear Mr. Sharma,
I was extremely sorry to hear of the fire which destroyed your
beautiful house in Delhi. I know well how much that house
meant to you and Mrs. Sharma, and I hasten to offer my
sympathy.
With best wishes to you both,
Sincerely yours,
Dear Chanda,
Your sister phoned this morning and told us about the fire
which damaged your house last night. Jeet and I know how
Distressing this exprience can be, as we went through it out selves.
If there's any way we can help, will you call on us ? You are
more than welcome to use our basement for storing things until
the damage to your house is repaired.
We hope the damage is less than you think, and that your
lovely house will soon be good as new again.
Sincerely,
(59)
On Hearing of Sickness
Dear Uncle Navin,
I was very sorry to hear that you are ill.^Please don't mis-
interpret my saying that it must be pleasant for Aunt Geeta to
have you around the house and get reacquainted with you. Your
business generally monopolizes you, and I know she is enjoying
your company. I'm afraid it won't be for long, however, for, as
the old saying goes, you can't keep a good man down.
Seriously, 1 do hope that you will be up and out very soon. No
one who knows you, with all your pep and energy, can imagine
your being laid low for very long. 1 wish I were near enough to
run in and say Hello.
Affectionately, Dear
Senegal,
It is too bad that you got in the way of one of those germs
that have been taking over the town lately. You are so much on
the run, here, there, and everywhere, with that sales work of
yours that I wouldn't have thought any germ could catch you.
Don't think for one minute that I am unsympathetic, but the
enforced rest may be just what you need to make you let up for a
while. You can't do two men's work and not wear yourself out.
Take good care of yourself, Benegal and don't try going
back to work too soon. I'll be in to see you when you are feeling a
little stronger.
Yours,
To Injured in Accident Dear Lekh,
I can't tell you how distressed I am to hear of the automobile
accident that has put you in the hospital. I am so thankful that
you were not more seriously injured. When I
(60)
hear of what happens to some of my friends who drive cars, I'm
glad I don't own one.
Perhaps I'm not striking the bright, happy note for the
patient. You know that I'm sending you all the right kind of
thoughts for your early recovery, and I'm coming over soon with
some cheerful bo9ks that will help you while away the time. Till
then, cheerio !
Shankar To a Patient
in Hospital
Dear Mr. Mahoney,
I am extremely sorry to hear that you are in the hospital
with pneumonia. I have delayed writing until I- knew you were
feeling much better. Your wife has kept me informed as to your
progress, and I am happy to know that the report is excellent
now.
My whole department joins me in best wishes for your
speedy recovery. Relax, now, and get thoroughly well. Don't
worry about your work here. We are managing to get along, and
your position is waiting for you whenever 7ou are well enough to
join us again. I appreciate all the good work you have done for us.
Sincerely yours,
"HAPTER7
Letters of Condolence
Words can give greater comforts than thetelegrams, printed
cards, flowers, which are sent by many people who find condolence
letters among the most difficult letters to write.
But this is time when a letter can mean so much and so
deeply appreciated. It always helps to know that friends are
sympathetic and understanding. A few sincere, well-chosen woids
can give comfort even to the most grief stricken, can renew the
faith and give courage of those cruelly hurt and embittered by
their loss.
It is better to write a letter as well to any friend or a relative
who has suffered bereavement.
In the notes of condolence, it's not so much what you say as
what you don't say that counts. The important thing is to write
promptly, as soon as you hear the news—and before the shock of
it has worn off. For if you write while your heart is filled with
sadness, your letter will have the ring of sincerity to it. Your letter
will be a warm and convincing expression of the sympathy you
really feel.
It's the feeling behind the words that counts, not the words
themselves. Think of the person's heartache and sorrow whom
you are writing. There are three most essential qualities of a good
condolence letter and they are; fact, sincerity andbrevity.
On the Death of a Parent Dear Raju,
If only I knew what to stay to comfort you! But words can-
( 62 )
not say what is in my heart, nor tell you how deeply I feel for you
in your sorrow.
1 loved your mother, too, and I'll never get over missing her.
You know I share your grief, but how I wish that sharing it could
lighten the burden for you !
I send you all my love, darling, and all my sympathy.
Devotedly, Dear Maya,
1 know words aren't much comfort at a time like this. But I'd
like you to know I'm thinking of you; and that my family and I
send our heartfelt sympathy.
Sincerely, Dear
Maya,
Today I heard you had lost your mother. I know the sud-
denness of it must have been a dreadful shock; and I just can't
tell you how sorry I am. Having been so recently through the same
sad experience, 1 know only too well what it means......
I wish there were something I could do or say to soften your
grief. But only time can do that, Maya—and it will, as surely as it
did for me.
With deepest sympathy to you and all your family.
Affectionately, Dear Miss
Sandhya,
Please accept my very deepest sympathy on the death of your
mother.
I can well appreciate what a great loss this must be to you.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Paul,
I've just heard the sad news, and I hasten to offer my
sympathy.
Please call on me if there is anything I can do to help.
Sincerely,
(63)
Dear Paul,
I feel it's almost an instrusion to write at a time like this. But
I must tell you how saddened we are by the news, and how deeply
we feel for you in your sorrow. It was a privilege to have known
your mott . and her loss will be felt by many, for a long time to
come.
Kailash and I hope that time will quickly soften the blow and
leave you only cherished memories.
Affectionately,
Dear Mr. Omkar,
We have just learned with profound sorrow of the death of
your mother.
She was well-loved in this community for her charities and
good work, and she will be long remembered by many.
We send you our heartfelt sympathy,
Sincerelv yours, My dear
Omkar,
I cannot tell you how sorry I am to hear of your great loss.
Please accept my sympathy and best wishes.
Sincerely, Dear
Ajmal,
We just learned of the sudden death of your father. The
shock was a great one. But he went as he would have wished—
quickly and without suffering, that should be some consolation to
you.
We send our deepest sympathy to you and your family. We
hope that time will soon heal your sorrow.
Affectionately,
Dear Mrs. Thadani,
It was a great shock to hear of your father's death. He was a
wonderful neighbour and friend, and he'll be missed by many.
( 64 )
Mr. Roy and I send kind thoughts and sympathy to you and
your family.
Sincerely yours, Dear Kishor,
I sympathize with you on the loss of your father, to whom I know
you were deeply devoted.
I hope you will find what comfort you can in the fact that he
was with you to a fine old age.. ...and that you made his life such a
happy one. He was so proud of you, so proud of your splendid
accomplishments. That should help soften your sorrow a little.
Sheela joins me in sending affection and sympathy. You know
that if there's anything we can do, you have only to tell us.
Sincerely, Dear Mr.
Sen,
We were saddened to read of your father's death in this
morning's paper. He was a fine old gentleman, well-loved and
admired by all who knew him.
We can well appreciate your great sense of loss. But we hope
you'll find some small measure of comfort in the good wishes and
heartfelt sympathy of your great host of friends— among whom I
hope you include Mr. Ram and myself.
With affectionate regards from both of us.
Sincerely, On the Death
of a Husband or Wife
A message of a sympathy to someone who has just lost a beloved
husband or wife is especially difficult to write. The following examples
may prove helpful when you are at a loss for words.
Dear Vijaya,
We are shocked by the sad news. Is there anything we can do ?
(65 )
Our hearts are filled with sympathy for you in this hour of
trial. We send you our love, and our assurance of devoted
frendship—now and always. Dearest Vijaya,
No one knows better than I what you are thinking and feeling,
for I have so recently gone through the same bitter experience.
I know well how meaningless words are to you now; and how
little even your best frinds can do to comfort you. But time is a
great healer, and it will soon soften the pain and bring you peace
of mind, just as it did for me.
You have your children, Vijaya and you can be very grateful
for that. 1 am all alone. But I have my memories of my beloved
husband, and they grow more precious to me with every passing
day. You will have that too, my dear. You will have beautiful
memories that no one can take away from you, ever.
So try and be brave these first difficult weeks. I send you a
heart full of sympathy and understanding;, and you know you have
my love always. Dear Mrs. Sarang,
I am profound sorry to learn of the death of your husband
for whom I had the greatest admiration and regard.
Please accept my deepest sympathy.
Sincerely yours, Dear Navin,
There's not much we can say at a time like thi«. But Maya
and I want you to know how deeply we feel for you in your
sorrow—and how much we would like to help. Will you call on us
if there's anything we can do?
With profound sympathy,
Sincerely, Dear Mr.
Banerji,
It is with great sorrow that I have just learned of the death
of your wife.
(66)
I know there is littie I can say to lessen your grief; but I'd like
you to know you have my deepest sympathy in your bereavement.
Sincerely yours, On the
death of a Child
How heartbreaking the death of a child can be ! And how
cruel a long, wordy message is at such a time, especially if it probes
into the details of the child's illness or manner of death. It's far
better not to write at all than to write carelessly or thoughtlessly
to grief-stricken parents Remember that a note to bereaved
parents should be short, very short—and should scrupulously
avoid mention of any subject that could possibly give pain.
Dear Ratna,
I'm thinking of you, darling...and hoping you'll be as brave
as you've always been.
My love and deepest sympathy to you and Mantu.
Affectionately, My dear
Nanda,
We know only too well the shock and grief you and Kishan
are suffering today, for it's only a little more than a year since
our own son was taken.
Our hearts are filled with sympathy for you both. We hope
that time will soon ease the pain. In the meantime, you must be
strong and brave—for the sake of Kishan and the other children.
They look to you for guidance and comfort.
With all our love,
Dear Geeta,
There are no words to express our grief at the sad news. Our
hearts are filled with sorrow for you and Shankar.
Is there anything we can do ? You know how grateful we'd
be if you let us help in some way.
(67)
Taruh and I send our love, and our deepest sympathy to
you both.
Affectionately,
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Vaidya,
I hope you will forgive me for intruding on your grief.
Although I'm a new neighbour and almost a stranger to you, I
must tell you how deeply I feel for you in this great sorrow.
Mr. Mula and 1 extend to you our warmest sympathy.
Please count us among those who share your grief and whose
hearts are heavy for you today.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Nawab,
I have just learned with deepest sorrow and regret of the
death of your little boy.
I realize the inadequacy of words to comfort you in your
great grief. But I'd like you and Mrs. Nawab to know my
thoughts are with you in bereavement ; and I stand ready and
eager to help in any way I can.
With sympathy and warmest personal regards.
Sincerely yours,
On the Death of a Relative
When someone loses a relative, it's kind and thoughtful to
write a brief note of sympathy. If you knew the person who died,
you may want to include a word of praise in your message.
Otherewise a simple expression of sympathy, a word or two of
comfort, are all that are necessary.
Dear Mr. Mitra,
Word of the recent death of your brother has just come to
me, and I hasten to offer condolences.
I had the privilege of knowing your brother in years past,
and I realize your great loss. He was a fine and brilliant man,
(68 )
and he will not soon be forgotten by the many who admired and
respected him.
Please convey my sympathy and my warm personal regards
to ali your family.
Cordially yours, Dear
Madhu,
I have just this moment learned of the sudden death of
your brother, Ramu, I can't tell you how shocked I am by this
sad news. I know what he meant to you and your sister, and I
send you both my deepest sympathy.
I'm sure that many hearts must be heavy with sorrow today;
for I never knew anyone with such a host of friends as Ramu.
He'll be keenly missed by everyone who knew him.
Is there any way I can help, Madhu ? You know I would
gladly do anything I can.
With love, Dear Miss
Talwar,
I have just been told of your aunt's death; and knowing
your devotion to each other, I realize what a great loss this is to
you.
I'd like you to know how sorry Mr. Parmar and I are; and
how deeply we sympathize with you in your bereavement.
With kindest thoughts from us both.
Sincerely, Dear Mrs.
Shah.
We read in this morning's paper of the death of your te-
lented young nephew. We share with many the shock and sorrow of
this tragic news; and our hearts go out in sympathy to you and
your family.
Mr. Desai and I send our heartfelt condolences; and we hope
you will find some consolation in the record of brilliant
achievements he leaves behind him.
Sincerely yours,
(69)
When Death is a Release
There are times when death is clearly "for the best"' and
may be looked upon almost as a blessing rather than a great
sorrow. Under these circumstances, the expression of sympathy or
condolence should be for the long illness or suffering of the
deceased, rather than the immediate death.
Here are typical examples of such letters, written when
death was a release from long and hopeless suffering. Dear Lala,
All my thoughts are with you and your mother today. My
heart is filled with sympathy for you both—for the long year of
suffering, and for your sorrow now that Janki is gone.
I loved your sister, Lata, I'm sure you know that, I shall
miss her more than I can say. But I know how she suffered this
past year, and I'm grateful that her suffering is over at last. I
try to find comfort in that thought, and I hope you will too.
Affectionately,
Dear Mrs. Parekh,
Yours has been a long and tragic sorrow, and now that it is
over at last, I am sure that time will soon bring comfort and
peace.
Mr. Jamison and I want you to know how deeply we sym-
pathise with you- for all you have endured through the years,
and now. We assure you of our affectionate regard, and hope you
will let us know if there is anything either of us can do.
Sincerely yours, Dear
Chander,
You have been through a great ordeal these past few months,
and all my thoughts and sympathies are with you now.
I hope you will look on Gita's death as a release from cruel
and hopeless suffering. I feel deeply for you in your present
sorrow, but we are gratefuj that the long ordeal is over.
(70)
Try not to look back. You have your two fine sons to think
about. So keep your eyes on the future and the life that lies ahead.
Always affectionately, When Someone
is Killed Or Commits Sucide
When death strikes cruelly and without warning, it leaves shock
and anguish to those left behind. Only relatives and close friends
should write; others should not intrude upon the horror and heartache
of sudden death.
Dear Madhu,
We are stunned, as all your friends are, by the tragic news,
Jay and 1 send you our heartfelt sympathy, and we beg you to
let us help you in way we can.
Will you have someone call us if there's anything we can do
? In deepest sorrow and affection.
Yours devotedly, To wife of
a Fellow Employee My dear Mrs. Dais,
Our office manager told me this morning of your husband's
sudden death. I was deeply shocked, and 1 want you to know
that you have my heartfelt sympathy at this trying time. Mr.
Dais and I were associated for some time in our work in the
office, and 1 have lost a very good friend.
Please call on me if there is anything I can do.
Sincerely youis, To Friends
Dear Sher,
The extremely sad news of Lali's death is something that lean
still hardly, believe. It is impossible to put into words how I feel, but
you know the many things I would say. Above all, I want you to
know that, as one of your oldest friends, 1
(71 )
am with you in spirit, and only regret that distance makes it
impossible for me to be with you in person.
I shall never forget how you stood by me when I suffered the
same loss just one year ago, and how you said and did things for
me for which I shall be eternally grateful.
My deepest sympathy goes to you in this letter, which is a
very weak expression of all that I am thinking.
Sincerely your friend, To a
Relative Dear Aunt Mona,
Mother has just written me of Uncle Walt's death, and I
know what a blow you have suffered.
Everyone who knew him at all will have lost a real friend and
for all of us in the family he has left a place that can never be
filled. I personally shall always feel that way. You know how
much he meant to me. I looked on him as a second father, and I
think I never knew a kinder, more considerate person.
Please let me know if there is anything that I can do. I could
arrange to be away for a week or two at this time and stay with
you, if that would be any help. Don't hesitate to call on me.
Affectionately yours, To
Acquaintances My dear Mr. Barman,
As a neighbour of yours, I want to express to you and yjour
wife my deepest sympathy in the tragic death of your little
daughter. She was loved by all who knew her, and I know what a
bitter loss you have suffered.
I shall call on you personally a little later. In the meantime,
let me know if there is 'anything I can do.
Sincerely yours,
(72)
My dear Mr. Graham,
Please accept my most sincere sympathy in the death of your
father, I had the privilege of meeting him last month in your
office. I shall always remember his delightful personality, and I
realize how great is your loss.
The employees in my department join me in this expression.
Sincerely yours,
My dear Mrs. Shankar,
As a neighbour, I wish to express my sympathy in your
recent 'bereavement. 1 know how much it must have meant to you
to have had your mother with you during the last few months,
and I hope that the memories may make a little easier the sorrow
you have to bear.
Very sincerely yours,
REPLIES TO CONDOLENCE LETTERS Formal
Acknowledgements. ( These are often engraved or printed, when it
is necessary to answer a large number of notes from those who are
not relatives or close friends. For the latter, personal notes are
required.)
The family of the late
J. B. Patel
gratefully acknowledge your
expression of sympathy
or
Mrs. J. B. Patel and Family
acknowledge with gratitude your
message of sympathy,
or
Mrs. J. B. Patel
wishes to thank you
and to express her appreciation
of your sympathy and kindness
( 73)
A very brief and formal acknowledgement may be written on a
visiting card.
Thank you very sincerely for your note of sympathy.
or Thank you most sincerely for the
beautiful roses.
Informal Acknowledgement
We appreciate sincerely your expression of sympathy and the
beautiful peonies that accompanied the note.
or
My husband and I thank you most sincerely for your kindness in
thinking of us and for the kind letter.
My dear Mr. Shankar,
Thank you very much for your kind note at the time of my
recent bereavement. It does make the burden a little lighter to
receive such sympathy, and your beautiful tribute to my wife was
highly appreciated. It helps a great deal to know that my wife had
so many warm friends a.id that their friendship is mine at such a
time as this.
Sincerely yours,
Ravi Varma Dearest Maya,
You will never know how much your wonderful letter meant
to me. Norman's death was so sudden and unexpected that I felt
stunned and terribly alone. When I heard from you it was like
having you here with me, and I seemed to feel in a very real way,
your love and strength and support. You are indeed a true friend,
and I appreciate all that you mean to me, above all at a time like
this.
I cannot write more, now, but I know, you understand, Dear.
Soon you will hear from me again, and I let you know all about
my plans, which I hope will include a visit with you. It would do me
good to be with you.
Affectionately,
(74)
Some Famous Letters of Condolence
Princess Alice of England, the devoted daughter of Queen
Victoria, wrote the following letter to her mother on the
anniversary of her father's death :
Darmstadt, December 11, 1866. Beloved,
precious Mama :
On awakening this morning, my first thoughts were of you
and of dear darling Papa ! Oh, how it reopens the wounds scarcely
healed, when this day of pain and anguish returns.! This season of
the year, the leafless trees, the cold light, everything reminds me of
that time !
Happily married as I am, and with such a good excellent and
loving husband, how far more can 1 understand now the depth of
that grief which tore your lives asunder !
Alice
When Charles Dickens' infant daughter died, his wife was
ill......and he broke tragic news to her gently, tenderly, in
a letter that has become a classic of its kind.
You would suppose her quietly asleep, but I am sure she is very
ill, and I cannot encourage myself with much hope of her recovery.
I do not (and why should I say I do to you, my dear ?) 1 do not
think her recovery at all likey...Remember what I have often told
you, that we never can expect to be exempt......from the afflictions
of other parents......
Executive Mansion
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864. To Mrs.
Bixbay, Boston, Mass.
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a
statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are
the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of
battle. I feel how weak and fruitless most be any word of mine which
shall attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.
But I cannot refrain from tendering you
^ ^ *
(75)
the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic
they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage
the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the
cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride
that must be yours to have said so costly a sacrifice upon the altar
of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully, A.
Lincoln

CHAPTER 8
Model Telegrams
The following models provide a handy reference of suggested
sentiments for many occasions. They may be used conveniently
with variations, adaptations, and additions to fit the individual's
needs.
ANNIVERSARIES
Best wishes and love to you on your anniversary.
Congratulations on your anniversary. May each new one
bring added joys.
May your anniversary be filled with joy; may you be sur-
rounded by loving friends, and live to see many more such cele-
brations.
Much love to you both today on your wedding anniversary.
Congratulations. May this anniversary lead to a golden one
with golden years between.
(76)
Oar heartiest congratulations on your Wedding anniversary
Congratulations. May you have many more happy anni-
versaries.
Anniversary greetings to one who has shared the year with
me.
BIRTHDAYS
The best of everything to you, today and always.
Many happy returns Of the day and may there be many,
many more.
Love and best wishes for a happy birthday.
Congratulations and sincere good wishes on your birthday.
Wishing you health and happiness on your birthday.
Wishing you health and happiness on your birthday and for
many years to come.
No way I know can be quick as this for sending my love and a
birthday kiss.
Love and greetings to the best mother (dad) in the world on her
(his) birthday.
Hope that this gift will add in some small measure to all the joy
and happiness I wish you on your birthday.
BIRTHS
Congratulations to bo'h of you and happiness and health to the
new arrival.
Love and good wishes to baby atid mother. Know you are happy
to welcome another.
Congratulations. Thrtlled and happy to hear the good news.
May the newcomer be a pride and joy to you always.
Wanted you to be among the first to know. Just arrived
..pounds, .ounces girl (boy). Mother and daughter (son) doing fine.
Thrilled and happy to hear the good news. Here's just a small
token of welcome for the new arrival.
( 77 )
BON VOYAGE
Bon Voyage and the happiest journey to you. Sincere good wishes
for a safe and happy crossing. May good luck and success be your
shipmates.
Bon Voyage. Pleasant time and safe return.
Love and all good wishes for a safe and delightful voyage.
CHRISTMAS
AH my love on Christmas to those whose love has always
meant so much to me.
May Bethlehem's message of peace and happiness be yours
today and always.
The largest of stockings would ne\er do to hold all my wishes
this Christmas for you.
EXAMINATIONS
May your graduation da\ be the commencement of a
continued series of upward steps to success.
So proud of you and confident jou will do even better in the
great school of life.
Best wishes and congratulations on your graduation. May
the road ahead be one of health, happiness and great
accomplishment.
Cheers and congratulations for a good finish.
To a clever miss, on her graduation, go a special kiss and
congratulation.
We wish we could be present to see you graduate. But thi" Gift
Order comes with our love for some remembrance ol your own
selection. Good luck.
CONDOLENCES
My (Our) heartfelt sympathy in your great sorrow. We are grieved
beyond expression to learn of sour loss God bless you and comfort
you.
<78)
I (We) share your loss and send you my (our) deepest
sympathy.
In your affliction may the knowledge that your friends share
your sorrow be a solace to you.
My (Our) deepest sympathy in your great loss. If there is
anything I (We) can do, do not hesitate to let me (us) know.
CONGRATULATIONS On
Promotion
Happy to hear of your .promotion. Hope it is just one of
many more. Sincere congratulations.
Hearty congratulations on your promotion. No one could
deserve, it more. Good luck and the best of everything.
On Election to Office
Congratulations. The best man won.
You fully deserve the honour. Congratulations and good luck.
Success of Artist
Tremendously thrilled by your great performance. I have never
been so moved by a preformance. You were magnificent.
Congratulations and best wishes for continued success.
On Opening New Store
I wish you a prosperous future and all good luck with your
new store.
With all good wishes for your grand opening and a success
for your new store that exceeds all your expectations.
On Making Speech
Congratulations on your great speech. It was a masterly
presentation of the facts.
Your speech was outstanding. It expressed the sentiments of right
thinking people everywhere.
(79)
Public Service
Congratulations to a real public servant. You have rendered a
great service.
Congratulations on a great and courageous job. True
Citizens everywhere will be proud of your accomplishment.
On Winning Prizes, Awards, etc.
Congratulations on winning the ... prize. You richly deserve
the high honour.
Just heard the great news. Hats off and congratulations to a
deserving winner. If you need any help spending it, just
telegraph.
CONVALESCENCE
Sorry to hear of your illness. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
I am sending this wire instead of a letter, to tell you tc hurry
up, get better.
Best wishes- for a speedy recovery and all the luck in the
world.
I heard you were ill; it made me feel blue. As soon as you're
better, I'll feel better, too.
ENGAGEMENTS
Delighted to hear the good news and wish you great hap-
piness.
May your engagement be filled with a joy only exceeded by
the happiness of your married life.
Thrilled with the news of your engagement. Let this Gift
Order with my love contribute something to your hope chest.
NEW YEAR GREETINGS
Best wishes for a happy and Prosperous New Year, May the
joy of this season remain with you all year round.
(80 )
May the New Year bring you and yours a full measure of
health, happiness and prosperity.
May God's grace make each day of the New Year bright for
you and yours.
LOVE GREETINGS
Love may be the last word in some telegrams but it's the first
and most important in this one.
This is sent in your direction with all my my love and my
affection.
All my love to my husband (wife) who is the dearest of all to
me today and always.
WEDDINGS
Heartiest congratulations and all best wishes. May all your
days be as happy as this one.
Congratulations to the groom, best wishes to the bride.
Through all the years a happy life and lots of luck besides.
Congratulations and best wishes for long life, prosperity,
health and happiness.
Love and best wishes to you both. May you always have fair
weather and clear sailing.
My sincerest wishes for a long and happy life. Please use this
Gift Ordei in any way that will add to your happiness.
 CHAPTER 9
Letters Of Introduction
In social life the most important job of a note of introduction
is to bring together people you feel reasonably sure will find
pleasure and enjoyment in each other's company.
Suppose if you have a friend or a relative going to a distant
city where you have other friends—and if you believe it would be
mutually pleasant and agreeable for those people to meet—then
only you write a note of introduction.
Before writing an introduction letter you must know both
persons intimately and well. Even then, write it only if you feel
sure that the meeting will be of iriterest or benefit to both of them.
First see that the persons concerned have something in common
and would enjoy meeting each other.
They may be given to the friend, to be present in person or
may be sent through the post. If it is to be delivered personally,
then the envelope should be left unsealed. It means that nothing
of an intimate nature is written. However, a second and private
letter may be written and sent by post giving more information
about the person who is to present the letter of introduction.
Letters of Introduction to be delivered Personally
Dear Jagdish,
The bearer of this note, Mr. Kishor of Bombay, plans to be
in Delhi for about a month. Besides being a personal friend of
mine, he is director of a number of top-ranking organiza-
(81)
 ( 82)
tions ; and knowing how interested you are in such projects 1 am
sure you'll enjoy meeting him.
I have long wanted you and Kishor to know each other,
and I'm glad of this opportunity to bring you together. I'll
ippreciate anything you can do to make his stay in Delhi more
enjoyable—and I know he will too.
With kindest regards to you and Lila.
Cordially yours, Dear
Kapoor,
This will introduce V. K. Sen who is going to spend the
summer in Simla gathering material and doing research for a
new book. He plans to spend his days at the Kings Library and
his evenings with congenial people. I told him I know of no one
more congenial than you !
I'm sure you'll like Sen, and that you two will enjoy each
other's company immensely. I don't need to tell you how I'll
personally appreciate any courtesies you show him.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Sankaran.
I'm giving this letter to K. Vasu, a very good friend of ours.
He is going to be in Madras for a few days, and I'd like you to
meet as you happen to be interested in the same thing and thai is
child welfare.
Mr. Vasu is making a study of juvenile delinquency, and I
told him about the wonderful work you are doing among the
underprivileged children ol Delhi. He is very eager to talk with
you about it.
I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting Mr. Vasu, and I'm equally
sure he'll be delighted and charmed to meet you.
Affectionately,
( 83 )
Dear Chander,
The bearer of this letter, Manu Ghosh, plans to be in New
Delhi for about a fortnight. A good friend of mine, he is manager
in the Royal Export Co., here, I think two of you executives will
have a lot in common, and I am sure you will enjoy meeting him.
Thanking you in anticipation, Chander, for any kindness you
may extend to Manu, which we will both appreciate.
As ever,
Dear Mrs. Sinha,
This note will introduce my good friend and co-worker
Kum. Raj Rani, of whom I have spoken to you often.
Kum. Raj Rani is in Lucknow to study the Social Welfare
programme, and as a former social worker, you will undoubtedly
share \vith many interests with her. Besides, you are both expert in
tackling social problems.
I will appreciate any courtesy you show, and I am sure Kum.
Raj Rani will be too glad to have your campany.
Please send my best regards to Mr. Sinha, I look forward to
seeing both of you before very long.
Cordially,
Dear Krishan Mohan,
My brother-in law, Ratan Lal will be in Agra next week— at
the Clark Shiraz. I have often wondered if ever you two will
meet, as 1 had desired. This seems like the ideal opportunity.
Ratan is research director of an advertising agency I told
him about the book you are writing on the history buying he
would be ! He said he would like to know more about it; and I
think you might find it interesting and helpful to discuss it with
him.
(84)
So call him if you can,—but not if it's an inconvenience. If he
doesn't hear from you, he will understand that it's because you
are tied up. I suggest this meeting only because I know you two
are bound to enjoy each other's company.
Cordially,
Specimen of the Follow Up Letters Giving Additional
Information.
(As usual when a letter of introduction is given to a friend to
be delivered personally, another letter is sent by post at the same
time. The main function of such a letter is to inform that some
one is reaching with a letter of introduction and to provide any
additional information that may seem necessary or desirable in
relation to the bearer of the letter.)
Dear Prakash,
In the next day or so you will receive a telephone call from
Muni Raj of Agra. He is a very good friend of mine; and as he is
planning to be in Bombay for a month or more; I gave him a
letter of introduction to you.
I know how busy you are, and I don't want you to regard this
as an obligation. But I feel certain you'll enjoy meeting Muni and
I'll be that once you meet him, you'll want to keep on seeing him !
For he's good company anywhere—at poetry, games, politics or
just talking. I should say especially talking ! He's just about the
most brilliant and entertaining conversationalist I know of.
I am writing this note so that you'll know who Muni Raj is
when he calls. I'll appreciate any kindness you may show him as
a stranger in Bombay; but please don't put yourselves out or feel
that you are commited in any way at all. If I didn't feel you'd be
as delighted to meet Muni Raj as he will be to meet you, I
wouldn't have given him a letter.
( 85 )
I hope you and Nila are well, and I look forward to seeing
you on your next visit to Agra.
Sincerely yours,
Introduction Letters
Dear Mrs. Hamid,
The young lady who hands you this note is Miss Rukh-
sana—the daughter of one of my oldest and dearest friend. She
wjll be in Bombay next year or so to study fashion design.
Rukhsana is a charming and talented girl, and I feel so
certain you will enjoy her company that I have insisted that she
call and present this note. She has never been in Bombay before ;
and I'll be very grateful for any help or advice you can give her.
I know she, too, will deeply appreciate any courtesy.
Very sincerelv yours.
To Be Sent By Mail
(When a letter of introduction is^ent by mail, it imposes less
of an obligation on the person who receives it. For example, if you
write to a distant friend and say, "My former neighbours and
classmates.........are going to live in your city and I think
you'd enjoy knowing them"—it's upto the distant friends to
decide whether or not they want to know them. They take the
initiative saving the newcomer this embarrassment. And inas-
much as the letter was not presented personally, they are free to
make advances or not, as they feel inclined).
Dear Pramila,
I've just learned that old friends of mine, Vinod and Muni are
living now in London, at 12, Finsbury Park. That's practically
very nearer to you.
They are very charming people, and I think you would
enjoy knowing them, I told them all about you; so if you call
( 86)
them, they will recognize the name and know who you are.
I hope you will call them, Pramila. They are really
wonderful people to know, I have certainly missed them since they
left Agra.
When are you and Raj coming to New Delhi again ? It
seems ages since we saw you !
Affectionately,

REFERENCES AND LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION Letters

of Introduction to be sent by post
Dear Sharda,
My niece Mala will be in Simla next month to take a course
at University's Summer Camp. As you know. I have often wanted
you two to meet and this seems like an excellent opportunity.
Besides sharing your interest in music and painting. Mala is
as devoted to skatting as you are !
1 know how busy you are with your new job, so please
don't regard this as an obligation. But if you have any free time,
do give Mala call at the University Hostel. I know once you have
met her you will really enjoy her company. Anything you can do
will be sincerely appreciated on my part and Mala's also.
Affectionately, Dear
Kishor.
You have often heard me speak of Vinod, my class mate. I
have always wanted both of you to meet; but you never could* meet
at the same place and same time. Now is the chance and Vinod is
leaving for London to study on a scholarship from the London
University. He will be there for one year, beginning from October
next.
( 87)
I have asked him to call on you since he is likely to stay at the
Hostel, which is not decided as yet. Of course, I would never have
taken this liberty if I had not been sure you would enjoy the
meeting.
Although Vinod ;s a very serious student, he is one of the
humblest man I know—and a good conversationalist. I will
really appreciate any kindness you can show, and I know
Vinod will too.
Sincerely yours,

CHAPTER 10
Love Letters
"What is in the Brain, that Ink My
Character.
Which hath not figur'd to thee My true
spirit ?
What's new to speak, what new To
register,
That may express my love, or thy Dear
merit?"
These are the lines from a sonnet by William Shakespeare in
which the poet had expressed the frustration of writing a love
letter nearly 400 years ago.
This situation still exists as many a persons find writing a love
letter hardest of all. But at the same time it is very easy
(88)
if the writer just relaxes and writes as if he is talking instead of
composing brilliant and impressive phrases.
Do not over write your "love" on the paper using the word
"Love" frequently. Try to make it as cheerful as you would like
to see the receiver. Wording should be such that the receiver can
have a feeling of your environment and shall feel nearer to you as
if he was listening to you. Never fill up your letter with lines
which can cause sadness and frustration. It is likely to make a big
difference when you write a cheerful and encouraging letter to
whom you love. Don't put any problems as it is likely to upset the
reader. You can begin your letters with the tried and true
phrases and need not worry about creating fancy and
meaningful phrases to express your sentiments. Write what your
heart dictates ! Make it spontaneous sincere, and unselfish.
Always keep the receiver in mind and avoid the selfish viewpoint.
Without complaining of your loneliness you can remind the
reader of all the happy times you passed together.
Start with "Dear Ashok" or "Dear Neena". If you need a
little variation then write "Dearest" or "My dear" instead of
only "Dear".
Remember to close your letter with warmth and sincerity
with well-used phrases such as "With love from" "With fond
thoughts from" and before signing, put "Yours, as ever,"
because the absence makes the heart grow fonder and such
phrases put a little faith in the heart of those who receive your
love letters.
To Husband
My dearest,
A million kisses to you for that beautiful letter. I shall never
tire of knowing how much you love me. Indeed, that is all I live
for, all that means anything to me now.
( 89 )
You ask me if I love you. I could quote the lovely poem that
begins "I love you......" But there would never be space
enough for me to list all the ways I love you !
Your letter was waiting for me when I got back from
shoping. I bought some beautiful things, specially for you. I also
bought some which cherished most.
Since you went away on what seems like an endless business
trip, we have received even more lovely wedding gifts. Good night
my darling. I hope morning will find another
long, wonderful letter from you. Til then.
All my love,
To Wife
Dear Shashi,
There is nothing more difficult for a matter-of-fact engineer
like me to write a letter that will tell you how much you mean to
me. You are the dearest thing in the world, you are wonderful,
and much more than that to me.
I know a lot of logarithms and axioms, but not the language
of love. I wanted this letter to be beautiful and poetic, but all I
can say, and it comes from the bottom of my heart, is I love you.
Shashi, I have loved you ever since the evening of the dance,
and I would never have had the coutage to write you if our talks
and our wonderful times there past few months had not held the
promise that you care for me as deeply as I for you.
I am sending you my class ring. It was tradition at college that
a man only took it off to give to the one girl who was everything
in his life. If you are wearing it when I come home next week,
then my happiness will be complete. If you are
 (90)
not I will understand and admire your honesty, for whatever you
do I will love you always.
Devotedly,
To Wife
My own dear girl,
Only six more days to work, darling, and I will be on my way
home. However, it will seem a dozen years before I get through
them. I just can't wait to be back with you.
It will be great to be home again ! Even the best hotel seems
desolate without your adorable presence.
You will be delighted with a little gift I picked up at a store
yesterday. I know how you love surprises, so I won't even give you
even a hint as to what it is.
Love and kisses from,
Your devoted husband,
To Husband
Dev dear,
You are the most wonderful husband in the world! Your letter
was waiting for me when I got back from shopping, and it was like
sudden1 -.sunshine on a cloudy day. If you were here this minute,
I'd hug you to pieces.
Time seems to just creep by when you're gone. And although
I am proud as punch of the success you are having I'm still
counting the minutes till you come home.
Everything here is fine. The new sofa set arrived and fits
perfectly in the drawing room.
You are not the only one with a surprise. Wait till you get
home and have a look in your room ! I will not say any more, but
I'm sure you will like what you see there.
Good night, my dearest. Dream of me as I will of you,
(91 )
and wake up in the morning with the happy thought that we are
one day closer to seeing each other again.
Lovingly,
To a Boy Friend
Dearest Jai,
Next to you I think the postman is my favourite person, for
he brings me your wonderful letters. And your letters fill my days
with sunshine and happiness.
Have I told you that I love, recently ? You are in my
thoughts every minute of the day, in my dreams every hour of the
night. Yesterday at the college when I was taking dictation I
almost wrote the words "I love you, Jai" right in the middle of
my copy. Luckjly, friends did not notice my embarrassment!
Most of my lunch hour was spent at the record store looking
for our favourite song. The old record has just about worn out
from being played over and over again. Remember the night we
first heard it and danced to its melody ?
Right now, having just ret-read your letter, I feel as if you
were here with me, and I am the happiest girl in the world at the
mere thought of you.
Take good care of yourself and do rush that job !
Lovingly,
Vinod darling,
I can still hear your voice. It was wonderful speaking to you
last night and even more wonderful to know you will be coming
here on Friday.
I am still walking on a great big cloud, so when I meet you at
the station don't be surprised if you cannot see me for the rays of
happiness surrounding me.
(92)
Everyone in the family wants to meet you, but there just
won't be enough time to visit all of them on this tnp. Besides I
want you for myself for most of the time. There are so many
things to talk about and so many plans to make. Let us spend
Sunday afternoon walking by the sea. I love the sea side more
than any place in the world, for it was here that you first told me
you loved me.
Oh, dear, there I go getting my eyes all filled with star-dust
when I wanted to be very practical and tell you the weekend plans
Uncle has suggested. He would like to give one family dinner at his
house, which is the biggest. I didn't say Yes or No, since I want to
do what will make you happiest. So in your next wonderful letter,
squeeze in among those three little words 'I love so well' what you
think of Uncle's idea.
Dearest, I will be counting the minutes till I see you
on Friday.
Devotedly,
To a Girl Friend
Sweet-heart!
I wish I had a magic carpet so that I could fly the four
hundred miles between us in a few minutes and then get back to
my office before the manager noticed I'd been away. Honestly,
Darling, this being so far from you is almost more than 1 can
stand. I'm thankful that there are only two weeks more before
we'll be spending that marvellous vacation together at your
aunt's on the South coast. Then I can tell you how much I love
you. A letter just can't express it.
Speaking of letters, bless you for writing so often. I know you
are very busy with your work in the college as well as the
planning for our wedding—in two months. 1 hink of that! If you
only knew how I'm counting the days and hours and minutes !
Believe me, dearest, it's true.
(93 )
My next thrill is going to be the ring of the postman. I
know that will mean another letter from you.
All my love, dearest beloved. Mohan
Letter to a Boy Friend
Raj dearest,
What a lovely letter! I agree with you about that magic
carpet. It is just what we need right now to commute on and
bring us together. I agree with you, too, Darling, about this long
separation. It just doesn't seem right, when two people love each
other as much as we do, that they cannot be together ail the time.
But let's not think of that. Let's just think that in two short
months we'll be saying "I do," and then nothing can keep us apart.
And soon, that vacation—what a happy reunion that will be ! We
can then talk over all our plans for the honeymoon, and that will
make the happy day seem very near, won't it, Sweetheart ? As for
writing so often—I couldn't stop if I tried, for then you would
seem for away indeed, so you just keep watching for that postman.
Raj, my Beloved, just imagine that I am saying those
words to you, for I mean them, every one.
All my love,
Lata Darling
Ruma,
I think of you always and have a thousand things to say to
you. But they can all be summed up in a few heartfelt words —I
love you to distraction, my precious fiancee.
If it were not your beautiful letters, each hour, would seem like
an day But just when I thihk I cannot live another minute
without you, a letter comes. Immediately it seems that you are in
the room with me. I hear the sound of your beloved
(94)
voice saying you love, and I feel 1 am the luckiest man in the
world.
This coming week is going to be pretty tough, since we have
come to the trickiest part of the whole construction job. I am sure
I will be able to do my part and make you proud of me, dearest.
And best of all, as sooa as the week has passed I will be seeing you
again.
A thousand thought of love,
Your own,
Raju, sweetheart,
Please write me and say you fo.give me. It was all my fault
that I quarreled, and I am heartbroken that love has caused you
unhappiness.
It is not that I don't love you, darling, but that I love you so
much that heart rather than my head is my master.
Say you still love me as I adore you, for without your
love I am a man without life.
Ever yours,
Excerpts from the Love Letters of Famous Men and Women
I am very uneasy, my love, at receiving no news of you write
me quickly four pages full of agreeable things which shall fill my
heart with the pleasantest feeling. I hope before long to crush you
in my arms and cover you with million kisses.
Bonaparte to Josephine
I am a prisoner here in the name of the King; they can take
my life, but not the love that I feel for you......No,
nothing has the power to part me from you ! Our love will last as
long as our lives.
Voltaire to Olympe Dunoyer
Adele, my adorable and adored Adele ! I have been asking
myself every moment if such happiness is not a dream...At last you
are mine ! Soon—in a few months, perhaps, my angel
 ( 95)
will sleep in my arms, will awaken in my arms......My Adele !
Victor Hugo to Adele Foucher
I always think of you and I have a thousand things to
say to you. The most sportant......is that / Jove you to disra-
ction, my dear wife !
Heinrich Heine to his wife
How I love you ! Rising in the morning, my first thought
is of you, and all day I am conscious that you are near; your
presence seems to inhabit all the air about me......your near-
ness is a never ending delight !
Nadejda van Meek to Tchaikovsky
Paris is a morgue without you. Before I knew you, it was
Paris, and I thought it heaven; but now it is a vast desert of
desolation and loneliness.
Sarah Bernhardt to Victorien Sardou

CHAPTER II
Earning Your Living

Job Applications
Writing a letter is the most usual method of applying for
one of the better openings. Provided that the applicant's
qualifications for particular job are satisfactory, his letter of
application will probably be the deciding factor in securing an
interview. The immediate purpose of the application is tosecura/
*7
L
(96)
an interview, for the applicant hopes that by means of personal
contact, he will eventually obtain the job he wants.
The written application has two advantages over other
means of requesting employment; (1) It provides a permanent
record to which the employer may refer as often as necessary; and
(2) it enables the employer to determine the value of an interview
with the applicant
Types of Application Letters: These can be divided in two
categories; (1) solicited and (2) unsolicited.
Solicited Letters : A solicited letter of application is written in
response to an invitation, usually in the form of an advertise
ment, from the employer.
The primary advantage to the applicant in writing a
solicited letter of application is the certainty that an opening
exists and that the employer is anxious to fill it. Furthermore, the
writer is aided considerably by the employer's statement,
however brief, of the qualifications required for the job.
The main disadvantage of a solicited letter of application is
that in most instances it is just one of many written in response
to the same advertisement. If it is to be read, it must be better
than average; if it is tolbe regarded favourably, it must be one of
the best received.
Unsolicited Letters: An unsolicited letter of application is
written to a prospective employer who has not advertised
vacancy.
The primary advantage of writing an unsolicited letter is the
likelihood that it will not have to compete with other
applications. Also, the writer is able to send a similar, if not the
same, letters to a number of prospective employers at the same
time.
The chief disadvantages of the unsolicited letter are; (1)
There is a possibility that no job is available. And (2) the
 (97)
writer must determine for himself the qualifications in which
the employer will be most interested.
Other Consideration?: In the course of writing a letter for a
job, the applicant will undoubtedly meet problems not already
covered in this chapter. These include as salary and previous
employment.
Salary: The subject of salary is rather delicate. Therefore,
the applicant would be wise not to mention it unless the adver-
tisement specifically asks that salary be stated. The employer will
not approve of the applicant who either overvalues or
undervalues his service.
Previous Employment : If the applicant has a job at present,
he should state why he wants to make a change. If he has had a
job in the past but is not now employed, he should explain why
he left his post. Since certain reasons are more acceptable than
others to prospective employers, the applicant should exercise
extreme caution in this part of the letter.
DON'TS IN PREPARING YOUR LETTER OF
APPLICATION
Don't give details of your childhood and early schooling.
Don't relate your experiences in the war unless they have
some direct bearing on the job for which you are applying.
Don't brag or boast; if you have some outstanding ability,
simply state the fact and let the employer draw his own
conclusions.
Don't be a bore; when you've said what you have to say,
close the letter. Don't add postscripts.
Don't refer to yourself as "the writer." It is not the best
form to say, "The writer has had five years' experience." Say, "I
have had five years' experience."
Don't ask for a job because you need it ......because your

*'"'--'*-48"'***'***^^
(98)
father died...or your sister is an invalid. Never base your
appeal for work on sympathy, but only on ability and what you
have to offer.
Don't offer to work for very little "to get experience." It's
unwise to sell yourself as a bargain. People take you at your
own estimate of yourself; and if you don't think you are
worth much, no one else will.
Don't say you are not interested in salary; that makes it
sound as though you are.
Don't discuss "secret" ambitions, concentrate on selling
your abilities and qualifications.
Don't use the vague ambiguous, "etc." For example,
don't say "J can typewrite, operate a switchboard, etc."
Enumerate all your capabilities.
Don't complain about, or criticize, a former employer.
That hurts your chances more than it helps them.
Don't apply for a job for which you are unsuited, or for
which you have inadequate qualifications. Go after the kind of
job you know you c.m do well.
Don't use unfamiliar words in an effort to make an impre-
ssion. Business men like terse, to-the-point language.
Don't make demands. Dcn't write an aggrieved tone, as
though the world owes you a job and you are determined to
get it.
Don't emphasize your needs, your hopes, your plans.....
what you expect or want from the job. Keep the employer's
interests foremost......tell him what he will get and how he
will benefit.
Don't be satisfied until you have written a letter you feel
is original, interesting and forceful enough to stand apart from
others, attract attention, win you a hearing.

aa^iiatea^r.iasi«^^»,t.»*.^^ ..:,-!,...,._
:,,.iBL.,i
 (99)
APPLICATIONS FOR JOB
Application in response to an advertisement
Dear Sirs,
Re : Your advt., of 3rd July
I should be grateful if you would consider my qualifica-
tions for the post of typist-clerk as per your advertisement
in the Times of India of today.
I have passed my B. Com. from the Sydenhem College of
Commerce and I am twenty years of age. I hold the Govern-
ment Commercial Diploma for typewriting at 60 words
per minute. As I am well versed with accountancy it can
also help me in your organization to be of use to your
accounts dept
You will find enclosed a testimonial from the Head
Master of my Primary School as well as from the Principal of
the college. I hail from a respectable family and my father
is working as accounts clerk in Central Railway. I have had
some practical experience of the office routine with M/s.
Excelsior Trades, who have kindly offered to provide you with
any further details you may require.
1 hope that you will consider this application favourably
and on my part I wish to assure you that I shall make
every effort to be worthy of the confidence placed in me.
Yours faithfully,
Application No. 2
Dear Sir,
With reference to your advertisement in the Indian Ex-
press of the July for the post of a Time Keeper, I hereby
place the following few lines for your kind consideration which
would enable me to be of service to you.
At present I am working as an Asstt. Time-keeper with
M/s. Union Laboratories for the last two years where the wise
field of work to be covered has given me a good all-round
knowledge of this department.

L ™ ^^^..afaaMijyjMSB^ -*'-
( 100)
1 have passed my B. A. from Agra University where I was hockey
champion for the last three years of my internment. I am a young
man of 24 years of age with sound health You will find a
testimonial from the Principal of the Agra College, which I left two
years ago. It will of course be possible for you to obtain information
from my present employers also if you wish to make any
inquiries regarding my capability, honesty and work.
The question of salary raises certain difficulties as it seems
hardly fair to either of us specially for me to quote at this stage
even a tentative figure before obtaining more definite knowledge
of the work the post offers.
I have every hope that you will give me a chance to work
under your kind control and thus offer an opportunity to prove
my claims.
Yours faithfully,
Krishan Mohan Muni Specimen of
modern Style of applicaton
Dear Sir,
Is there a need in your firm at this time for a secretary with
several years of experience in the automoble line ?
Within few weeks, the Standard Motor Co., where I am
employed as secretary to the General Manager, will move its
offices to Adyar, in Madras. I have been offered the same
position in the new location, but for personal reasons I have
decided to remain in Calcutta and seek employment there.
In my present position, it has been my responsibility to
relieve the General Manager'of many time-consuming details.
Among them are responding to letters of a routine nature, arr-
anging business and social, engagements, and diverting telephone
inquiries to other executives. In addition, it has been of
paramount importance that I treat most matters with strict

^iaast^^
( 101 )
confidence and that I exercise good judgment and diplomacy at all
times.
I have received a good training of finance, economics and
management which has given me a general understanding of
business apart from my practical experience. This knowledge, plus
an intensified course in business dealings has proved to be of
much value in my handling of correspondence.
I should like to become a part of your organization because I
feel I can provide you with the high standard of efficiency you
expect from your secretaries. With this thought in mind, I am
enclosing personal history sheet which outlines my ten years of
experience with top executives.
If you feel that my background qualifies me for a position
with your firm, I shall appreciate a personal interview at your
convenience. I sincerely believe that such a meeting would be
mutually advantageous.
Yours faithfully,
Encl : 1
(The following may be attached with Specimen application)
DEVDHAR PRASAD BANERJI Position Desired :
Secretary to important executive. Personal: Age 45, married,
living with family and parents.
Education : High School: R. B. High School, Balygunj. Passed
with highest marks, stood 2nd in West Bengal. Awarded Prizes for
abilites in sports. College: Took my Bachelor of Arts degree from
the Presidency College, Calcutta with honours and won several
trophies for accuracy and speed in shorthand and typewriting.
Experience: At present, Standard Motor Co. Calcutta. My first
assignment here was in the correspondence department. Within a
year I was promoted as secretary to the General

Vii^fc.v^*^ ..>.„,,.
(102)
Manager. My duties have included taking dictation at Board
Meetings, meeting business men from all over India, handling
correspondence of the most confidential content, preparing
memorandum for submission to the chairman plus many other
diversified activities of a secretarial nature.
1959 to 1961 : Shree Cotton Mills, Bhagalpur, Patna,
Secretary to the manager. In this position I served as secretary to
the Labour-management, Co ordination Committee preparing
minutes of the meetings and submitting them for necessary action.
I also performed the usual secretarial duties and became familiar
with all phases of personnel administration. I resigned from this job
because I felt it offered little opportunity for advancement.
1961 to 1963 ; Jharia Colliery Co., Secretary to the sales
Manager. In addition to performing all secretarial duties, I had the
previlege of enjoying the full faith of the workers which resulted in
big profits for the company. I resigned in order that I might
accompany my family when they moved to Calcutta.
Reference : Personal: Dr. Sushil Kumar Roy, 45, Jora-sanko,
Calcutta, Phone—865432.
Business : Mr. Atham Chettiar, Vice President and
General Manager, Standard Motor Co.,
Calcutta. Phone-123456.
Hobbies : Sports, reading and dramatics. Taking regular
part in social service activities.
Following up the original application
Dear Sir,
On August 20 in response to your advertisement of the same
date in the Times of India, I submitted a letter of application for
the post of Store Cleark.
( 103)
I am still quite confident that my application is being
considered because I believe my qualification fit the requirements
you stated in your advertisement. In as much as the position is an
important and a responsible one, it is possible that a candidate has
not yet been chosen.
Would it be convenient for you to let me know the satus of my
application ?
Yours faithfully, Following up
the receipt of application
Dear Sir,
I want to express my appreciation for the careful conside-tation
you gave to my letter of application dated January 2.
Your reference to a possible better business position in the
coming month encourages me to believe that a vacancy for the post I
applied may occur then. If so, I went to emphasize my continued
interest in working for your firm.
May I take the liberty of writing you once again several days
from now. I should like to send at that .time an up-to-date account
of myself which would include my most recent business activities.
Yours faithfully, Following up
an interview
Dear Mr. Ghosh,
Thank you very much for affording me the opportunity to
discuss with you my qualifications for the job of assistant manager
in your firm.
The fact that you expect the man in this position to assume
great responsibility during the manager's absence makes the
position even more appealing to me. One of my aims is to exercise
greater responsibility than the job I now hold affords.
You indicated that you intended to interview several other
applicants. I hope that you will conclude that my past business
 ( 104) and educatioal experience
qualify me for the position.
In any event, may I take this opportunity to express my
appreciation for your interest in my application.
Yours faithfully,
Application for the post of Accounts Clerk
Dear Sir,
In reply to your advertisement in today's "The Times of
India", I wish to offer myself for the position of Accounts Clerk
in your office. In accordance with your request, I give below
some particulars about myself.
I was 22 years of age in January last and have had nearly
two year'sexperience in the office of Messrs. Bajaj Traders Ltd.
of New Delhi. My early schooling took place in Agra where my
father was in business, but following his death my mother moved
to Delhi. I attended the St. John's High School for four years and
I enclose my school reports and the testimonial which was given
1o me by my headmaster on leaving. I then followed a two year
course at the Delhi Commercial College and a certificate to this
effect in also enclosed. During the last one year I attended the
Chartered Accountants Classes and subsequently obtained the
diploma in accountancy.
Messrs. Bajaj Traders Ltd. are shifting their business to
some other town and in consequence are dinsmissing all their
staff. This statement is confirmed in a testimonial from the firm,
a copy of which I enclose and which covers the period of my
service with them.
I am hopeful about getting a situation which will provide me
chances for further experience and promotion, and I would suggest a
salary of Rs. 350 per month.
( 105)
I close this letter with the hope that an interview will be
granted to me.
Yours faithfully,
Testimonial for an employee
Mr. Milan Kumar of 132, Bara Hindu Rao, Fahar Gang, New
Delhi-1 has been employed by us from 2nd June, 1963 to 26th
February 1965. He has been found very painstaking and hard-
working in his job and has carried out all his duties to our entire
satisfaction. Mr. Milan Kumar had been very punctual and polite
and attentive in his duties. He is very honest and we very much
regret that the shifting of our business has compelled us to
dispense with his services. We have every hope of his future carreer.
For Bajaj Traders Ltd.,
Managing Director Dear Sirs,
I have learned from some reliable sources that you are in
need of a salesman for New Delhi show-room. I hereby offer
myself as an applicant for above mentioned post and place the
following few lines for your kind consideration.
In regard to my character and commercial experience, the copies
of three testimonials which I enclose will give you the full
information.
Although I am satisfied with my present situation, it has been
my wish for some time past to extend my knowledge by securing a
post in a big commerical concern like yours. I may assure you that I
am fully equiped to deal with the customers and show-room
procedure.
I shall feel obliged if you will favour me with an appointment for
a personal interview.

__
( 106)
I assure you that I would do my best to give you all the
satisfaction you desire from a showroom salesman.
Yours faithfully,
Advertiser's reply to an applicant
Dear Sir,
In reply to your letter of 15th June, we should be glad if you
would call at our office on Monday, the 26th June next so that we
may be able to discuss details in regard to the situation for which you
have applied.
We are looking for a reliable person who is not afraid
acceping responsibilities and has an aptitude for hard work. He
should be capable of handling the staff as well as the customers.
It is our wish that the person to be appointed has to go for
training in our various departments for a period of two years.
After this training period, if a candidate shows interest and has
become conversant with the various subjects and know-how of
our trade, then in due course he will be called upon to make
shorter business trips on our behalf.
During the training period a stipend of Rs. 500 per month will be
given and after that the apointment will be made in the grade of
Rs. 800-50-1100. This appointmet will be on permanant basis and
a candidate has execute a bond for five years.
Yours faithfully,
For General Electric Co.,

Application for Salesman

Dear Sir,
Your advertisement for part-time cosmetic salesman
emphasizes your need for a thoroughly competent person with
\
( 107)
merchadising education and practical experience. Will you take a
moment to consider my qualifications ?
I am 24 years of age and a graduate of Delhi University, where I
received my degree in Bechelor of Arts. In addition to this I was also
taking courses in business management and control and various other
subjects related to the retail sales of products.
For the past three years I have been working part time for a well-
known concern in cosmetics and my job has been for stock co-
ordination and the checking of the inventories. I know cosmetics and its
style attribute my success as a salesman to my ability to influence people
by using that knowledge. I take grate pride in the fact that my sales
have averaged Rs. 1,000/-a day.
I have for a long time had the desire to sell a better quality
cosmetics. Your concern would afford me the opportunity to advance
on my own merits. Conditions at my place of employment are
plea,«mt, but the opportunities for promotion are limited, I know I can
handle greater re'spansibilities.
If you are interested in my qualifications, I should appreciate the
opportunity of meeting you in person.
Hope to be favoured with a reply.
Yours faithfully, Application
for Typist
Dear Sir,
I should like to apply for the position of Typist advertised
in The Hindustan Standard to-day. I can offer the following
qualifications.
Training : Fourteen months at Davar's College of
Commerce, Diploma in shorthand, and typing
(speed 120/60) General training, bookkeeping,
commercial correspondence and committee
procedure.
( 108 )
Experience : Two years as junior typist with Sen and Bose,
Solicitors, Bombay.
Education : Passed Higher Secondary Examination of the U. P.
Board with subjects Economics, Geography and
Mathematics.
Age : 20 years.
In my present position, I am solely engaged in typing Briefs,
and althongh I enjoy work which calls for a high standard of
accuracy, I now feel that I need a post which gives more
opportunity for initiative and intelligence. I could be called for a
personal interview at any time.
Yours faithfully,
For The Post of Junior Clerk
Dear Sir,
I was attracted by your advertisement for a Junior Clerk in
today's issue of The Evening Times. I have no experience, but the
kind of work described coincides with my wish for a position
in......the.........trade; I have studied a number of
careers booklets on the subject.
I look forward to hearing that my application interests you,
and that I may therefore have the pleassure of an interview. Details
of my education and background are given below.
Yours faithfully, Agef School:
Special interests :
Impressive Application Dear Sir.
I am interested in your advertisement for an Assistant
General Manager in today's issue of The Times of India.
 ( 109 )

My qualifications exactly correspond to your require-and I

have tabulated them on the attached sheet. You will see t I
already earn Rs. 2000/- p. m., but as my present opportunities for
promotion are very limited I should be willing to accept a salary
only slightly higher than this particularly as your opening offers
rapid advancement.
May I say that I should like to live and work ii the North ? I
was born in Delhi and still have many friends liv ig in the city. I
shall be able to attend an interview at any tme
after May 9.
Yours faithfully,
Enc. Sant Singh

The sheet to be enclosed takes the following form

APPLICATION FROM SANT SINGH 7, Park
View, Queens Road, Bombay — 1
Aged 45 Born on 6th August 1916
Educated Ramdas High School, Agra University.
: Degrees : B. A. (Econ.) Ph. D. (Thesis on
Social Record keeping in a Democratic
Experience : Society)
Assistant General Manager,
Married : Hindustan Motors; 1954—68, Rs.
1,500/- p. m.
Special
1954. Three children.
See Thesis above. Have done
research on different systems of
mathematics and on computers.
Engaged on a technical book ;

3rd 1968
 ( no)
Enquiry about a post
Dear Sir, )
I have been advised by............to enquire about opening!!
for Management trainees in your organization. J
I am eighteen years of age and have just sat for my M. So.
degree examination. I have passed my B. Sc. with Chemistry,
Physics and Biology, in addition to English Language, French and
Maths.
The idea for a career in the automobile industry, Cloth
Mills etc., has always interested me, and I should be able to take
any further educational course which you would recommend.
I fully realize that you may have no vacancies at the present
time, but if you could grant me an interview to discuss
the matter, I should be most grateful.
Yours faithfully,
Harish Soni Help from
a third person
One approach to the unsolicited latter is to arrange to have it
come from a third person, preferably one well-known in the trade.
Dear Mr. Birla,
If you are looking for a young man in your editorial or
production department, I'd like to tell you a little about Shan-
karlal, who for the past two years has done a fine job for us.
As you know, we are dropping advertising, and this .neans
that you or some other publisher can pick up a mighty accurate
and smooth-working Boy who knows how to take out copy and
follow it through to the finished page. He has a keen feeling for
layout, knows how to order retouching, has donen a lot of paste up
work, and is familiar with all the intermediate steps.
He studied advertising at the Delhi University, went from
school to the Agency and then came to us.

^^ussa^vksy^-^^^^^^akf^am^^^.^^ .i^^-fe
 (111)
In short, he's the kind of fellow who could lighten your voVk
load and make himself a valuable part of your busy or* gaqization.
You'll like him. May I send him in for a talk with you ?
Very truly yours, Aftel getting
tha job Deaf Mr. Sachs,
Thank you for your kind note notifying me of c y
appointment to your accounting department. I sinceiily appreciate
the confidence [that the appointment reflects, and you may rest
assured that I will do everything possible to merit your trust in me.
It is my understanding that I am to act as assistant to the
controller, and/that my salary is to be Rs. 500/- p. m. for the first
year. Thereafter, my salary is to be reconsidered in the light of the
record I have made.
I am looking forward to a long and pleasant association with
the Cort Company, confident that you will be gratifed by
my work.
Sincerely yours,
Asking tor a raise
After you've worked successfully at a job for a while, you will
begin to think about a promotion or raise. As soon as the
situation comes to a head, you are faced with a dilemma: If I ask
and ge,t turned down, will I have to quit ? How can 1 ask for a
raise and show I mean it, and yet not be so aggressive as to create
antagonism ?
The answer is to avoid a threat unless you are prepared to
leave. Appeal to fairness and the fact that a raise will help you
work better. Avoid such irritating comments as "Joy gets more
than I do for the same work" or "I have been doing my work well
for a year." Show the extra work you are doing that deserves extra
pay. Remember an employer expects you to push your salary up, not
pull it up after you.
( 112)
Dear Mr.'Shah,
As you know, I have been working in the shippir department
for more than a year. In that period the department has lost two men,
only one of whom has been replaced!
One of the men who left was the head of the department. Since I
have had more training than the rest of the men, I automatically
assumed most of his duties. This has entailed more work and
responsibility for me, and I have often worked late to catch up on my
regular duties.
Needless to say, I enjoy my work and the new responsibility it
involves. I think I am doing a good job, and I get the satisfaction
that comes from this knowledge.
However, I feel that in view of the added responsibility and
work, adjustment in my pay is indicated.
Would you be kind enough to investigate and see if you don't
agree with me ?
Respectfully yours,
Resigning and Retiring
If your job in an organization, is not an important one a
verbal resignation is all that is expected. However, if your job
holds some responsibility or if you have held a position for a long
time, it is a good idea to explain in writing why you are leaving.
This provides you with an opportunity to create a good will and to
leave a pleasant and valuable record behind you.
A letter of resignation should do the following :
1. Give definite notice that you intend to leave at a specific
time.
2. Express appreciation for the opportunity, experience, courtesy,
and pleasant time you have had. You may modestly mention some of
your achievment as a remainder to your employer if you plan to ask
later for a letter of recommendation

£i£xy&
( 113 )
letirennt
)ear Mr. Sethi,
The time has now come when I must retire from service
idth......(or on \our committee etc.,) owing to my recent ill
health, or pressure of business, etc.
I much regret this and trust you will realise that this decision
has been forced upon me. My association with......has
been very important to me and I hope that we shall not lose touch
completely and that you will keep me informed (in case of some
voluntary organization) of jour future developments (or plans,
scheme^etc.)
With all best wishes for the future.
I am, Yours sincerely,
Resignations
'Giving notice' must be covered by a letter of resignation in
many companies these days, and this is one more occasion when you
must put your tongue in your cheek over any dissatisfaction you may
have had. Don't say it !
The following specimen can be changed to suit your
requirment:
Dear Sir, Or Dear Mr. Sharma.
I regret that I must now resign my position with your
company because I have been offered the position of Sales
Manager with Bhagat Bros., at a substantially increased salary.
You will realize that this is an opportunity that I cannot afford to
miss, but so that you will not be unduly inconvenienced, Messrs.
Bhagat Bros., have agreed to wait for my services at least three
months, or until you can release me easily.
( 114)
I have been very happy working for you and should \i. to thank
you for the kindness you have always shown me.
Yours sincerely, ,

CHAPTER 12
References
It should be noted that you can never be forced to give a
reference and if you would rather not do so it is better to refuse
outright than to give an incorrect reference.
When giving reference you need, never be afraid to write what
you consider to be the truth even if it should be hard on the
employee. Applying for reference to old employers, or giving them to
employee is always a delicate matter.
Prejudice should not be allowed to figure too largely in a
reference for an employee with whom you are parting company. For a
good worker, it is up to you to make the reference as rosy as
possible. She or he may even come back to you when they found their
new job is not so good as they thought it would be.
Specimen of a Reference
To whom it may concern :
Mr. Amar Gotal worked for this Company as a Ledger Clerk
from February 1964 to October 1968. He was an extrenr ely accurate
worker with above-average intelligence and was responsible for
initiating some excellent methods of record-keeping he was always
punctual in his duties, I am sure he would be
( H5 )
ak asset on any staff, and I can recommend him unreservedly
for a position of trust.
Sd.
With a bad worker, unless he or she is actually dishonest a
prospective employer can read between the lines^ and brevity
usually implies that the employee was not all, he should have
been. Such a reference, for example, for someone persitently
unpanctual and a terrible gossip, might read like this .
"Mr> Harish sen worked for this Company as a Ledger
Clerk. ^He was an efficient worker and his writing was good. He
was always trustworthy."
Checking up of the Reference
Dear Sir,
Mr. Ashok Gupta, of 6, Kings Circle, has applied to us for
post on our staff of representatives and informs us that vou are
willing to stand as a referee for him.
We should be very grateful if you could give us some in-
formation about him. In your opinion, is he likely to be trustworthy
at all times and in every way ? Has he an equal temperament, and,
above all, can he meet difficulties in a positive way ?
If you can possibly answer these questions, you could
help us very much.
Yours faithfully, Enc.
Stamped addressed envelope
If you have to write for a domestic reference in connection
with the appointment of a servant, send something fairly informal
in tone, like the following : Dear Madam,
......has given me your name as a reference in connection
with a vacancy here as a domestic servant.
( 116)
She tells me that she had been in your employment formic
last few years, and I shall be greatful if you can give me a little
more information. I assume she is a good cook also. Can she
manage dinner parties ? j
I shall be grateful for your reply and I enclose a stamped
addressed envelope.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Mittal,
With this note I take the opportunity of introducing to you a
bright young man from Delhi, who is determined to seek his fortune in
the big city.
He is Ranjit Roy, the bearer of this letter who has worked for
me for the last three years after his graduation, and is considered to
be best executive we ever had.
I am sure that from time to time you look for the best talent
to add to your administrative staff. If this is one of those
opportunities, I wish you would talk to him and judge for yourself if
he comes upto your expectations and can be of any use to your
organization. If you are unable to absorb him then could you give
him the benefit of your experience and guide him to go at right
place.
Maya and I plan to be in Bombay for a few days in January.
Perhaps we shall have long meetings and discuss about
ourself.
Sincerely.
Dear Mr. Bose,
I am writing this letter for Mr. Ranjit Roy of Delhi. He arrived
in Bombay only a few days ago with the highest recommendations
from an old friend. Mr. M. P. Agarwal, of the New India Industries.
 ( H7 )
Mr. Ranjit had been an outstanding student at the
college land had been associated with the various unions.
After graduation he joined New India Industries, and from
the testimonials of which he has many, it appears to me
that he is quite capable of carrying on his duties
deligently. His command of language and his methods for
improving the managerial techniques has impressed me.
He still needs some experience with a big industrial concern
and he is willing to fit into any position he can fill. He is good
| at typing, and shorthand.
it i
I I think you will be interested in talking to him and
perhaps
\ in finding him a place in your concern.
Cordially,
Dear Mr. Lahiri,
Although it has been several months since I left Burn
& Co., I have not as yet succeeded in getting the job of my
own choice.
In making applications at seveal places, it has been
necessary to present a complete and a good reference.
Would you be kind enough to let me use your name as a
reference whenever it is deemed necessary in the future ?
I shall feel highly obliged for your this act of kindness.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Mr. Prasad,
Miss Kala Saxena has given your name as a business
reference. We are considering her for the post of secretary
to our Chairman. For this, we need a young girl who,
besides profiency in her job, has the abilty to get along
with others and work well without supervision.
We shall thank you very much for any information
you
( US)
care to give, and assure you that the same will be held in strk>/ test
confidence.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Mr. Nandi,
Ram Chand was in my employ for three years, during
which we found his work and character most satisfactory.
Though, we did have occasional differences of opinion about his
day off. Whenever we were away from home for days together,
he took care of not only one car but all the three. All of our
guests and we ourselves were \ery fond of him. If we were not
compelled to leave the city itself, there would be no reason for us
to dispense with his services.
Very truly yours,
Dear Mr. Bahl,
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you can use
my name as a reference. We found your work more than satis-
factory, and I still regret the reasons that led you to leave Burn
&Co.
I am confident that any company you work for will get
the same kind of loyalty, intelligence, and efficiency that you
displayed during your service with us. Be assured that I will
not hesitate to recommend you to any prospective employer.
Wish you all the best of luck.
*** Yours cordially,
"Thank you." Letter for help in Getting Job.
Dear Mr.... ....
I am now working as Stenographer with Messrs......and
very happy about it.
I know that the fine letter about me which you sent to
Mr.......had a lot to do with getting me the job. I am deeply
grateful to you, not only for this particular reference but for help
and encouragement you have always given me.
I shall certainly make every effort to do an outstanding job of
my duty and justify your faith in me.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 13
Complaints
Complaints are also a matter for careful handling; and though
there are many different kinds, one small piece of under standing is
common to them all; you will stand a better chance of success if you
resist the temptation of supposing that the thing you have to
complain about is the result of someone else's deliberate action or
falsification. At the beginning of a 'complaining' correspondence,
always give the benefit of the doubt of your correspondent,
without losing sight of the action you yourself have decided to take.
In this Way you 'save the other's face' without losing your own and
without worsening the situation and it is obvious that in order to do
this you will have to think over your letter very carefully before
you decide on its final form,
Overcharged in bill
The Chief Accountant, The S. E.
Electricity Board, Madras.
( 120 )
Dear Sir,
Your A/C No. RefNo.—
I am extremely surprised to receive so large an account for the
past quarter. If you compare this with our account over the past
twelve months, you will see that it is nearly four times as much.
The meter appears to be working but is moving rather
rapidly and I think it must be faulty. Would you very kindly send
an engineer to check this ?
I look forward to hearing from you and I enclose the qu-
estioned account for your perusal.
Yours faithfully.
The Chief Accountant. The S. E.
Electricity Board, Madras. Dear Sir,
Your A/C No. Ref. No.—
Thank you for your letter of 8th June.
I note what you say about the account being in order, but I
must insist that this is not the case. If you will consult our
accounts for the autumn and winter, when we not only had much
shorter days but also used plenty of electricity, you will agree that
it is quite impossible for us to have consumed a fraction of the
electricity for which you have charged.
If you will go over your records I am sure you will find some
trifling error which is responsible for what is (to us) a very
considerable overcharge.
Yours faithfully,
T

( 121 )
The Chief Accountant, The S.
E. Electricity Board, London
Road, Brighton. Dear Sir,
Your A/C No.—— Ref.
No.——
I have repeived your letter of 12th June, but I regret that
I cannot agree with you about this account being due for pay-
ment as it stands.
To consume the amount of electricity for which you have
charged, it would have been necessary for us to double our
number of electrical appliances and to work these, and the
lights, for 24 hours a day.
In a small establishment like this eletricity cannot be
wasted on the scale you suggest. If you are dissatisfied with
my complaint, I suggest that you consult your Chief Engineer
as he will be able to make an estimate of the amount of
electricity we could reasonably consume, based on the number
of our point, etc.
Yours faithfully
Dear Sir,
Your ref:—
I have just received my telephone account for the last
quarter. It is very much in excess of the previous accounts, and
I should be grateful if you could send me further details of
some of the items.
You have charged for 6 telegrams and 12 trunk calls, and
there it a vastly increased total of local calls. We cannot trace
any of the telegrams and have a record of only 2 trunk calls.
( 122)
We do not keep a complete record of local calls, but as our
telephone is used only during the evenings, the number you have
charged for works out at an average of 5 a day, and it would have
been out of the question for us to have made this nnmber of calls.
Could our account have been confused with another ? I return
it for your inspection, and look forward to receiving your contents.
Yours faithfully, Defective
Goods
The Red Iron Co.,
Bombay.
Dear Sirs,
Guarantee No.—
I am sending to you under separate cover (or by rail parcel post,
according to the method chosen) the iron I bought this July at the
Premier Electric Store. The guarantee number is given above, and
I attach the guarantee itself to the front of this letter.
The iron no longer heats to its maximum temperature, and 1
should be extremely obliged if you could repair it under the terms of
your guarantee, and return it to me at the above address.
Yours faithfully, Messrs
Wallace & Co. Foundry Works, Station Road, Jullunder. Dear
Sirs,
1 enclose (or send under separate cover etc.) aa electric drill
which I purchased from Messrs Strong & Co., of (give address of
shop) just over a year ago.
( 123 )
The drill seized up yesterday evening when I was fixing a shelf. I
have tested all the connections and these seem in order. There is a
slight rattle if the drill is shaken and I believe that some part of
the spindle may have snapped.
I should be most grateful if you could replace the faulty
part and return the drill as soon as possible. It is an invaluable
tool.
With many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
The Managing Director, Pan
Cooker Co., Delhi. Dear Sir,
I have been buying your Cookers for many years with
complete satisfaction, and I must therefore write to you about
my most recent purchase, which was bought from a store last
month, I enclose this for your inspection.
Although it is of your best, heavy quality, you will see that
the enamel has worn in a ring round the edge of the pan. I do not
think that it has been dropped as I am the only person who
works in the kitchen, nor do we use harsh abrasive. I can only
conclude that some mistake must have crept in during the process
of manufacture, as this is nowhere near your usual standard.
I trust that you will be able to replace this Cooker as it is not
an economic proposition to purchase kitchen untensils of an
expensive kind which wear through in the first month.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Complaint for Repair
Dear Mr. Jones,
I am sorry to have to tell you that the rain is still coming
( 124)
in at the top of the eaves. Last time the builders were here
they repaired the slates; I wonder whether they should have
done something to the ridge tiles ? Yesterday the rain poured in
so hard that we were unable to use the room at all. We
should be most grateful if you could do something about this.
Yours sincerely, Reminder to
the above Dear Mr..
I am very anxious at having had no reply to my letter of a
week ago. The furniture in our bedroom has yet recovered from
the last downpour caused by the defective roof. If you are unable
to reply by return, may I take it that I have your permission to
contact your builder 'and instruct him to do something about the
ridge tiles ?
Yours sincerely,
To a Tenant Dear Mr. Naresh,
As you know, in the past it has not been necessary for me to ask for
prompt payment of your rent. Now, however, I thtnk it would be best if
we could go back to our original arrangement of a regular monthly
payment at the end of every four weeks on (—giving dates). This would be
of the greatest possible assistance to me at the present time, as the
expenses on the property have been steadily rising and I frequently find
myself without the ready money to pay necessary bills.
I trust you will forgive my mentioning this matter, but|I know you
would dislike the thought of my being financially embarrassed because of
a mere oversight on your part.
May I expect the rent due to be paid on Monday next, 12th
February?
Yours sincerely,
 ( 125 ) Reminder to
above
6 Nightingale Lane,
Harrogate, Yorks.
8th May, 1964. Dear
Mr. Naresh,
It is now some weeks since 1 drew your attention to the
non-payment of your rent, but I have not received any rent
from you since 7th January, and the outstanding amount is
now Rs. 300/-
I I cannot let this matter hang on any longer as I now have
; a number of big bills outstanding, and unless I can pay the
| electric light bill and the gas and telephone accounts, these
' essential services will have to be cut off.
I am most anxious not to put this matter in the hands of
my solicitor but unless you pay me within two days, I shall
have no alternative.
Yours sincerely.

Reminding a payment
Dear Sirs,
You will recall that you very kiadly purchased a Fan * rrom
my store three months ago. I have not yet received your cheque
for Rs. 200/- which you said you would post me later in the day,
and I am wondering whether this small matter has been
overlooked or whether the cheque could possibly have gone
astray. I have been away from home a good deal, so that it may
even have got mislaid at this end.
1 should like to put my records in order, and shall be
most grateful to hear from you.
Yours faithfully,
 126 )
Dear Tarun,
I've been tidying up my accounts and have only just
remembered that you were going to send me a cheque for the
chest of djrawers you kindly took off my hands. 1 think you said
Rs. 150/- I can't trace having received it, and as we've been away
quite a bit, I wonder whether it has gone astray, I'm sorry to be
such a nuisance, but could you possibly check on this and let me
know whether you sent the cheque or not ?
Kiran has been reorganising the house and we are more
upside down than usual, but it would be nice if you could bring
Neeta over to see us one evening. What about one Thursday ?
Yours, Dear Sir,
You will recall accepting an article of mine entitled "THE
ROUGH SEA", for which you said you would pay Rs. 100/-This
appeared last May, but 1 cannot trace having received any
payment for it, and I am wondering whether your cheque could
have gone astray, or whether I have made a mistake at this end.
I should be most obliged if your Accounts Department could
trace your cheque, so that I can put my records in order for
Income Tax purposes, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Income Tax
Your ref: M/D/89447—J. A. Sen
I have received your assessment for April 1964-65. As th's is
incorrect in many details, I hereby inform you that I intend to
appeal against it. As soon as I have collected all the necessary
information I will write again.
I shall be obliged if you will acknowledge receipt of this
letter.
Yours faithfully,
( 127)
Dear Sir,
Your ref : M/D/89447/J. A. Sen
Further to my letter of 27th March, I have now obtained all the
details which relate to my assessment, and would like to draw your
attention to the following points :
1. You have omitted my mortgage payment altogether.
2. You have made allowance for only four children, whereas
twins were born over twelve months ago, bringing the total up to six
children.
3. You have omitted an allowance for dependent mother.
I shall be glad if you will amend the assessment in accordance
with the above details.
Yours faithfully,
Dear Sir,
Your ref: M/D/89447
J. A. Sen—Underpayment of Rs. 670/'-
1 regret that I am at present unable to remit the above
amount of Income Tax which has been underpaid.
It would be possible for me to raise about Rs, 50/- monthly
towards this amount, which means that the whole sum would be
paid in just over a year, and I should be most grateful if you could
let me know whether you would agree to this
method of payment.
Yours faithfully,
Complaint to Manufacturer
Dear Sirs,
We regret to inform you that today one of my customers
returned three 1 kg. tins of Raspberry Jelly to us, the contents of
which, owing to defect in packing, had become unfit for
consumption.
C 128)
This is an unfortunate occurence in what was a trial order but we
suggest that you extend us for their value, which may be deducted from
our future payments to you.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above Dear Sirs,
We have received your letter of 3rd Nov., and greatly regret
that three faulty tins of Raspberry Jelly were included in our last
sample consignment.
We trust that you have not incurred any disagreeable
consequences thereby, and have credited you with the amount of Rs.
27.35 as requested. Representations will be made to our supplier in
order that the recurrence of such an event may be avoided.
Yours faithfully,
Complaint to Landlord Dear
Sir,
It has been brought to «your notice on more than one
occasion during the last two months that water is leaking
through our bathroom ceiling. But so for nothing has been done to
repair the ceiling, and we are still put to hardship.
Please see that the celinig is repaired before the rainy season
starts, as you promised us to do before you let out the premises.
If no satisfactory reply is recieved by us within a week, we shall
get it repaired on your account and risk.
Yours faithfully,

Reply from Landlord

Dear Sir,
As the expenses involved in repairing the ceiling of the bathroom
of your flat are very high and I am not in a position
 (-129 )
to carry out the repairs immediately, I hereby authorise you
to get the same repaired on my behalf and to deduct the
amount spent from the rent.
Yours faithfully,
Late Payment of Rent Dear Sir,
I am enclosing a cheque for Rs. 500/- towards the rent
which is in arrear, for the flat occupied by me.
Kindly accept my apologies for failing to pay the rent due
on time. Some unexpected expe'nses have placed a financial
burden on me. I assure you that I will make every effort to
pay in full the arrears of the rest within a very short time.
Yours faithfully,
To Railway for loss of luggage
Dear Sir,
It is to bring to your notice that I had booked a trunk
from Dadar to Agra Cantt., in the luggage Van attached to 5
Dn, Punjab Mail on 23-4-1961 vide Receipt No. R/23156. I saw
the trunk being labelled and put in the luggage van, but on
arrival at the Agra Cantt., it was not to be found. .-It was a
black steel trunk and my name and address are written on it.
I shall feel highly grateful if you will make immediate
efforts to trace it and recover it, as it contains some of my very
valuable contents, without which I am put to grave inconve-
nience.
Yours faithfully,
For Delayed Payment Dear sir,
I am enclosing my cheque for Rs, 105/-towards the service
charges for your club.
Please accept my apologies for failing to keep my accounts

„. .„,&*£,*. *»*** Mt
( 130)
up-to-date. It is all due to some unforeseen circumstances which
have put me in a tight corner.
I hereby assure you that in future every effort will be made
to clear the dues in the earliest possible time.
1 thank you very much for accepting this late payment.
Sincerely yours,

CHAPTER 14
Miscellaneous Letters
Letters To Educational Institutions Asking for a Testimonial
The Principal,

Dear Sirs,
I am applying to M/s........for the post of a clerk as per
their advertisement. But alongwith the application I have to enclose
a testimonial from the head of the institution where I had my
education. Therefore, I request you to please issue me a necessary
certificate to enable me to secure the post and oblige.
Thanking you*
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sir,
As it is a long time since you left this institution and the staff
has changed hands and all papers relating to the activities of the
past students have been misplaced or lost, so please send as your
date of leaving the institution and the term you com-
( 131 )
pleted as well as details of your activities other than those of
studying.
Yours faitniully. Reply to
above
Dear Sir,
I nearby give the details of my record at your institution as
follows to be incorporated in my testimonial. Please do the needful
at an early date as there is very little time left to submit my
application for job.
1. I left the college after passing M. A. in the year 1958.
2. I was President of the college union for four years and had
organized a number of programmes for the benefit of
the poor students.
3. I was captain of the college Hockey team for three years
and have won the collegiate championship for 4 years
continuously.
4. I was selected to represent my university in the annual
athletic meet held at Allahabad, after I got the
top.honours in the district athletic meet.
5. I was the lone student to have passed with distinction my
M. A. Exam.
I hope this will suffice to prepare a testimonial.
With thanks.
Yours faithfully,
Leave from class Dear Sir,
Most humbly I beg to state that I have to attend the enge-
gement ceremony of my brother at Mathura. Kiadly grant me
leave for one day i. e., 23rd December.
Thanks,
Yours obediently,
( 132)
For Fine
Dear Sir,
I have been fined for being late in the class. But the reason for my late
arrival was that I could not get the bus right in time as one bus was
cancelled today.
I assure you that in future I shall be punctual in my attendance and
will never give you any cause of complaint.
Please exempt me from fine and oblige. Delay in fees
Dear Sir,
With due respect I beg to state that due to termination ot my
father's services because of retrenchment in the factory, I am not able to
pay my fees in time.
Kindly grant me some time to secure the necessary amount to pay
up the fees for this month and the next, as we are passing through a very
critical time.
For this act of kindness I shall always remain grateful.
Yours obediently,
Reply to above
You are requested to present a letter from your father stating
therein the reason for non-payment of your fees.
Yours faithfully, From a
Father The Principal, Khalsa High School, Agra. Dear Sir,
As per Doctor's advice, my son Kilachand, student of class VII-
A, has been confined to bed due to sudden attack of cholera since last
night. He is likely to take a week for complete recovery. Therefore, kindly
grant him leave and oblige.
Thanks.
Yours faithfully,
( 133 )
Dear Sir,
Kindly excuse my son Prak^sh Sharma, for the home work
he was to do as he had joined us to attend a marriage party last
night.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully. Dear Sir,
My son Ashok Roy has complained to me that he is daily being
bullied and harassed by the big boys of the class. Would you please
look into the matter and do the needful.
Yours faithfully, Dear Sir,
My son Robin Sen is to celebrate his sixth birthday on
llth.May 1968. As his first teacher and guide it will be befitting if
you grace this occasion by your presence.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
For Leave from School Dear Sir,
My son Ashok Kumar, student of class X A, is to attend a
marriage ceremony at Delhi.
Kindly grant him leave for seven days from 6th to 11 th October,
1968, and oblige. Thanking You,
Yours faithfully,
Informing of Death
Dear Sir,
With deep sorrow I have to inform you of the sudden
demise of my father, due to a heart attack on the night of 3rd
December 1967.
Yours faithfully,
( 134)
For Leave on Account of Death
Dear Sir,
I have just been informed of the sorrow that befall me due
to sudden death of my father on 4th May, 1968.
As I have to attend to the last rites of my father to be at my
native, place, I shall, therefore, be thankful to you if a kave for a
week is granted to fulfill my duty. I shall positively report for duty
on 13 May, 1968.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Your faithfully, Reply to
Above
Dear Jagdish,
I hearby extend my deep sympathy in your bereavement. It is
a great shock to learn that your father is no more with us. May his
soul rest in peace.
Your leave to attend to your father's last rites is granted
forthwith.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to Above
Dear Sir,
1 hereby greatly acknowledge the very kind sympathy you
have expressed while granting me leave and thank you very
much for the same.
Yours faithfully,
Matrimonial Correspondence
Reply to advertisement
Dear Sir,
This is in response to your advertisement in the Times of India
of 6-2-1968 and I have the pleasure of taking this opportunity of
writing the following details about >my only son Ashok Kumar
Sharma, M. A., Ph. D.
 ( 135)
He is 28 years old of a fair complexion and has a sound
health. He was a good athelete in his college days. At present he is
employed in executive cadre in a big textile concern.
If you are desirous of further communication in this matter
kindly send a recent photograph of your daughter and details so
that I can proceed further into the matter.
Yours faithfully. Another
reply to advertisement
Dear Miss,
This is in reference to your advertisement which appeared in
The Indian Express of 12-7-68, and in reply to the same I hereby
offer myself as a candidate for your hand in marriage and
present the following details about me for your persual.
I am Bisa Agarwal by caste and of 30 years age. I have a
daughter by my first wife, who has since expired in an aeroplane
accident. At present I am running my own business by which I
am earning nearly 2.000/- rupees per month. Having my own car
and a two storeyed house in the Bombay suburbs 1 reside alone
at present. My daughter is in a boarding school and visits me
only during summer vacations, along-with my parents.
Any other information, if needed, will be given on hearing
from you.
Yours faithfully,
Invitation for tea
Dear Sir,
It is since a fortnight I sent you photographs of my daughter
in reply to your letter as desired by you.
If you feel inclined to pursue the matter further, kindly pay
me a visit for tea on Sunday the 5th May, 1968 at my resi-

i
L
( 136)
dence, at about 4 p. m.
In case you fail to turn up at the appointed time and day I shall
feel that the matter is closed from your side and it will be highly
appreciated if you return the photographs of my daughter.
Yours faithfully, Accepting
invitation Dear Sir,
I will be too pleased to visit you as per your letter at the
appointed day and time.
1 am quite satisfied with the particulars regarding your
daughter and look forward to meeting you personally and to discuss
the matter further.
Yours faithfully,
Reply in Negative Dear Sir,
While thanking you very much for your kind letter, I hereby
enclose the photographs as desired by you.
I regret to say that my professional status dosen't allow me to
pursue the matter further as I am likely to leave for U. K., by the
year end.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for Clariflcacion
Dear Sir,
Would you be kind enough to clear th following points which
are amiss in your letter.
1. Please let me know the cause of your keeping the child
away at the boarding school.
2. How many brothers and sisters have you and how many
of them are dependent on you or parents.
 137 )
3. Which language is spoken in your family.
4. Are all of your family members orthodox ? On receiving
your reply I shall pursue the matter further.
Yours faithfully,
BANK ACCOUNT Stopping
Payment
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you to stop the payment of the cheque
No......dated.........issued by us in favour of M/s...... and inform us
accordingly.
Thanking you.
Yours faithfully, Mistake in
Account Dear Sir,
We regret to inform you that there are two wrong entries in our
pass book.
On.........we had deposited a cheque for Rs......for collection and
the same has not been credited to our account
There is another debit entry of Rs.......though no cheque
for the said amount has been issued by us.
Would you please look into the matter and do the needful in the
matter.
Yours faithfuily, Sending
Drafts and Docaments Dear Sir,
Enclosed herewith please find Shipping and Insurance documents
alongwith invoices and draft for Rs.........drawn on..
payable at sight. Kindly present the draft to M/s.........and
credit our account on realisation. Bank charges are to be paid by the
party.
( 138)
Asking for a Guarantee Letter
Dear Sir,
We have been informed by our Clearing Agents that goods
addressed to us have arrived and are lying in the warehouse.
Since we have not received the documents as yet, you are hereby
requested to give us your bank's guarantee for the Customs sake
so that we may clear the goods.
The moment we receive the documents the same will be
handed over to Customs and your guarantee letter will be
returned to you.
The guarantee amount for the letter may be debited to our
account.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for Advance
Dear Sir,
Our export trade in steel pipes is increasing rapidly and we
are no longer able to finance this business with meagre funds at our
disposal.
Would you be kind enough to advance as upto 75% of the
value of our overseas orders and on production of the Invoice
and Bill of Lading ? Our drafts en our customers would be passed
to you with the documents, of course. We should appreciate
details of your services and charges in this regard.
Yours faithfully, Advising
Bank
Dear Sir,
The following drafts will shortly be presented to you by
foreign drawers. Please accept them on our behalf and meet
them at maturity to the debit of our account No. 2.
Your charges are to be met by the drawers.
Yours faithfully,
( 139)
Fund-raising letters Dear Mr.
Sachdev,
This is one of those few causes which appeals to your heart
and which can induce you to read a letter like this. On this
occasion it will appeal to you straight away.
You must be aware that our localities are such that have
outgrown its recreational facilities for children. We are, therefore
making a part, on a piece of land donated by the municipal
corporation almost entirely for the use of children. To keep them
off the streets and to give them good recreational facilities, it is
planned that the part will have a whole day library a toy room,
games room etc., with supervised facilities.
In order to provide the necessary funds, we are publishing a
soveniour on the occation of the Musical Night, to be held at
Regal Cinema on May 4th at 7 p. m. of which two tickets have
already been received for you. This letter is to ask you to buy
abvertising space in the soveniour.
It is not easy for me to write to you in this way, but I am sure
you understand the importance of this cause. Your cooperation
in making this venture a success is highly solicited.
With sincere thanks,
Yours faithfully,

Reply to above Dear Mr.

Tandon,
Enclosed herewith plase find a cheque for Rs. 500/-
alongwith the copy of the advertisement for the soveniour of the
forthcoming Musical Night of the Lions Club.
I was gratified to see the efforts you and your club are
making to insure it to be the most entertaining and successful
evening ever. Now that your plans have taken a definite
(140)
shape, it is up to each of us to do our part and to contribute our
might to give this worthy cause a further boost up.
Very sincerely yours, Asking for
a loan
My dear Shyam,
Though I hate to write a letter like this but still the necessity of
the circumstances compells me to do it.
Due to some unforeseen circumstances I am running short of
ready to meet my day to day expenses. I have tried all available
resources to obtain the loan but without success. I am writing to you
as one of my oldest friends and one whom I can always trust in the
time of crisis and emergency.
I just need only one hundred rupees to tide over my present
crisis. I can return this amount in monthly instalments twenty five
rupees a month.
It is needless to write here that I am approching you for this
favour only as a last resort, with the hope that you will not let me
down.
Sincerely, Reply to
above Dear Ashok,
I am sending you by M. O. a sum of Rs. Seventy-five only, as
this is all I managed to get at present.
I hope that it will help you a little in tiding over your persent
crisis. If it is possible for you to return this money before Diwali,
please try to do so.
My best wishes to you.
Cordially, Letters of
Appreciation
Dear Mr. Ramesh
At the recent meeting of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of
Bombay on Saturday, January 6,1 was requested to convey.
( 141 )
to you the deep gratitude of the Chamber for your company's
sponsorship of the New Year Eve Dinner. The dinner was a great
success, and all the members are most appreciative of
your kind cooperation.
Sincerely,
Dear Mr. Pandit,
On behalf of the People's Education Society, permit me to
thank you for your invaluable assistance as a member of our
Advisory Committee. Particularly let me express our appreciation
for your generous donation of.time and effort in the vigorous drive
for the funds to establish new schools.
Very cordially,

Acknowledging a letter of appreciation Dear Mr.

Husain,
Thank you for your kind letter of March 1.
It was a privilege to help the Society. This worthy cause, after
all, of my own liking too, and it was a pleasure to be of a little
help in achieving the gigantic task it faces.
Let us light the hearth and home of the nation with the help
of the education.
Cordially yours,

Declining the offer of nomination

Dear Mr. Chatterjee,
I feel most gratified and honoured to get the news of my
nomination as a candidate forthe.........
Unfortunately, I have not yet recovered completely from a recent
sickness and my doctor has suggested me to limit my activities for the
time being. This has compelled me to decline this honour.
( 142 )
I hope after few months I will fully recover my health and will be
able to take active part in the affairs of the.....
Yours faithfully,
Accepting a resignation
Dear Mr. Venna,
Your letter of resignation was conveyed to the Chairman of
our.........
It was with great regret he heard your decision, and it was
accepted with the understanding that the membership will be open
to you at any time you might wish to rejoin our organisation.
We hope that your good wishes will be always there to
help us in our good work.
Sincerely,

Acknowledging an invitation for Membership

Dear Mr. Sundar,
Kindly convey to the members of the Executive Committee my
sincere appreciation and thanks for selecting me to head the
Reception Committee for the forthcoming session of the
party.
I am honoured to accept, and I shall make every effort to
fulfil their expectations.
Very sincerely yours,
Informing a Candidate of his Election
My dear Mr. Jai,
It gives me a great pleasure to inform you that you have been
elected a member of the Reception Committee of our party.
The preliminary session of the same will be held at Tilak Hall
on Monday at 8 p. m. to discuss the arrangements arrived at for
holding the annual session of our party in this city.
( 143 )
I hope to have chance to talk with you at length on Tuesday
about some of the points which are of utmost importance to our
party and about the programme we plan to develop for
the forthcoming session..
Very Cordially yours,
Resignation from the Membership
Dear Mr. Madan,
1 hearby tender my resignation as a member of the. ......
with sincere regrets.
I have shifted from...... .to..... .1 feel it better to be
associated with local...... which would be mutually beneficial
for me.
Please be assured of my appreciation for the many courtesies
shown to me during my tenture as... .of....
Sincerely,
Proposing a member
Dear Mr. Nanda.
I wish to propose Mrs. Behl for membership in the Delhi Club
Ltd.
Mrs. Behl has been active in social, work since she moved to
Delhi two years ago. She has been a leading spirit in the Delhi
Women's Council and has been a Chairman of the family
Planning Board. Those of us who khow Mrs. Behl respect her
ability and her energy on behalf of so many worthy causes with
which she has been associated.
1 am certain Mrs. Behl will be an asset to our club.
Yours faithfully,
In vital ion for membership
Dear Mr. Katrak,
Your name has been suggested to me by Mr. Raj Khanna as a
person who is actively interested in the affairs of your
( 144)
locality, and particularly in the important work in the field of
education.
You will recall that our society has in the past, secured many
civic amenities for the localities of the low income group. Some of our
other accomplishments, our aims, and our current programmes are
described in the enclosed booklet.
If you agree with our aims and principles for which our society
is carrying on a vigorous crusade, I should like to have the privilege
of proposing your name for membership at the next meeting on
Monday, January 6 at 8 p. m. In any case I hereby invite you to be
guest of our society at this meeting. The members of the society
would like to meet you in person and discuss any question you might
have about our Society.
Cordially,
Asking for a Credit Note Dear Sir,
This is in reference to your invoice No.... of dated.... A sum of
Rs.... has been debited to your account, for the expenses incurred
in cartage etc.
Kindly send us a credit note for the above said amount.
Yours faithfully,
Informing Change of Address
Dear Sir,
Please note that I have shifted my residence from........
to.....
All correspondence in future may be sent to my new
address.
Thanks.
Yours faithfully,
\ \ ( 145 )
Introducing a Member
Dear Mr. Seth
I would like to present Mr. Yash Arora for membership in the
India Club.
Mr. Yash has recently moved to Delhi from Bombay. He has
long been interested in civic improvement, and though his lectures
have encouraged many clubs to undertake important projects for
town and city betterment.
I am sure Mr. Yash would be a real addition to our
membership.
Yours sincerely,
Invitation
Dear Mr. Sen,
The Delhi Club takes great pleasure in inviting you to become
a member.
We have sent you a folder containing all the information about
our club. As you have already visited us several time^, you know
how charming the clubhouse and grounds are; and we know you will
find the members interesting and congenial.
Our annual show is scheduled for September 25, and is to be
followed by a dinner and dance at the clubhouse. We hope you will
be a member by that time and we look forward to having you with
us.
Please let us know this week, if possible, whether you accept
our invitation and will share our club activities.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Mr. Ghosh,
You have been suggested to me as a man who might like to take
part in the very important work we are doing here at the Civic
Center.
( 146 )
I am sure you are familiar with the works of this organi-
zation, I am enclosing booklets which tell about our aims and
purposes, and some of our accomplishments. I am also enclosing
our current program of events in the hope that you will find time
to attend some of them—and see for yourself the work we are
doing and its great value to the community.
I should like the privilege of proposing your name tor
membership. Will you be my guest at the next regular meeting
October 3, at eight o'clock ? I'd like to meet you personally and
answer any questions you may have about the organization.
Cordially yours, Informing
A Member's Election Dear Mr. Esmod,
I am pleased to report that at the meeting of the Stamp
Society, held on January 19, you were elected to membership.
There will be a meeting at the home of Mr. Pran, 45 Marine
Drive, on Tuesday. January, 28, at eight o'clock.
We hope you will be with us at that time, and we look
forward to greeting you as a member.
Sincerely yours, Accepting
Membership
Dear Mr. Chadran,
It gives me great pleasure to accept your invitation to
join the Ladies' Club.
I have long been interested in the programs and activities
of the Club, and am delighted to become a member.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Kaul,
I appreciate the honour and courtesy of being nominated for
membership in the India Club.
I am sorry I am unable to accept, but I am leaving for
Manila at the end of this month to open a branch office of the
Tata Company—and I'll probably be gone for a year or more
 ( 147 )
Please express my sincere thanks to the nominating Committee. I
hope I shall again be given the opportunity to join
on my return from Manila.
Sincerely yours, Asking for Does
Dear Mr. Madan,
In totaling and closing the Club's books for the year, I find
that your dues have not been paid.
I'm sure this is just an oversight on your part, and that you
will take care of the matter at once.
As soon as I receive your dues, I shall be able to close the books
for the year and prepare my annual financial report.
Sincerely yours, Notification
of Election To Office
Dear Mr. Patel,
The Executive Committee of the Party Club has instructed me
tc notify you that you have been unanimously elected president for
the coming year.
Your election is a great source of satisfaction to the members of
the club. We look forward to a happy and successful year under
your leadership and guidance.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Saxena,
Thank you for your letter confirming my election as president of
the Historical Society.
I am happy and proud to receive this great honour, and shall
do everything I can to make my term of office a pleasant and
successful one for the Society.
Sincerely yours, Letters of
Resignation
Dear Mr. Joshi,
Illness and unexpected duties at home make it impossible for
me to continue my party, company interests and activities. I am
compelled to offer my resignation, effective at once.
( 148 )
I am sure you must know I do this with regret, for I have
always enjoyed the duty and my association with the fine group
of men who make up its membership.
I send my very best wishes for the continued success of
the party company.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Sharma,
Your letter of resignation was read at a meeting of the
Leaders Club yesterday.
We are all sorry to hear you are moving to another part of
the country and that you will no longer be with us. We accept your
resignation only because we must.
We hope that you and your family will be happy and
successful in Calcutta.
Cordially yours,
Requests to Speak or Entertain at a Club
Dear Mr. Ahmed,
The members of the Music League enjoyed your concert at the
Town Hall so much last week that they are eager to have you give it
this winter at one of our club meeting
Will you let me know whether you would consider playing for
us, and if so, what your terms are ?
We would like you to give your concert here at the clubhouse
on the evening of January 3,10 or 17—whichever is
most convenient for you.
Sincerely yours,
Dear Mr. Mahendra,
The University Club is entertaining Mr. Khanna at dinner on
July 23.
As you know, he is a world-famous Magician who has won
many prizes, here and abroad.
We should like to have you act as compere at this dinner, as
we know your witty remarks would add much to the success of
enjoyment of the occasion.
( 149 )
May we hear from you soon—and favourably ? I speak for
all the members of the club when I say it would give us all great
pleasure to have you act as compere of the evening.
Cordially yours, Dear Mr.
Sen
I am happy to accept your invitation to play before the
Music League on Tuesday evening, January 10.
In addition to the Dadara and Thumri selections you heard
at my Town Hall concert, I'd like to sing Bhajan and Ghazal. I
shall arrange the numbers and send you a complete program in
a few days.
My fee is Rs. 200 for a two hour recital.
Thank you for your interest, and for your most gracious
invitation.
Sincerely yours, Dear Mr.
Desai.
How nice of you to write me such a flattering letter !
I thoroughly enjoyed singing at the Community Club, and
I'm glad the members liked me. I liked them, too ! It's always
gratifying to have such an attentive and appreciative audience.
It was a real pleasure to meet you and Mr. Mason, and 1
hope our paths will cross again.
Sincerely yours, PARTNERSHIP
BUSINESS Dissolving the Partnership Dear Sir,
As you are aware of the sudden and sad demise of our long
time partner and guide, Shri B. C. Lal on 14th last, we here take
this opportunity to inform you that the partnership in this firm is
dissolved as the family members of late Mr. Lal are no longer
interested in the business. Their share is to be paid off by me and
if anybody have any claim against Mr. Lal,
 ( 150)
then he should contact me within seven days so that the same can
be settled prior to pay-off of of Mr. Lal's share in the business to
his heirs and executors.
This firm will however, continue to carry on business
under the same name and style as existing prior to the sudden
death of Mr. Lal. Yoar valued co-operation will give us strength to
provide you with best of our abilities.
Thanking you for your kind sympathies.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that we do not have any claim against
Mr. Lal commercially or otherwise.
We hope that you will maintain the high standard of courtesy
and salesmanship as before.
Yours faithfully, Retiring
from Partnership
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that the partnership existing between
Mr. Ashok Roy and P. K. Sen, carrying on business in the name
and style of Messrs. RS Trading Co., at—————, is dissolved
forthwith, as Mr. Ashok Roy has retired from partnership with
effect from—. Now the said firm is to be run solely by Mr. P. K.
Sen as its owner and any claim against the said firm or Mr.
Ashok Roy, prior to. ....should be submited.
Yours faithfully,
Informing Creditors
Dear Sir,
This is for information of all the creditors of Total & Co,, that
the company is not in a position to pay off its liabilities in the
near future.
( 151 )
Therefore, I have called a meeting o fall the creditors to
finalize the ways and means to an easy and proper solution. You
are hereby requested to attend the said meeting to be held at
Cama Hall on.........at.........
Yours faithfully, Transfer
of Business Dear Sir,
As a valued customer, you are more than anything to us and
your continued petrnagc is a most important factor tin our
success and we thank you very much for the same.
Now to give you better and greater service than before, for
which a large sum is required to modernise our plants and
machinery we have changed a bit—not in name or functions but
in person. Now the Tiesta India Ltd., is taken over by the well
known house of Aiyers of Bangalore. We shall continue to serve
you as usual with your blessings. Our reputation will go up day by
day and on our part we assureiyou of our integrity and honesty to
your total satisfaction.
Sincerely yours,
Informing Dismissal to a Party
Dear Sir,
Please note that our salesman, Mr. Sharda Prasad has
ceased to'be in our service with effect from.........and now has
no authority to represent us in any manner whatsoever.
If you deal with him on our behalf, then it will be entirely
on your own risk and we shall not be liable to any consequences
arising thereto.
Yours faithfully, Letter of
Praise Dear Mr. Kishor,
On behalf of the.........I hereby express sincere thanks
for the time and trouble you have taken to make our Annual
Conference a success.
 ( 152 )
We are sure that your fine example will serve to
inspire others to give ther time to our common cause.
Please extend our thanks to other members of the
association.
With'all my best wishes.
Yours faithfully,

Asking for a Statement of Account

Dear Sirs,
We had the pleasure of sending you some goods on
consignment basis on the clear understanding that you will
submit us a monthly statement of sales regularly.
But it is surprising to note that you have not cared to
send us the same for the last two months, though we had
requested you in our last letter to do the needful.
Kindly let us have the monthly sale statement at an
early date.
Yours faithfully,
Answering Box No. Advertisements Order
for Advertised Goods
Dear Sir,
On 6th June, I sent you at the above address an order
for 2 one kilo tins of Best tea at Rs. 17. 00 Per kilo as offered
by your advertisement in The Hindustan Times. I have not
received this, and I am wondering whether my order has
reached you or not? I had enclosed cheque No............for
Rs. 34.00 on Bank of India.
Perhaps you would kindly check your records and if
you cannot trace receiving the cheque I will have it
stopped i
look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
A
 ( 153 ) Reply to an
Advertisement
Dear Sir,
I have seen your advertisement in the Wanted column for a
Landmaster Car, not older than 1960. I have a 1962 model of the
same car which I would like to sell. It is in very good condition; in
fact has hardly been used as I found it a little small for our rather
big family.
I think Rs. 13,300/- would be a fair price for this. Would you
like to call here to see it before making up your mind ? A ring before
you start will be enough to instruct our driver to give you a trial.
Thanks,
Yours faithfully,

Enquiry to a Builder and Decorator

Dear Sir,
Re : 31, 'AJANTA' Warden Road
I need the above premises fully redecorated before taking
possession. Would you please make an appointment with the
present occupier and send me a quotation based upon the following
points -
1. The exterior to be painted 2 coats white lead gloss paint,
including Balcony, Drain pipes and gutters, black gloss paint. Faulty
gutters to be renewed.
2. Entrance Hall to be re-painted with a good quality paint.
Staircase and landing, ivory gloss paint. Ceiling, emul sion paint.
3. Reception Rooms. All to have emulsion paint over existing
good walls and eggshell paint for panels, doors, window frames, etc.
4. Bedrooms First floor front: emulsion paint. Back:
( 154)
Blue; Mezzannine : White. Second Room. To be painted in
emulsion paint. All paint work to be, semi-gloss white.
5. Bathrooms and Lavatories to be white hard gloss paint
above tiles.
6. Kitchen walls to be lined with pine. All fittings to be
renewed exactly as before, (not to be included in quotations).
Double stainless steel sink to be fitted. An alternative quotation is
required for kitchen : Only bard gloss raint on window walls.
I am anxious to have this work commenced as soon as
possible and shall therefore be grateful if you can send me a
quotation without delay.
You can apply to my bank, Central Bank Ltd., Fort,
Bombay-1, for a reference.
Yours faithfully,
To a Nurseryman
Dear Sir,
1 am extending my garden here to enclose a small piece of land
at the site of the sea beach.
I am interested in planting a shrubborder which does not
mind part shade, and should be glad to know if you consider the
following shrubs suitable, and whether you can supply mature
specimens, preferably to the size I have quoted. Please quote your
Maximum prices and state if you give reductions for quantities, i
want the best quality, fully grown stock available.
I should need delivery early in the summer about mi«j
June.
Yours faithfully,
To an Electrical Contractor
Dear Sir,
1 have recently purchased 'Ajanta' at 21. Warden Road, and
I am having it extensively altered.
( 155 )
I need the whole house re-wired and would like at the same
time to install electric floor lighting. Would you like to give me a
quotation for this work ? If so, you can collect a key from estate
agents, Messrs. Keny & Co., 43, Fort St., and gain access to the
house at any time for the purpose of making a specification. On a
separate sheet, I have laid out the minimum number of plugs,
switches, etc., which we shall require.
Your early reply would be much appreciated.
Yours faithfully,
Sales ft Purchase Dear Mr.
Ganesh,
Following our meeting yesterday I want to set out the terms
on which I am prepared to buy your 1962 model Land-master.
They are as follows :
(1) The price will be Rs. 12.000/- of which I will pay Rs.
7.000/- on taking delivery and Rs. 5,000/- in a month's
time.
(2) Before handing over the car you will have the gearbox
overhauled and have a new clutch plate fitted at your
expenses.
(3) You will let me have delivery of the car within two
weeks from today's date and will also hand over the
papers to me.
(4) 1 will take over the car taxed and insured to the end of
the year.
Would you please confirm to me that you will sell the car
on above terms.
Yours sincerely,
( 156)
Reply to Above
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter of the 23rd March regarding my
car.
I agree to your terms, except that although I will have the
gear box ouerhauled at my expenses, I am not prepared to have a
new clutch plate fitted, since I do not consider this to be necessary.
You will remember that the man we both saw at.the garage stated
the clutch would be good for another few thousand miles.
Yours faithfully,
To a Bank or Insurance Company for Loan
Dear Sir,
I am interested in purchasing a house at New Delhi, and I
should be grateful if you could send me some information about
the types of property on which you are willing to make loans.
I shall be able to raise from Rs. 15.000/- to 20,000/- in part
payment, and out of my Rs. 2500/- p. m. salary I could afford to
repay at the rate of Rs. 500/- ;p. m. over a period from ten to
fifteen years, depending on the value of the house.
I have already started looking for the place, anb I should be glad
to know as soon as possible how much time is needed to raise a loan.
Yours faithfully, After
Inspecting the Property
Dear Sir,
Re : 43, Marine Street
I have now inspected his property, and subject to my
surveyors report, would like to make an offer of Rs. I7.500/-
 ( 157)
As soon as you let me know of your approval of the
above price, 1 will put you in touch with my solicitor. I have
asked my surveyor to call at you without delay.
Yours faithfully, To
Seller's Solicitors
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for your letter of the 2nd March. I note that
the vendor considers a price of Rs. 20.000/- to be nearer the
true value' of the property. I have now received the surveyor's
verbal report; he states that there is likelihood of property
to be completely renovated all over. In the circumstances, my
offer of Rs. 17,500/- is probably too generous, and I fear that I
cannot exceed it.
If, on consideration, the vendor would like to accept Rs.
17,500/- subject to contract, you may like to communicate with
my solicitors at once. They are Khadge & Patil, 4 Medows
Street, Bombay-1. I will send you the usual deposit as soon as I
have the vendor's decision.
To the Surveyor
Dear Sir,
Further to my telephone call with your office today, I shall
be glad if you will arrange for one of your surveyors to call at...
.tomorrow morning for the purpose of making a survey. As
well as a complete report, I should like to have your immediate
verbal opinion on the value of the property as against any
defects you may find. Is it in your opinion well worth the figure
I am offerring : Rs. 17,500/- ? The vendor has been asking Rs.
20,000/- but I know that the property has been on the market
for some weeks.
Perhaps you can ring me up as soon as the survey has
been made.
Yours faithfully,

s -, •ifc'tNeOAMr -^sfc^.,*.
( 158)
To the Buyer's Solicitors
Dear Sirs,
Messrs. Bharat & Co., Estate Agents, of 23-A, M. G. Road,
may be communicating with you about my proposed purchase
of.:... .The vendor has not yet accepted my offer, but I have no
doubt that the sale will go through, and I am informing you at
once so that there will be no delay in the preparation of a sale
deed. It will be quite in order for you to proceed with this
without consulting me directly. Messrs. Bharat & Co., will send
you the name of the vendor's solicitor.

Yours faithfully,

Instructions for Payments

Dear Sir,
I am leaving Bombay at the end of this month, and expect to
be away for about a year. During that period I should be glad if
you will make the following payments on my behalf and debit my
account with the sum paid on my behalf.
To Darshan Housing Society, Santacruz, Bombay-52
monthly loan instalments of Rs. 500/-
To life Insurance Corporation, premiums on life policy Rs.
306/- quarterly.
Also Income Tax, Municipal Tax as and when demanded.
I have given instructions that the demands for these shall be
sent direct to the bank addressed to me, c/o. the bank and I hope
you will give them prompt attention. I will let you have my address
from time to time, in case you wish to communicate with me.

Yours faithfully,
( 159)
Claim under policy on car
Dear Sir,
I have to report that I met with an accident while driving my
car this evening, as the misfortune would have it, a lady was
knocked down by my car^To my good luck the lady was not hurt
much. I hereby inform you that in the event of any claim being
made upon me, I must claim on you under policy No. 2648.
The name and address of the lady are..... .This accident
took place at the junction of Mayo Road and D. N. Road, after
which I took the lady to K. E. M. Hospital for treatment. Traffic
Police Constable No. 4432 on duty at the said junction was only
witness.
If I receive any communication from the lady, I will let you
know accordingly.
Yours faithfully,
Asking about investment from the Bank
Dear Sir,
I have a Home Savings account with your bank and 1
should be grateful for your advice as to the best way of investing
some of my savings. I also have some extra money from the sale
proceeds of my house and I want to put half money into a
perfectly safe permanent imestment and with the other half I feel
inclined to buy few shares that would yield a higher rate of
interest.
I hope to be favoured with your sincere advice.
Yours faithfully,
Making Investment
Dear Sir,
Thank you for your letter. After carefully going through
( 160)
suggestions made by you I have decided to invest Rs. 50.000/-and
request you to invest this sum in the following manner.
Rs. 25.000/- in Century Cotton Mills shares. / At the current Rs
25,000/- in the Bengal Iron Works shares. \ market rates.
Will you please arrange for the dividends to be paid direct
into'my account. I shall be obliged if you will keep the necessary
forms ready for signature and let me know the time and date.
Yours faithfully,
Asking explanation
Dear Sir,
It has been observed that you have been late no fewer than
five times during the last month. To me it shows your lack of
interest in your job, at the same time causing hardship to our
numerous customers.
The head of your department speaks well of you, and for this
reason alone you are hereby warned not to be late in future. It is
expected that you will strictly observe the working hours only in
fairness to other members of the staff.
If any further complaints in regard to your being late or a
unsatisfactory explanation to this matter is received, the company
shall have no alternative but to dispense with your service which
please note.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for reference
(Private and confidential) Dear Sir,
We have been approached by Mr. Sharma of your accounts
department for a similar post with us.
We shall therefore very much appreciate your frank reply in
regard to his reason for leaving you and also if he is trustworthy
and competent enough.
 ( 161 )
It is assured that your reply will be treated in strict conf-
dence. A stamped envelope is enclosed herewith for reply.
Yours faithfully,

leaving the post

Dear Sir,
I have been offered a very good post by a Delhi firm on a
handsome salary. Therefore, I hereby give you one month's
notice to terminate my services with you as per our agreements
effective from today.
Yours faithfully,

Asking for reference from an employer

Dear Sir,
I am applying for a post of Accountant in the Suraj Bank
Ltd., and, as I have to send three testimonials with my appli-
cation, I should be very much obliged if you would give me a
letter of recommendation.
I hope that my work with your firm is quite satisfactory
and I expect to get a favourable letter from you. This post of
the bank is permanent and there are many chances of my
advancement.
On the other hand if I fail to get the post I am applying,
then I will continue with as at present and you need not feel
as if I am not satisfied with my present position with you. The
main reason I am applying for the advertised post is a hand-
some salary and better position.
Yours faithfully,
Engaging a clerk
Dear Sir,
We are satisfied with references submitted by you and yi;,
take pleasure in informing you to start work from the 1st of
JBJHBiililii ii a,.,... ,
( 162 )
Oct. 1974 at 9 a. m. Please see our manager Mr. Kadar, who will
explain to yo,u your duties.
As you have agreed at the time of interview, your salary will be
Rs. 300/- p. m. and the hours of work will be 9.30 a.m. to 5 p. m.,
exclud4ng Sundays and Holidays. You will get 21 days leave in a year
with pay. This arrangement may be terminated by any party giving
one month's notice as mutually agreed.
Dismissing a worker
Dear Sir,
It is regreted very much to inform you that due to the
reorganization of our business, we are compelled to retrench few
of our staff members. As it is, your services will not be required
by this company after the end of this month.
It is assured on behalf of the company that we have no cause
of complaint against you and shall be pleased to give you an
excellent testimonial or to answer any inquiries in regard to your
future employment.
Yours faithfully,
Refusing increment in salary
Dear Sir,
We regret to inform you that we are not in a position to
increase your salary now. In our opinion you are adequately paid
for the work you are doing.
However, the Company will give you increment as and when
it deems fit and is able to do so, if you can convince us that you are
worth more than what is being paid to you.
Yours faithfully,
Asking a manager to resign Dear Sir,
Of late I am giving a careful consideration to your depa-
rtment and it appears to me that some changes are necessary.
( 163)
As you yourself know very well that the turnover is decreasing day
by day, very unsatisfactory work being done, which gives cause for
complaints from various customers and whole staff seems to be
very slack and discontented. In my opinion, you are not giving
proper attention to your work as it deserves, and for this reason
and in your best interests and the firm too, a change is desired by
the Directors of the Company.
Looking at the long record of your service the directors
have decided to give you a chance to resign from your post,
before taking any further action. For this the firm is willing to pay
you a sum of Rs. 1,500/-, as bonus for every year of service rendered
by you.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for increment in the salary
Dear Sir, «
I have been in the employ of this concern for five years now,
during which time 1 have discharged my duties to the best of my
abilities. But as I was given to understand, my salary has not
been increased for the past two years, although I have been
entrusted with some additional work.
My salary is now Rs. 200/- p. ra., only Rs. 15/- p. m. more
than when I started on my present post five years back.
I hearby request you to give me a substantial raise in my
salary, and I assure you that no efforts would be spared on my
part to justify your confidence in me.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for promotion
Dear Sir,
1 have learned that Mr. Basu is leaving at the end off the and
therefore the post is likely to fall vacant.
 ( 164)
I hereby venture to apply for the post of Sales Manager. I
have been in youc employ for ten years and six of them were spent
in the Sales Department, where I worked under Mr. Basu, and took
his place when he used to be away on business trips.
I have a thorough knowledge of the department, and I am
confident that ! shall be able to manage the department efficiently
and economically with satisfactory service to you and your
customers.
Yours faithfully,
For leave due to sickness
Dear Sir,
I.regret to inform you that due to sudden attack of flu last
night I had, I shall not be able to attend to my duty today as per
advise of doctor.
The necessary medical certificate is enclosed herewith.
Yours faithfully, For Leave
of Absence
Dear Sir,
Due to sudden demise or my father at Lucknow, I am
leaving by the first available train to attend to his last rituals.
Therefore, I request you to kindly give me leave from the
office for atleast ten days.
Yours faithfully, Asking for
extension of leave
Dear Sir,
I hereby request you to kindly extend my leave by two days
more as my younger child has fallen ill due to severe cold over here.
( 165)
In the present condition it is necessary that I should remain
with my child till he has fully recovered.
1 shall be very grateful if you can grant the leave.
Yours faithfully,
Thanking for increment in salar i Dear Sir,
It is to thank you very much for increasing my salary by Rs.
20/- p. m. I very much appreciate your gesture and on my part
assure you that I will make every effort to prove myself worthy of
your confidence in my abilities.
Yours faithfully, Expressing
an apology Dear Sir,
I feel very sorry to have given you the chance for complaint
on unpunctuality and lack of attention in my duties.
I hereby assure you that in future I shall be punctual and
give full attention to my duties.
It will be my duty to see that you have no cause for complaint
in future.
Yours faithfully,
CHAPTER 15

Literary Letters

1 ni.<i Mahatma Candhi to-Jauaharlal Nehru

January!, 1932. My dear
Jawahar,
I was delighted to receive your letter. You have no cause to
envy us poor folk out >ide. But we do envy you for getting all the
glory and leaving the drudgery to the outsiders. But we are
plotting vengeance. I hope you are allowed to get some
newspapers. In all I am doing, you are constantly before my
mind's eye.
1 saw Kamala the other day. She does need plenty of rest. I
shall try to see her once more and insist upon her not leaving
her room till she is thoroughly restored. 1 hope you will approve of
the action taken regarding Dr. Mahmud. I am sure that the
pr9mise to pay the assessment on Anand Bhawan should be
paid.
Love to you both.
Bapu
God and Govt. willing I go to the Ashram tomorrow to
retu.n in two or three days. From Motilal Nehru to Sir Harcourt
Butler
June 1920 Dear Sir
Harcourt,
Thanks for your letter of the 15th June intimating that you
have been good enough to withdraw the order prohibiting
Jawaharlal from entering Mussorie. In the events which have
( 166 )
A ^Js^J^S^Ilfet _^*i >&13*f **J JL
^^^sLAaCfiss^Si*^JSA-= sf i5*Si k
( 167 )
happened, this was not done a moment too soon. My wife was
taken seriously ill on the 14th and the 18th. The Civil Surgeon in
consultation with Dr. Dowler felt it necessary tp advice my
presence on the spot. Luckily Jawaharlal was with me at Arrah
when Col. Baird's telegram was received and both of us left on the
morning of the 19th arriving here yesterday.
Thanks to the sympathy and courtesy of a Parsi gentleman
residing in the hotel who gave up his own rooms better situated
than ours and provided two trained nurses for the patient. We
found her well looked after, though very weak. There is to be a
consultation among the doctors today in which Major Strothi
Smith who came up by the same train as we did will take part. I
was compelled to leave my case at Arrah at a critical stage and
must get back as soon as possible. 1 hope to be able to return
tomorrow leaving Jawaharlal in charge.
Yours sincerely, Motilal
Nehru
From Rabindranath Tagore to Jawaharlal Nehru
Shantiniketan October 9, 1935. My
dear Jawaharlal,
We have anxiously been following in the daily papers the news
of your wife's illness watching for some favourable signs of
improvement. 1 earnestly hope that the amazing strength of
mind which she has shown through all the vicissitudes of her life
will help her. Please convey to her my kindest wishes.
Every winte, Vishvabharati rudely remind? me of the scan-
tiness of her means, forphat is the season when I have to stir
myself to go out for gat^ring funds. It is hateful trial for me... this
begging bussiness either in the guise of entertaining people or
appealing to the generosity of those who are by no means
generous. I try to exult in a sense of martyrdom accepting the
( 168 )
thorny crown of humilation and futility without complaining.
Should I not keep in mind for my consolation what you are going
through yourself for the cause which is dearer to you than your
life and your personal freedom ? But the question which often
troubles my mind is whether it is worth my while to exhaust my
energy laboriously picking up minute crumbs of favour from the
tables of parsimonious patrons or keep my mind fresh by
remaining aloof from indignity of storing up disappointments.
But this possibly is my excuse for shirking unpleasantness. 1 have
asked Mahatmaji for lending me his voice which he has kindly
consented to. Of course his influence is likely to meet with a
greater success than I ever hope to attain. I must not forget to
tell you that Sir Tej Bahadur has also promised to support me.
Kindly remember me to dear Indira. I hope some day or
other she will find opportunity to revisit our ashrama and revise
her memory of those few months which she had spent here
making us happy.
With love,
Yours, Rabindranath
Tagore
From George Bernard Shaw to Jawaharlal Nehru
18th September 1948 Dear Mr.
Nehru,
I w 'S greatly gratified to learn that you were acquainted
with my political writing; and 1 need hardly add that 1 should be
honoured by visit from you, though I cannot pretend that it will
be worth your while to spend an afternoon of your precious time
making the journey to this remote village, where there is nothing
left of Bernard Shaw but a doddering old skeleton who should
have died years ago.
I once spent a week in Bombay, another in Ceylon; and is all I
know at first hand about India. I was convinced that
( 169 )
that Ceylon is the cradle of the human race because everybody
there looks an original. All other nations are obviously mass
products.
Though J know nothing a^-out India except what'is in the
newspapers. I can consider it objectively because I am not English
but Irish, and have lived through the long struggle for liberation
from English rule, and the partition of the country into Eire and
Northern Ireland, the Western equivalent of Hindustan and
Pakistan. I am as much a foreigner in England as you were in
Cambridge.
I am wondering whether the death of Jinner will prevent yoa
from coming to England. If he has no competent successor you
will have to govern the whole Peninsula. H. E. The Prime Minister.
New Delhi Faithfully,
India. G. Bernard Shaw
From Jawaharlal Nehru to Mahadev Desai
August 1223 My dear
Mahadev,
It is curious that the letters we desire to write should most
often get delayed. The casual note, the routine letter is sent off
and yet the letter which we are thinking of most remains
unwritlen. I have thought of you, and of the feeling note you sent
me, ever since the 6th or 7th of August when it was delivered to me
in Nagpur. The news came to me as I descended from the train at
Nagpur station. Ramdas was my informant. My heart went out to
you in your sorrow for I know well how jou must be suffering.
Some of us who have erred and sinned enough have grown hard in
the ways of the world. But you in your innocence must find them
more difficult and I can well understand your agony and your
mood of self-condemnation.
I have also the good fortune of having experienced to the full
the depths of a father's love and many times I have won-
( 170)
dered if I was repaying in any way the love and care that had
been lavished upon me from the day of my birth. I have had to
face that question often and every time I have felt shame at my
own record. Sometimes wider issues intervened and I was
troubled aad torn asunder and knew not what to do. I shall
never forget the advice that Bapu gave me in those far off days of
the Satyagraha Sabha when the conflict in my mindwas almost
too great for me to bear. His healing words lessened my difficulties
and I had some peace. Do you remember those days in March 1919
when you and I first met at Delhi in Principal Rudra's house ?
We travelled, Bapu and you and I and the little doctor to
Allahabad, and then a day or (two) later you went to Lucknow
or perhaps Benaras: anyway I accompanied you at B's suggestion
to Partapgarh and on our way he and I had our talk. It was the
first serious and fairly lengthy talk thai I had with him Four
\ears ago and how terribly long ago it seems !
I did not have the privilege of meeting your father, but you
spoke to me about him in our little garden in the Civil Ward. I
can well imagine him proud of his son and fully satisfied that all his
trouble and labour had borne such rich fruit. You distress
yourself needlessly. The lesson of service you learnt from your
father you have carried to the outer world and have doubtlessly
influenced many by your personal example. Your father could not
have grudged this or preferred a narrow domestic sphere for you
to the wider service of your country.
I am weary and sick at heart. Nagpur has been a most
painful experience for me. I came here with the intention of
wandering about in the interior for a while, away from the haunts
of man. But I have been unable to do so owing to my father's
relapse. Contrary to habit I managed to develop a fever mjsell
but I have now got rid of it.
Jawaharlal
 ( 171 )
From Mark Twain to Number 1365
Hartfoid, Sv.pt. 8, '87.
Dear Sir,
... .And so it has got around to you, at last, sid you also ha\e
"taken the liberty." You are No. 1365. When 13M sweeter and
better people, including the author, have tried to dramatize Tom
Sawyer and did not arrive, what sort of show do you suppose you
_4and ? That is a book, dear sir, which connot be dramati/ed. One
might as well try to dramatize any other hymn. Tom Sawyer is, is
simply a hymn, pat into prose form to give it a vvoildly air.
Wh> the pale doubt that flitteth dim and nebulous athwart
the forecastle of your third sentence? Have no fears. Your price
will be a Go. It will go out the back door on the urst night They
have all done it......the 1364. So will......136'
Not one of us ever thought of the Simple device of half-sol;^;-
himself with a stove-lid. Ah, what vaffenng a little hindsigh! v
ould have <-aved us. Treasure this hint.
How kind of you to invite me to the funeral. Go to. F hcH<"
attended a thousand of them. I have seen Tom Sawyer s icmaii'o
in all the different kinds of dramatic shrouds there arc. You cannot
start anything fresh. Are you serious when you propose to pay
my expense.... if that is the susquehann.au way of spelling it ?
And can you be aware that I charge a hun dred dollars a mile
when I travel for pleasure ? Do you reali that it ib 432 miles to
Susquehanna ? Would it be hanc o you to send me the 3 43,200
firsi, so I ^ould l-e courting it as I come along; because ia.!roading
is pretty dreary to a sensitive nature \hen there's nothing sordid
to buck at for Zeitvertreib.
Now as I understand it, dear and magnanimous 1365. vou
are ; oing to recreate Tom Sawyer dramatically, and then ilo me
the compliment to put me in the bills as father of this
( 172)
shady offspring. Sir, do you know that this kind of compliment
has destroyed people before now ? Listen.
Twenty-four years ago, I was strangly handsome. The
remains of it are still visible through the rifts of time. I was so
handsome that human activities ceased as if spellbound when I
came in vrsw, and even inanimate things stopped to look......
like locomotives, and district messenger boys and so on. In San
Francisco, in rainy season I was often mistaken for fair
weather. Upon one occasion I was travelling in the Sonora region
and stopped for an hour's nooning, to rest my horse and myself.
All the town came out to look. A Prime squaw named her baby
for me.......a voluntary compliments which
pleased me greatly.
Other attentions were paid. Last of all arrived the president
and faculty of Sonora University and offered me the post of
Professor of Moral Culture and Dogmatic Humantities, which I
accepted gratefullv, and entered at once upon my duties. But my
name had pleased the Indians, and in the deadly kindness of
their hearts they went on naming their babies after me. I tried to
stop it but the Indians could not understand why I should object
to so manifest a compliment. The thing grew and grew and
spread and became exceedingly embarrassing. The University
stood it a couple of years, but then for the sake of the college
they felt obliged to call a halt, although I had the sympathy of
the whole faculty.
The president himself said to me, "I am as sorry as I can be
for you, and would still hold out if there were any hope ahead;
but you see how it is; there are hundred and thirtytwo-of them
already, and fourteen precincts to hear from. The circumstance
has brought your name into most wide and unfortunate renown.
It causes much comment..I believe that, that is not ar over-
statement. Some of this comment is palliative, but some of it...... by
patrons at a distance, who only know
\
( 173)
the statistics without the explanations,—is offensive, and in
some cases even violent. Nine students have been called home. The
trustees ef the college have been growing more and more uneasy
all these last months.... steadily along with the implacable
increase in your census.... ...and I will not conceal from
you that more than once they have touched upon the expediency
of a change in the Professorship of Moral Culture. The coarsely
sarcastic editorial in yesterday's Alta..... headed Give
the Moral Acrobat a Rest..... has- brought things to a crisis,
and I am charged with the unpleasant duty of receiving your
resignation."
I know you only mean me a kindness, dear 1365, but it is a
most deadly mistake. Please do not name your Injun for me.
Truly Yours,
From Robert Louis Stevenson to Dr. C. M. Hyde
Sydney, February 25, 1890.
Sir,
It may probably occur to you that we have met, and
visited and conversed; on my side, with interest. You may re-
member thai you have done me several courtesies* for which I
was prepared to be grateful. But there are duties which came
before gratitude, and offences which j^y divide friends, for
more acquaintances. Your letter to the Reverend H. B. Gage is
a document which, in my sight, if you had filled me witk bread
when I was starving, if you had sat up to nurse my father when
he lay a dying, would yet absolve me from the bonds of
gratitude.
You know enough, doubtless of the process of canonisation
to be aware that a hundred years after the death of Mamien,
there will appear a man charged with the painful office of the
devil's advocate. After that noble brother of mine, and of all frail
clay, shall have lain a century at rest, one shall accuse, one
defend him. The circumstance is unusual that the
( 174)
de\il's advocate, shou'd be a volunteer, should be a member of a
sect immediately rival, and should make haste to take upon
himself his ugly office ere bones are cold; unusual, and of a taste
which I shall leave readers free to qualify, unusual, and to me
inspiring.
If I have at all learned the trade of using words to convey
truth and to arouse emotion, you have, at last furnished me with
a subject.
For it is in the interest of all mankind and the cause of public
decency in every quarter of the world, not only that Damien
should be righted, but that you and your letter should be
displayed at length, in their true colours, to the public eye.
To do this properly, I must begin by quoting you at large; 1
shall then proceed to criticise your utterance from several points
of *'iew, divine and human, in the course of which I shall attempt
to drav/ again and with more specification the character of the
dead saint whom it has pleased you to villify : so much being done,
I shall say farewell to you for ever.
Yours, R. L.
Stevenson
From Bartolomeo Vgn&tti to Dante Sacco
August 21, 1927.
From the Death House
Messachussetts State Prison
My Dear Dante,
I still hope, and we will fight until the last moment to
revindicate our right to live and t^be free, but all the forces of
the State and of ihe money and reaction are deadly against us
because we are libertarians or anarchists.
I write little of this because you are new and yet too young to
understand these things and other things of which J would like to
reason with you.
\
( 175)
But, if you do well, you will grow and understand your
father's and my case and your father's and my principle, for
which v<e will soon be put to death.
I tell you now that all that I know of your father; he is not
a criminal, but one of the bravest men I ever knew. Some day
you will understand what I am about to tell you. That your
father has sacrificed everything dear and sacred to the human
heart and soul for his fate in liberty and justice for all. That
day you will be proud of your father, and if you come brave
enough, you will take his place in the struggle between tyranny
and liberty and you will vindicate his (our) names and our blood.
If we have to die now, you shall know, when you will be able
to understand this tragedy in its fullest, how good and brave
your father has been with you, your father and I, during these
eight years of struggle, sorrow, passion, anguish and agony.
Even from now you shall be brave with your mother, with
Ubes, and with Susie—brave, good Susie—and do all you can to
console and help them.
I would like you also to remember me as a comrade and
friend to your father, your mother and Ines, Susie and you, • and
I assure you that neither have I been a criminal, that I have
committed no robbery and no murder, but only fought m«destly
to abolish crimes from among mankind and for the liberty of all.
Remember Dante, each one who will say otherwise of your
father and I, is a liar, insulting innocent dead men who been
brave in their life. Remember and know also, Dante, that if your
father and I would have been cowards and hypocris and
rennegetors of our faith, we would not have been put to death-
( 176 )
They would not even have convicted a lebbrous dog; net even
executed a deadly poisoned scorpion on such evidence as that
they framed against us They would have given a new trial to a
matricide and abitual felon en the evidence we presented for a
new trial.
Remember, Dante, remember always these things; we are
not criminals: they convicted us on a frame-up, they denied us a
new trial, and if we will be executed after seven years, four
months and seventeen days of unspeakable tortures and wrong,
it is for what I have already told you, because we were for the
poor and against the exploitation and oppression of the man by
the man.
The documents of our case, which you and other ones \vill
collect and preserve, will prove to you that your father, your
mother, Ines, my family and I have sacrificed by and to a .State
Reason of the American Plurocratic reaction.
The day will come when you will understand the atrocious
cause of the above written works, in all its fullness. Then you will
honour us.
Yours, Bartolomeo
From H. L. Mencken to Will Durante
Dear Sir,
You ask me, in brief, what satisfaction I get out of life, and
why I go on working. I go on working for the same reason that a
hen goes on laying eggs. There is in every living creature an
obscure but powerful impulse to active functioning. Life
demands to be lived. Inaction, save as a measure of recuperation
between bursts of activity, is painful and dangerous to the
healthy organism—in fact, it is almost impossible. Only the dying
can be really idle.
( 177 )
The precise form of an individual's activity Is determined, of
course, by the equipment with which he came into the world. In
other words, it is determined by his heredity. I do not lay eggs, as
a hen does, because I was born without an equipment for it. For
the same reason I do not get myself elected to Congress, or play
the violoncello, or teach metaphysics in a college, or work in a
steel mill What I do it simply what lies easiest to my hand. It
happens that I was born with an intense and insatiable interest in
ideas, and thus like to play with them. It happens also that I was
born with rather more than the average facility for putting them
into words. In consequence, I am a writer and editor, which is to
say, a concoct or in them and dealer of them.
There is very little conscious volition in all this. What I do
was ordained by the inscrutable fates, not chosen by me. In my
boyhood, yielding to a powerful but still subordinate interest in
exact facts, 1 wanted to be a chemist, and at the same time my
poor father tried to make me a business man. At other times, like
any other relatively poor man, I huve longed to make a lot of
money by some egsy swindle. But I became a writer all the same,
and shall remain one until the end of the chapter, just as a cow
goes on giving milk all her life, even though what appears to be
her self-interest urges her to give gin.
I am far luckier than most men, for I have been able since
boyhood to make a good living doing prebisely what I have
wanted to do—what I would have done for nothing, and very
gladly, if there had been no reward for it. Not many men, I
believe, are fortunate. Millions of them have to make their living
at tasks which really do not interest them. As for me, I have had
an extraordinarily pleasant life, despite the fact that I have had
the usual share of woes. For in the midst of those
( 178 )
woes I still enjoyed the immense satisfaction which goes with free
activity, 1 have done, in the main, exactly what I wanted to do.
Its possible effects upon other people have interested me very
little. I have not written and published to please other people, but
to satisfy myself, just as a cow gives milk, not to profit the
dairyman, but to satisfy herself. I like to think that most of my
ideas have been sound ones, but I really don't care. The world
may take them or leave them. I have had my fun hatching them.
Next agreeble work as a means of a'taining happiness I put
what Huxley called the domestic affections—the say to day
intercourse with family and friends. My home has been better
sorrow, but it has never seen any serous disputes, and it has
never seen poverty. I was completely happy with my mother and
sister, and 1 am completely with my wife. Most of the men 1
commonly associate with are friends of very old standing. I I
have.known some of them for more than thirty years.
These friends delight me I turn to them when work is done
with unfailing eagerness. We have the same general tastes and see
the world much alike. Most of them are interested in music, as I
am. It has given me more pleasure in this life than any other
external thing. I love it more every year.
As for religion, I am quite devoid of it. Never in my adult life
have I experienced anything that could be plausibly called a
religious impulse. My father and grandfather were agnostics
before me, and though I was sent to Sunday-school as a oy and
exposed to the Christian theology, I was never taught to believe
it. My father thought that I should learn what it was, but it
apparently never occured to him that I would accept it. He was a
good psychologist. What got in Sunday-school— beside a wide
acqaintance with Christian symnology—was simply a firm
conviction chat the Christian faith was full of
 ( 179)
palpable absurdities, and the Christian God preposterous. Since
that time I have read a great deal in theology—perhaps much
more than the average clergyman—but I have never discovered
any reason to change my mind.
The act of worship, as carried on by Christians, seems to to
me to be debasing rather than ennobling. It involving grovelling
before a being who, if he really exists, deserves to be
denounced instead of respected. I see little evidence in this
world of the so-called goodness of God. On the contrary, it
seems to me that, on the strength of His daily acts. He must be set
down a most stupid, cruel and villainous fellow. I can say this
with a clear conscience, for He has treated me very well— in fact,
with vast politeness But I can't help thinking of his barbaric
torture of most of the rest of humanity. I simply can't imagine
recering the God ef war and politics, theology and cancer.
I do not believe in immortality, and have no desire for it.
The belief in it issues form the puerile egos of inferior men. In its
Christian form it is little more than a device for getting revenge
upon those who are having a better time on this earth. What the
meaning of human life may be I don't know : I incline to
suspect that it has none. All I know about it is that, to me at
least, it is very amusing while it lasts. Even its trou-bles, indeed,
can be amusing. Moreover, they tend to faster the human
qualities that I admire most—courage and its enalo-gucs. The
noblest man, I think, is that one who fights God, and triumphs
over Him. I have had little of this to do. When I die I shall be
content to vanish into nothingnets. No show, however good
could conceivably be good forever.
H. L. Mencken
From Elizabeth Barret Browning to Napoleon III

I am only a woman and have no claim on your Majesty's

( 180)
attention except that of the weakest on the strongest. Probably my
very name as the wife of an English poet and as named itself a
little among English poets, is unknown to your Majesty. I never
approached my own soveriegn with a petition, nor am skilled in
the way of addressing kings. Yet having through a studious and
thoughtful life, grown used to great men (among the Dead at
least) I cannot feel entirely at a loss in speaking to the Emperor
Napoleon.
And I beseech you to have patience with me while I supplicate
you. It is not for myself nor for mine.
I have been reading with wet eyes and a swelling heart (as
many who love and some who hate your Majesty have lately done)
a book called the 'Contemplations' of a man who has sinned
deeply against you in certain of his political writings, and who
expiates rash phrases and unjustifiable statements in exile in
Jersey. I have no peasonal knowledge of this man ; 1 never saw
his face; and certainly 1 do not come now to make his apology. It is
indeed precisely because he cannot be excused that. I think, he
might worthily be forgiven. For this man, whatever else he is
not, is a great poet of France, and the Emperor who is the
guardian of her other glories should remember him and not live
him out.
Ah sire, what was written on "Napoleon le Petit" d«*s not
touch your Majesty; but what touches you is, that no historian of
the age should have to write hereafter, "While Napoleon the
Third reigned, Victor Hugo lived in exile." What touches you
is, that when your people count gratefully the men of commerce,
arms and science secured by you to France, no voice shall
murmur, "But where is our poet ?" What touches you is that
however statesmen and politicians may justify his exclusion, it
may draw no sigh from men of sentiment and impulse, yes, and
from women like myself. What touches you
( 181 )
is, that when your own beloved young prince shall come to read
theseipoems (and when you wish him a princely nature you wish,
sire, that such things should move him) he may exult to recall that
his imperial father was great enough to overcome this great poet
with magnanimity.
Ah sire, you are great enough ! You can allow for the
peculiarity of the poetical temperament, for the temptations of
high gifts, for the fever in which poets are apt to rage and suffer
beyond the measure of other men. You can consider that when
they hate most causelessly, their is a divine love in them
somewhere........and that when they see most falsely they are
loyal to some ideal light. Forgive this enemy, this accuser, this
traducer. Disprove him by your generosity. Let no tear of an
admirer ofhis poetry drop upon your purple. Make an exception
of him as God made an exception of him when He gave him
genius, and call "him back without condition to his country and his
daughter's grave.
1 have written these words without the knowledge of any.
Naturally I should have preferred as a woman to have addressed
them through the mediation of the tender-hearted Empress
Eugenic,... .but, a wife myself, I felt it w.ould be harder for her
Majesty to pardon an offence against the Emperor Napoleon,
than it could be for the Emperor.
And I am driven by an irresistible impulse to your Majesty's
feet to ask this grace. It is a woman's voice, sire, which dares to
utter what many yearn for in silence. 1 have believed in Napoleon
the Third. Passionately loving the democracy, I have understood
from the beginning that it was to serve throughout Europe in you
and by you, I have trusted you for doing greatly. I will trust you
besides for pardoning nobly. You will be Napoleon in this also.
Elizabeth Barret Browning
( 182)
From John Keats to His Fiancee Fanny Brawne
Wednesday Morning. (Kentish
Town 1820)
My Deniest (r ri,
i ha\c been to a walk this morning with a book in im jand,
but a> usual I have been occupied with nothing but' I wish I tould
say in an agreeable manner. I am tormented < and night They talk
of my going to Italy. "Tis certain I sh^il ne.er recover if I am to
be so long separate from you: yet \\r<> all rhis devotion to you I
cannot persuade myself into an> confidence of you.
Pasi experience connected with the fact of my long vep,j-
lanon from v«n ghes me agonic*- which are scarcely to be tall ed ot
When your mother comes I shall be very sudden and cxpen in
asking hei whether you have been to Mrs. Dike's, fo she might say
no to make me easy. I am literally worn to e'en1 , which seems my
on'v recourse. I cannot forget what has pa:>-< <( What ° nothing
with a man of the world, but to me dreadful
I will get nd of this as much as possible. When you weir in the
habit of flirting with Brown you would have let oil could your
own heart have felt one half of one pang mine dH Brown is good
sort of man—he did not know he was doing in \o death by inches. I
feel the effect of every one of those hou in my side now; and for
that cause, though he has dc me many services, though I know
his love and friendship . me, though at this moment I should be
without pence, vvt u r not fot his assistance, I will never see or
speak to him until vc are both old men, if we are to be. I will
resent my heart haviuu been made a football. You will call this
madness. I have IK arc you say that was not unpleasant to wait a
few years...you ha\ • amusements—your mind is away—you have
not broodeJ over de«; as I have and how should you ?
( 183)
You are to me an object intensely desirable—the air I
breath in a room empty of you is unhealthy. I am not the same to
you—no—you can wait—you have a thousand activities—you
can be happy without me. Any party, anything to fill up the day
has been enough.
How have you pass'd this month ? Who have you smil'd
with ? All this may seem savage in me. You do not feel as I do—
you do not know what it is to love-one day you vmay your time is
not come.
Ask yourself how many unhappy hours Keats has caused you
in Loneliness. For myself I have been a Martyr the whole time,
and for this reason I speak; the confession is forc'd from me
by the torture.
I appeal to you by the blood of the Christ you believe in; do
not write to me if you have done anything this month which
would have pained me to have seen. You;may have altered-if
you have not—if you stil' heave in dancing rooms and other
societies as I have seen you—I do not want to live-if you have
done so I wish this coming night may be my last.
I cannot live without you and not only you but chaste you;
virtuous you. The Sun rises and sets, the day passes, and you
follow the bent of your inclination to certain (extent— you
have no.conception of the quantity of miserable feeling that
passes through me in a day.—Be serious ! Love is not a
plaything—and again do not write unless you can do it with a
crystal conscience. I would sooner die for want of you
than....
Yours for ever
J. Keats From
Abraham Lincoln to His Brother John D. Johnston
(Dec. 24, 1848) Dear
Johnston,
Your request for eighty dollars, I <Jo not think it best to
( 184)
comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a
little, you have said to me, "We can get along very well now", but in
a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now this can
only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I
think I know. You are not lazy, and still are an idkr. I doubt
whether since I saw you, you have done a good whole day's work
in any one day. You do not very much dislike to work, and still
you do not work much, merely because it does not seem to you that
you could get much for it.
This habit of uselessly wasting time, is the whole difficulty; it is
vastly important to you, and still more so to your children that you
should break this habit. It is more important to them because they
have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before they
are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in.
You are now in need of some ready cash and what I
propose is that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail", for
somebody who will give you money for it.
Let father and your boys take charge of your things at
home—prepare a crop, and make the crop, and you go to work
for the best of money wages, or in discharge of any debt you owe,
that you can get. And to secure you a fair reward for your labour,
I now promise you that for every dollar yeu will, between this and
the first of May, get for your own labour either in money or in your
indebtedness, 1 will then give one other dollar.
By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you
will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. In
this, I do not mean you shall go off to St. Locis or the lead mines,
or thd gold mines, in California, but I mean for you to go at it for the
best wages you can get close to home......in country.
( 185 )
Now if you will do this, you will soon be out of debt, and what
is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in
debt again. But if I should now clear you out next year you will
be just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your
place in Heaven $ 100 or more. Then you value your place in
Heaven very cheaply, for I am sure you can with the offer I make
get the seventy or eighty dollars for four five months work. You
say if I furnish you the money you will deed me the land, and if
you don't pay the money back, you will deliver possession.
Nonsense ! If you can't now live with the land, how you will then
live without it ? You have always been kind to me, and I do not
now mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but
follow my advice, you will find it worth more than eight times
eighty dollars to you.
Affectionately,
Your brother A.
Lincoln.

From Napoleon to Josephine

Verona, November 13, 1796,
Dear Heart,
I don't love you, not at all; on the contrary, I detest you .
.you're a naughty, gawky, foolish Cindrella. You never write me;
you don't love your husband; you know what pleasure your
letters give him, and yet you haven't written him six lines, dashed
off casually.
What do you do all day, Madam ? What is the affair so
important as to leave you no time to write to your devoted
lover ? What affection stifles and puts to one side the love, the
tender and constant love you promised him ? Of what sort can
be that marvelous being, that new lover who absorbs every
 ( 1 8 6)
moment tyraccizes over your days, and prevents your giving any
any attention to your husband ? Josephine, take care ! Some fine
night, the doors will be broken open, and there I'll be.
Indeed 1 am very uneasy, my love, at receiving no news of you
; write me quickly four pages, pages full of agreeable things which
shall fill my heart with the pleasantest feelings, i
I hope before long to crush you in my arms and coven you
with a million kisses burning as though beneath the equa-l tor.
Bonaparte
From Samuel Johnson to An Old Friend
Madam,
If I interpret your letter right, you ignominiously married; if it
is yet undone, let us at once, once more talk together. If you have
abandoned your children and your religion. God forgive your
wickedness; if you have forfeited your fame and your country, may
your folly do no further mischief.
If the last act is yet to do, I, who have loved you, esteemed
you, reverend you, and served you, I who long thought you the
first of womankind, entreat that, before your fate is irrevocable, I
may once more see you.
I was, I once was,
Madam, most truly yours, Sam :
Johnson
From Voltaire to his Beloved (OLYMPE DUNOYER)
The Hague, 1713.
I am a prisoner here in the name of the king; they can take
my life, but not the love that I feel for you. Yes, ray adorable
mistress, tonight I shall see you, and it I had to put my head on
the Mode to do it. For Heaven's sake, do not speak to
 ( 187 )
me in such disastrous terms as you write, you must live and be
cautious, beware of madame your mother as of your worst
enemy. What do I say ? Beware of everybody, trust no one, keep
yourself in readiness, as soon as the moon is visible, I shall leave
the hotel incognito, take a carriage or a chaise, we shall drive like
the wind to Scheveningen, I shall take paper and ink with me, we
shall write our letters.
If you love me, reassure yourself, and call all your strength and
presence of mind to your aid, do not let your mother notice
anything, try to have your picture, and be assured that the menace
of the greatest tortures will not prevent me to serve you.
No, nothing has (he power to part me (torn, you, out love is
based upon virtue, and will last as long as oar lives. Adieu, there is
nothing that I will not brave for your sake, you desen'e much more
than that. Adieu, my dear heart!
Aroute
From Samuel Johnson to the Earl of ChesterfteW
My Lord,
I have been lately informed, by the proprietpr of the World,
that two papers, in which my Dictionary is recommended to the
public, were written by your Lordship. To be so distinguished, is an
honour, which, being very little accustomed to favours from the
great, I know not well how to receive, or <n what terms to
acnowledge.
When, upon some slight encouragement I first visited your
Lordship, I was overpowered, like the rest of mankind, by the
enchantment of your address; and coufat not forbear to wish that I
might boast myself Le cainquerdu vainqueur de la terre:——that I
might obtain that regard for which I saw the world contending; but
I found my attendance so Jtttle cocbw*-
( 188 )
ged, that neither pride nor modesty would suffer me to continue
it. When I had once addressed your Lordship in public, I had
exhausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and UQcourtly
scholar can possess. I had done all that I could, and no man is well
pleased to have his all neglected, be it ever so little.
Seven years, my Lord, have now passed, since I waited in your
outward rooms, or was repulsed from your door; during which
time I have been pushing on my work through difficulties, of
which it is useless to complain, and have brought it, at last, to the
verge of publication, without one act of assistance, one word
encouragement, or one smile of favour. Such treatment I did not
except, for I never had a Patron before.

The shephered in Virgil grew at last acquainted with Loue

and found him a native of the rocks.

Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a

man struggling for life in the water, and, when he hac reached
ground, encumbers him with help? The notice which you nave
been pleased to take of my labours, had it been early, had been
kind; but it has been delayed till I am indifferent and cannot
enjoy it; till I (am solitary, and cannot impart it, till I am known,
and do not want it. I hope it is no very cynical asperity not to
cofess obligations where no benefit has been received, or to be
unwilling that the Public should consider me as owing that to a
Parton, which Providence has enabled me to do myself.

Having carried on my work thus far with so little obligation to

any favourer of learning, I shall not be disappointed though should
conclude it, if less possible, with less; for I have
(1 8 ? )
long wakened from that dream of hope, in which I onee boasted myself with
so much exultation.
My Lord,
Your Lordship's most humble
Most obedient servant
Samuel Johnson
From Leonardo da Vinci to Dnke of Milan
Having, most illustrous :lord, sjeen and considered the
experiments of all those who rose as masters in the art of
inventing instruments of war, and finding that their invention
differs in no way from those in common use, I am emboldened,
without prejudice to anyone, to solicit appointment of acqua-
inting your Exellency with certain of my secrets.
1. I can construct bridges which are very light and strong and
very portable, with which to pursue and defeat the enemy;
and others more solid, which resist fire or assault, yet are
easily removed and placad in position; and I can also burn
and destroy those of the enemy.
2. If by reason of the elevation or the strength of its position a
place cannot be bombarded, I can demolish ever> fortress if
its foundations have not been set on stone.
3. In case of a siege I can cut off water from trenches and
make pontoon and scaling ladders and other similar
contrivances.
4. I can also make a kind of cannon which is light and easy of
transport, with which to hurl small stones like hail, and of
which the smoke causes great terror to the enemy, so that
they suffer heavy loss and confusion.
5. 1 can noiselessly construct to any prescribed point subte-
rranean passages either straight or winding, passing if
necessary underneath trenches or a river.
( 190)
6. 1 can make armoured wagons carrying artillery, which
shall break through the most serried ranks of the enemy
and so open a safe passage for his infantry.
7. If occassion should arise; I can construct cannon and
mortars and light ordnance in shape both ornamental and
useful and different from those in common use.
8. When it is impossible to use cannon I can supply in their
stead catapults, mangonels, trabocchi, and other
instruments of admirable efficiency not in general use .... .In
short, as the occasion requires I can supply infinite means of
attack and defence.
9. And if the fight should take place upon the sea I can
construct many engines most suitable either for attack or
defenee and ships which can resist the fire of the heaviest
cannon, and powders or weapons.
10. In time of peaee, I believe that I can give you as complete
satisfaction as any one else in the construction of buildings
both public and private, and in conducting water from one
place to another. I can further execute sculpture in marble,
bronze or clay
also in painting. I can do as much as anyone else, whoever
he may be.
Morever, I would undertake the commission of the bronze
horse, which shall endue with immortal glory and eternal
honour the auspicious memory of your father and of the
illustrious house of Sfoarza*
And if any of the aforesaid things should seem to anyone
impossible or impracticable, I offer myself as ready to make trial
of them in your part or in whatever place shall please your
excellency, to whom I command myself with all possible humility.
Yours
PART II
BUSINESS LETTERS
 Art of Writing Business Letters
For the most part, business correspondents promote the
interests of their firms. Paradoxically, however, business writers
best accomplish this purpose when they demostrate an interest in
the reader. The writer should try to see the reader's point of view
and to determine what and how to write in order to bring about
the desired response.
To help both himself and his reader, the writer begins by
clarifying his objective. This he does by (1) formulating the
purpose of the message, (2) obtaining all the facts essential to the
transaction, (3) familiarizing himself with relevant company
policies and procedures, and (4) discovering the interests of the
reader.
Formulating the Purpose : Before writing a letter, ma ay
correspondents find it helpful to formulate the purpose mentally in
a single sentence: "This letter is intended to collect money the
reader owes us," or "The purpose of this letter is to make a
satisfactory adjustment of the reader's complgint," or "This
letter is intended to obtain delivery of the goods by January 12 at
the very latest." With a definite guide such as this, the writer is
more likely to adhere to his aim and achieve the desired results.
Obtaining the facts : The correspondent who tries to put
ideas iu writing before he has the essential facts is almost certain to
confuse the reader. In many situations relevant information can
be found in other correspondence on the same subject or with the
same reader. The writer should study suchinfor-mation carefully
before be dictates his letter. In this way, he will
 ( 194 ) V'
have essential background facts, specific dates, and other
references which he can use to make his letter clear.
Interests of the Reader: As we know, the effectiveness of a
letter depends to a great extent on how well the writer understands
the reader's viewpoint. Thus, in addition to the other
information he must have, the corres ondent should learn as
much as possible about the reader in order to determine the
ideas that will influence him.
One reason why so many letters fail to achieve the purpose
or secure the results for which they are written is simply this:
They are self-centred, self-seeking, completely self-interested.
That's why it is very important to adopt a "you" attitude in
your correspondence.... to project yourself to the views of other
man and- try to see things from his point of view.
So when you sit to write a business letter, no matter what
kind of business letter it may be, try to feel a genuine interest in
your correspondent and his problems. Don't make the mistake
of thinking you can get by with mere flattery and pretense.
In general, any statements that indicate irritation, bad
temper, or suspicion should be avoided. The writer should,
instead, strive for expressions that show a willingness to help or
to understand.
A well mannered person says "please" when he wants a
favour, "thank you" when he receives a favour, and "I am
sorry" when he has unintentionally hurt someone or must convey
some unpleasant news. In the same way, the letter writer should
observe all the rules of ordinary courtesy.
Lack of consideration for the reader's feelings is a serious
violation of courtesy.
( 195 )
The closing paragraph of a business letter should leave the
reader with a single clear-cut thought or idea............and
should inspire whatever action or response is desired. It's here that
you make your final bid for the reader's confidence and good will. It
all depends on what you say and the words you use in your closing
paragraph.

The Ten Points to a good business Letters

1. Always write your letter in plain every day language; avoid
words which are not familiar and need a consultation with the
dictionary.
2. Always keep a friendly and courteous attitude because they will
pay you much more in letters too.
3. Always try to avoid unnatural tone; " The secret of writing a
good letter equires the ability to put yourself in an envelope and
seal it"
4. Try to view the subject from the reader's point of view.
5. Keep your mind open so as to grasp the ideas, wishes and
problems of your reader.
6. Be a real diplomat and let others feel that they are important.
7. Do never try to argue over your mistakes if pointed out.
8. Always be precise and write clearly to the point. Be cordial to
the reader.
9. Give the correct and a definite reply to avoid your reader
reading between the lines.
10. Try to dramatize your letters with glowing words of benefit they
will derive by doing business with you.
CHAPTER 1
InquiryforNewsAgency
Dear Sirs,
It is my intention to establish a retail news agency in this
town, and I should welcome details of the services you could
render in connection with the supply of newspapers and
periodicals.
I should be particularly grateful if you would set out clearly
the procedure for effecting payment both for the various
publications *,and for the freight.
Any further suggestions you have to offer would, of
ourse be appreciated."
Yours faithfully,
QUOTING TERMS Reply to
above
Djar Sir,
We thank you for your inquiry of the 27th July, and shall be
pleased to arrange for the supply of newspapers and periodicals
to you if you find our conditions satisfactory.
Most of the stock lines are treated on the enclosed sheet,
where our discount terms are plainly stated.
You will realize that the conditions prevailing in the trade
make it necessary for us to adopt rather stringent precautions
with regard to credit, but we have found two methods which
satisfy both parties.
If you require short term credits we shall be prepared ( 196)
AJ&^ S*w_A«4*^ ahs&j.s.--"
~- &$£
 ( 197 )
to comply with your request, provided you have the
payments guaranteed by a bank. If however, this procedure
is not convenient, we are ready to draw sight drafts on you
weekly, provided that your payments are sufficiently in
advance to cover the time lost in transport in both direetions.
We must ark you to remember that these restrictions are not
intented for you personally, but that they are part of our
general policy when dealing with upcountry customers.
The papers would, of course, be sent by Parcel Post, the
rates for which will be found very reasonable.
The discount rates in this trade are, for the main part,
standardized, but we think you will find that extensive orga-
nization enables us to render certain additional services
exceedingly valuable when the time factor is of special
importance!
Voyrs faithfully,
Letter to an Agent
Dear Sir,
We have been informed that you are she sole
distributors for the Agfa photographic product.
Will you please send us price-list and catalogues of all
Agfa products you hold in stock; also details of tiade disco-
unts and terms of payment.
A visit from your representive world be appreciated.
Perhaps he could bring samples of Agfa colour
transparencies, an item of growing interest here.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above Dear
Sirs,
We are pleased to receive your enquiry, and advise you
that the agent for your area of Agfa products are M/s. Bajaj
( 198)
& Co., and they hold good stock of all Agfa product including the
colour transparencies.
Your enquiry has been referred to them for further, action and
you are requested to contact them in future for your
requirements.
Yours faithfully,
c. c. to : Bajaj & Co ,
Myalapuram, Madras—
1
Enquiry for readymade garments to be exported Dear Sirs.
We require men's Teren Shirts for export to the foreign
market and shall be pleased to receive your offer to supply stating
keenest export price, export delivery terms, prompt cash terms and
earliest delivery date.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your enquiry of 13th Nov,, for our Men's
Teren Shirts and enclose our detailed quotation.
A very full range of the patterns has been sent to you by
sample post today, and you will see that in view of the fine quality
and attractive designs, our materials are of really good value. We
can assure you that these shirts are very popular in foreign
markets, of which we have had some experience.
We can offer you any of these patterns firm for fourteen days,
but cannot promise anything definite beyond that period in view of
the heavy demand for this type of shirts.
In the case of an order for more than 500 pieces we would
( 199 )
allow a special discount of 2$% for settlement within seven days from
date of invoice.
We are at your service at all times.
Yours faithfully,
Inquiry from a Bank
The Bank of India Ltd., The Mall.
Simla. Dear Sirs,
We are in a very difficult position with regard to the allowance of
credit to Messrs Adam & Son. AS you know, we have been accustomed
to allow them three months* credit: you will in fact remember that
it was on your recommendation that they obtained this concession.
Disquieting reports have reached us, however, the gist of which
appears to be that Messrs Adam & Son are in low water, and that
their policy is dictated by the National Food Co., whose products
are not characterized by any excellence of quality. We do not wish
to give credence to these reports, but it does seem that they could
make its influence felt by withholding financial assistance.
It is not our wish to sever a connection which has been both
pleasant and profitable, but in the interests of our cu&io-mers we
should consider this our duty if there were any likelihood of Messrs
Adam's failing to maintain their usual standards.
Yours faithfully,
For Bank of India Ltd.,
Reply to Above
Dear Sirs,
Your insinuations with regard to the standing and meth-
 ( 200)
ods of Messrs Adam & Son have caused us considerable surprise
and we feel it our duty to refute the rumours current as to their
financial position
Though they are closely connected with the National food
Co., there is no reason for beliving that their association involves
more than a co-ordination of policy with particular reference to
price-maintenance. There is no indication whatever that the Co ,
is subsidizing them, or that it has obtained a controlling interest
in their affairs.
Messrs Adam & Son have in their trade a reputation
second to none, and their trade marks have long stood for
quality and reliability, their bills have never been at longer
periods than is customary and in every case they have been
promptly honoured.
We trust that your doubts have been quite removed, and
that you in turn will do all in your power to contradict what
appear to be the malicious libels of their disgruntled competitors.
Yours faithfully, For Bank
of India Ltd.,
Dear Sirs,
Please let us have a quotation for the regular supply of
your Robi Steam paints in tins of 5 kg. and small packings of 100
grams.
We would explain in confidence that our usual supplier has
rathei let us down this year on delivery dates and quantities, and
we are in danger of getting into arrears with our regular
customers in building constructions.
We look forward to a favourable quotation from you.
Yours faithfully,
( 201 )
Reply to above Dear Sir,
We thank you for your enquiry of August 4, and we are
enclosing herewith our terms and the price list for your perusal,
After studying our prices and the liberal terms to the trade,
you will understand why we are working to capacity of the
moment to meet the seasonal demand. We would advise you
therefore to let us have your order by the end of the month, if
you are really interested in having a stock of our products.
We look forward to the opportunity of being service to you.
Yours faithfully, For The Noble Paints Co. Enquiry for
Crockery
Dear Sirs,
We have seen your advertisement in "The Financial Times"
and should be glad to have price-lists and details of your terms.
As we have a large distribution of the crockery in this town
we can place a big order if your prices are competitive.
Please quote your prices c. i. f. Jabalpur.
A prompt reply would be appreciated.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above
Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to have your enquiry and are sending you
herewith the price-list requested. We also enclose details of our
terms and conditions of sale.
You may be sure of immediate attention to your order.
Yours faithfully,
CHAPTER 2
PlacingOrders—ExecutionofOrders

Placing An Order
Dear Sirs,
We are obliged for your quotation of the 5th June, and are
pleased to enclose our Order Form No. 93/P7 for SO each of the
variety you have quoted in your letter.
As the military contract to which we have referred ' as been
obtained in the face of keen competition we must ask you to give
special attention to the execution of this order. There it no need for
us to stress further the value of first impressions.
We should be glade if you would forward the goods by rail
Pathankot where they would be taken delivery of, by our
representative.
Bales should be clearly marked HRS/P7, and the relative R/R
should be forwarded to us without delay.
Yours faithfully,
Order for Supply
Dear Sin,
We thank you for your quotation of the 6th October, and for
the samples of the same.
As your products are quite up to our expectations, we are pleased
to enclose our Order Form No. 43/AE/64 for the quantity of imitation
Jewellery and Silver wares. Yea will observe that delivery is to be
effected by the 20th October.
{ 2Q2>
,, v «jt». „ , _ J>_ j-i «. kjMW'si1
.* » j~-.» - —- -•
( 203 )
We have every reason to believe that this shipment will be
successful, and we hope to entrust you with further business in the
near future.
Yours faithfully
Refusal to give more discount
Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your order of 29th April for 200 copies of
"GIANT JOKS", and have arranged for their dispatch by goods
train on the 6th May.
You will note that our special quotation of 40% discount was
made in anticipation of a much larger order. In the
circumstances a further discount is out of the question, as our
discount rates are already above the average.
We trust that you will see your way to increasing your
orders, in which case it is likely that we shall revise our rates of
discount.
Yours faithfully,

Orders for oils With terms and conditions

Dear Sirs,
We have carefully tested the samples of your Coconut oil
submitted on the 2nd January, and are pleased to inform you that
they are high quality and have impressed us very favourably.
We are accordingly prepared to take 10 tons at Rs. 750 per ton if
delivery can be made by the 30th of January.
It is understood that payment within 7 days is subject to a
discount of 2\ per cent, and that net terms are available for
periods not exceeding three months. Further, it must be
Understood that we receive the right to reject any goods that < not
tally with the samples submitted.
Yours faithfully,
( 204 )
Soliciting Order
Dear Sirs,
While thanking you for your enquiry of 12th Aug., we are
pleased to inform you that we can offer yon large quanti-es of
EVERYDAY dry-batteries at a reduced price; due to the
improved method of producton.
Details of the new prices are enclosed, from which you will
see that the average price reduction is 15%. As our prices are
quoted c. i. f. BOMBAY, yoo will agree that they are below those
of all other makers.
The quality remains unchanged—only the finest chemicals are
wed. The new prices are for minimum orders of Rs. 5,000/- and
are effective as from 1st July. Immediate despatch is guaranteed,
as we hold ample stocks.
As we execute all orders in strict rotation, we strongly ad\ise
you to order early.
Yours faithfully,
Offering another brand
Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your enquiry of the 10 'August for
ZEPHYR wrist watches, but regret that we cannot supply this
type, as its production has been suspended. It was only when the
entire absence of inquiries led us to believe that it has dropped
quite out of favour that we decided to take this step.
We are please to hear that it has met with your aproval, and
we venture to think that you will find our new square type
INDIA wrist watches even more satisfactory.
The new watch is considerably finer, with a new iridium dial
and a second needle with an attractive appearance. The
popularity it enjoys among the leading retailers is proof enough
of its value.
(205 )
You will find enclosed a Pnce List and a full range of
designs of our watches, and we feel that o trial order would be
enough for you to prove our words.
Yours faithfully,

Placing the order

Dear Sirs.
We have recieved your price-list, and shall be glad if you will
send us by rail as early as possible the items shown on the enclosed
order.
Will you please ensure that the goods are carefully packed ?
As ut,ual packing and forwarding will be p nd by us.
Yours faithfully,
Dispute in order-execution
Dear Sirs,
We are in receipt of your offer of the 2nd March, and have
pleasure in giving you an order for 20 cwt., of N. P, No.
2 of good quality in accordance with sample sent to us, at Rs.
3 per kg. c. i. f. Calcutta, to M/s. Shipley & Co., in Calcutta for
re-forwarding to us. The goods will no doubt be packed free of
charge m good wooden cases, and we desire delivery at once.
Payment to be made against our acceptance at oO days.
We perticularly request you to ship onlv perfectly dried
goods, as otherwise the transport during the present rainy season
would be risky.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear sirs,
In accordance with your instructions we have despatched the
goods c. i. f. Calcutta to Messrs Shipley & Co., to be held
( 206 )
for your order, and we are sending you a duplicate of the bill of
lading.
We also enclose the invoice and our draft drawn on you for Rs.
2,354 at 60 days.
We have executed your order with the greatest care, and .iave
selected a very good quality only. We trust, therefore, that our
shipment will meet with your full approval, and that we shall receive
your instructions for any future requirements
Yours faithfully,
Complaint by Telegram and follow op letter Dear
Sirs,
The consignment of tea invoiced to us on 8th March reached
us yesterday and were immediately examined, but we regret our
inability to accept them. We ordered a good quality tea, but you have
sent us the damped leaves, which we are unable to sell and most of
the cases are in very bad condition. For this reason we telegraphed you
today as follows :—
Tea greatly damped ; can not sell. Acceptance refused. Holding at
your risk. Letter follows.
We confirm our above telegram, and request you to dispose off the
goods at once, and refund to us our disbursement of Rs. 304 for
railway freight and octroi paid bv us.
Yours faithfully,

To Brokers & Commission Agents Accepting

an offer Dear Sirs,
We are in receipt of your letter of the 4th May, and shall be glad if
you will buy for our account the quantity B. O. P Darjeeling Tea
mentioned by yon at Rs. 3 per Kg. payable at
(207)
30 days, and send us about one-third of it by rail and the rest
you keep in godown on our behalf.
Please effect insurance against fire at purchase rates plus
20% and retain the same at our disposal.
/ours faithfully,

Reply to above Invoice

despatched
Dear Sirs,
We are glad to receive your acceptance of our offer, and note
that you have decided to buy this parcel of B. O. P. Darjeeling
Tea. We hope you will be satisfied with the quality in
consideration of the price, and assure you that in any future
business it will be our endeavour to give the best possible service
and the quality goods.
This day we have despatched 25 cartons of tea at your
account and risk through passenger train. The remaining
cartons have been kept in the godowns as per your instructions.
We have also taken out the insurance of the goods and the policy
is with us to be forwarded to you if wish so.
Enclosed here is our account for this bargain.
Yours faithfully,
PACKING AND DESPA|£H Supplier
informs customer
Dear Sirs,
With reference to your letter of 22nd April, please note that
a special crate with reinforced bottom will be needed for the
transport of such a large machine, and both padding and bolting
down will be essential. The cost will be about Rs. 300 plus tola
freight charges of Rs. 456.
(208 )
To save the freight we suggest packing in crate with
reinforced base, and overall waterproof wrapping. A solid care in
packing as suggested by you would be uneconomical.
We shall be glad to have furthur instructions from you so
that we can proceed with the compilation of your order.
Yours faithfully, Customer
informs supplier
Dear Sirs,
We are in receipt of your letter of 27th April and thank you
for the same.
As suggested by you we are agreed to your packing but great
care is to taken in packing of the delicate parts of the machinery
and all of them are to be wrapped in soft material and firmly
packed in strong wooden boxes. These are to be packed in more
bigger wooden boxes in such a manner that movement inside the
boxes is impossible as to eliminate the risk of damage by pressure.
The crates containing the machinery should not exceed overall
length of 8 feet, and the bottom and back of the crate must be
strongly ooarded.
We hope this will suffice you in regard to the packing and
will enable you to despatch the order at an early date.
Yours faithfully, Delay in
execution of order
Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your order of 6th October for 1000 Delux
Bulb holders, but regret that we are unable to execute the order
from stock, owing to the heavy demand recently for the same.
Our suppliers have, however, undertaken to replenish our
stocks within seven days, and we trust that it will not be
inconvenient for you to allow us this extension.
( 209 )
Should you be willing to meet our wishes, we should be
;rateful if you would confirm your order on the revised con-
ditions.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 3
Cancelling Orders
Dear Sirs,
We have placed an order with your Mr. Sarma for two
cases of Door-Knobs M/sz. 31 and three cases of Steel Windows
Size-3/2 to be delivered on the 1st of next month. However, we
have just come in possession of stocks of a outgoinr concern at
an extremely low figure.
•In consequence our requirements will now be fully covered
for some time to come, and we therefore greatly regret having
to cancel our order with you. As soon as our stocks need
replenishing, which may occur in- two or three months' time,
we shall endeavour to make good to you the loss of this order.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sirs,
We acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the l l th
August, in which you cancelled the order given to our repre-
sentative Mr. Sarma.
Your remarks have been noted and we look forward to
receiving your further orders in due time. Our representative
will have pleasure in calling upon you on his next visit to your
town and will be glad then to receive your intructions.
Yours faithfully,
(210)
Letter containing confirmation of Telegram
Dear Sirs,
We gave you an order for 5 barrels of Mustard Oil, qua-1-ty
C, at Rs. 5.50 per kg. with free delivery at the end of this month,
but very much regret having had to send you the following
telegram :—
"CANCEL MUSTARD OIL ORDER"
This we felt compelled to do, since, according to the letest
market reports, the price of Mustard Oil has dropped
considerably in consequence of aboundant yields.
We are sorry that it has been necessary to cancel this order
but we will let you have our instructions for other supplies in due
course.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 4
Invocing, Accounting, and Settlement of Accounts
Errar in totalling
Dear Sirs,
With reference to your invoice No. 21034 cf September 3, we
have to point out thaf you have made an error in your total. We
calculate the correct figure as Rs. 2,65400, not Rs. 6,5447 as given
by you.
Our cheque for the former amount is enclosed and we
should be obliged if you would amend the invoice or pass the
necessary credif.
Yours faithfully,
Discrepancies in statement
Dear Sirs,
We have received your statement for December 1968 and
must point out certain discrepancies in your entries :
( 211 >
[1. December 5. You have debited us with Rs. 298.70 against
invoice No. 25317, but we have no record of such an invoice
in our files, nor can we trace any packing note for goods
that might explain this item.
2. December 9. Invoice No. 25971 for Rs. 135.40 This item
is charged twice ; as you will see, you have made a similar
debit dated December 19.
Yours faithfully, Complaint
about short payment Dear Sirs,
We thank you for "your remittance for Rs. 498/-received
today by our bankers. Our official receipt is enclosed.
The amount of the statement in question is Rs. 598/- and as
you make no mention of this in your recent communications we
are wondering if this is a clerical error on your part.
Perhaps you would remit the balance of Rs. 100/- in the
course of the next few da> s.
Yours faithfully.
Disagreement on goods sent and charged
ear Sirs,
Ref. : Our Indent No. 5432 Your
Invoice No. 6520
The various items supplied against the above Indent have now
been checked and we regret to inform you that there is a
discrepancy between the goods sent and the amount invoiced.
Item No. 5 of our indent called for 8X7 Men's Poplin Shirts,
size L, and this quantity was in fact received. We noticed that your
packing note showed 10X6 Shirts against this
item, and now we find that your invoice shows this quantity, too
Will you kindly look into the matter and let us have your
credit for the difference in due course.
Yours faithfully, Incorrect
discount in statement
Dear Sir,
Your Statement of Account for the December quarter has
(212)
been found in order but we think you have made an error in the
special discount shown. In your letter of September 15th last you
agreed to allow us 3% extra on quarterly transactions exceeding
Rs. 5000/- in value. The amount of the statement in question is Rs.
6,324/-, but you have shown discount at only 33J%.
Will you kindly adjust this, after which we shall be pleased to
pass the account for payment.
Yours faithfully,
•Asking for crediting freight charges Dear
Sirs,
We attach our Credit Note for goods which you returned and
which were supplied aggainst your order No. 654. We
understand that you wish to have Pattern No. 6A in M/Voiles, in
place of the returned goods, and your instructions are receiving
our attention.
The amount of Rs. 43,00 is being debited to your account for
the freight paid on the returned goods, as you sent these To Pay ;
the cost of returning goods for exchange must, of course, be
borne by the customer.
Will you please also let us know whether the replacement
goods are to be sent at once, or whether we should include them
in your monthly delivery. If we send specially, we shall have to
charge the freight to you.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for credit terms
Dear Sirs,
We have today arranged payment of your Invoice No. 7694
for goods received as per order of 25th January. The material
arrived in good condition and found a ready sale.
As we have now done-business with you for a year on the
basis of payment on invoice, we should like to ask you to
! grant us credit terms, with quarterly settlement. Our two
(213 )
other main suppliers Messrs Murphy Radio and Bush Radio Cos.
have recently agreed to supply us on these terms.
Yours faithfully, Asking
for monthly j/ajments Dear Sirs,
We have now been doing bussiness with you for nearly a year
and are pleased to say that we are more than satisfied with the
goods you have supplied.
In the coming year we shall probably place regular orders
with you and our present method of payment by Letter of Credit
\vill become inconvinient. We should also find a short credit 01
advantage to our trading capacity.
We iccoruirgly ask you to supply us on monthly account
terms, payment against statement within 30 days. You may refer to
M/s. Davis and Co., and M/s. Norton Mfg. Co., with whome we
have credit accounts.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sirs,
Many thanks for your letter of 7th August in which you ask us
to place you on monthly account terms.
We are pleased to here that you propose to increase your
business with us and are quite willing to comply with your request.
The new arrangement will operate immediatly.
We look forward to serving you and are delight to hear that
you are satisfied with the goods we have supplied.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for extension of time to pay Dear
Sirs,
Your quarterly statement reached us yesterday and has been
found correct.
As you know, we have, always settled your account
promptly and regret very much that we now find it necessary to
( 214)
ask you if you will allow us an extra few weeks in which to clear
the current statement of account.
Our difficulties are temporary and have been caused by the
failure of the early Mango crop here, on which many of cur
customers are depandent. We are confident of being able to
settle in full within few weeks time.
We shall appreciate it as a helpful gesture if you can grant
us this concession.

CHAPTER 5
Complaints and Their Adjustment
Dear Sirs,
We refer to our order No. 134/A of the 19th March for
10/20 liters tins of "Olive Green Synthetic Enamel."
The goods have only just been received, after a delay of 7
days, for which no explanation has been given. Further, one of
the tins contains a dark Green shade though this is unsuitable,
we shall retain it in order to save you inconvenience, and
expence, but we must insist that ir future you devote more care to
the execution of our orders.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sirs,
We have your letter of the 1st April and note with regret
that you are dissatisfied with the execution of your order No.
134/A of the 19th March. We apologise for the daily and trust
that no serious inconvenience has resulted.
Your order was unfortunately overlooked in the pressure of
business, but we assure you that every effort will be made in
future to guarantee delivery in accordance with your
requirements.
( 215)
We appreciate the indulgence you have shown in keeping the
unsuitable colour tin, and trust that you will give us an
opportunity to supply you with further goods.
Yours faithfully, Final
Request Dear Sirs,
We note with regret that the goods ordered on the 1st
October were not delivered till this day, in spite of the fact that an
early delivery was guarantted and (he order obtained on the
strength of the guarantee.
This is not the first time a delay in delivery has occured, and
the increasing frequency of the trouble compels us to point out
that business on these conditions cannot be continued for long.
We trust that this letter will cause you to settle the trouble
finally.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above
Dear Sirs,
Your letter of the 3rd November complaining of delays in
delivery has caused us considerable surprise at the absence of
complaints led us to think that delivery was being effected in the
normal way. These opinions were confirmed by the regularity with
which consignments were dispatched from our go-downs well
before the date of delivery. We have, ofcourse, taken up the
matter with them , and in the meantime we can only ask you to
accept our apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused.
Yours faithfully, Delayed
orders
Dear Sirs,
It is with regret and a certain amount of surprise that we
find you have not yet delivered the goods ordered two months ago.
(216)
As the undertaking of your representative to effect prompt
delivery was an important factor in bringing us to place this
order with you we must insist on your standing by this statement.
The goods are required for shipment and must be with us in
four days, should you fail in your obligations we should be
compelled to cancel the order.
Yours faithfully, Refusal to
accept goods
Dear Sirs,
The Bush-Shirts we ordered from you on 28th Sept, were
received yesterday, but we regret to have to inform you that the
four half boxes of the same are not according to order. We had
clearly stipulated that they should be light colours, but instead
two dozens are of dark shade. It is impossible for us to make use
of these, as our store is full of dark colours.
We are extremely sorry to have to return these 2 dozens, and
shall be glad if you will substitute light colours for them as early
as possible.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above
Dear Sirs,
It is with regret 'that we learned from your letter of 2nd
October, that a few pieces of our consignment of Bush-Shirts is
not to your satisfaction.
As the rush of order is heavy due to Diwali season, we must
ask you kindly to excuse the mistake of our forwarding clerk.
The consignment of 2 dozens of light colour Bush-Shirts in
substiturion is being sent shortly, as unfortunately, they are not in
stock at the moment, and will first have to be made.
If you are able to keep those Bush-shirts in question we are
prepared to make a special discount on them of 5%.
We shall await your decision in this respect.
Yours faithfully,
( 217 )
Returning defective goods Dear Sirs,
Your consignment of Books of the 23rd December has been
not at all satisfactor-y. Their finish is decidedly bad, for in no way do
they appear like high priced books, a fact which is very much
against our business ethics.
We are unable to offer such goods to our customers and are
therefore, returning them in the hope that you will let us
have Books of better quality.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sirs,
From your letter of the 7th December, we learn with regret
that you are not satisfied with the books supplied to you as per
your last order.
The defects which you point out were noticed by us before the
dispatch of the books, but we ascribed the bad appearance of the
books to the damp weather which has prevailed of late and hoped
that firm packing would soon rectify the defect. Moreover, we
were unable to send you any other books as these were the last of
our stock.
As soon as further stock comes to hand, we shall forward
you a supply of smooth, well-finished Titles to take the place of
the defective books and we trust that these will be to your
satisfaction.
Yours faithfully,
CHAPTER 6
Collection Letters
Reminder concerning payment Dear Sirs,
We regret that since our last letter of the 9th October, enclosing
an invoice for Rs. 4000/- payable on the 21st October,
 ( 218 )
have not received any communication from you.
We shall be pleased to receive your cheque in settlement of this
account and hope that we may then have the pleasure
of receiving your further orders.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above
We received your letter of the 10th Nov., and enclose cheque for
Rs 4,000/- in payment of your invoice of the 9th October, owing to
alterations to our premises, we regret having overlooked the due date
of your invoice, and shall be glad if
you will excuse the omission.
Yours faithfully, Encl:
The following is a typical card series for collection-letters REGAL
GENERAL AGENCY 131, Hornby Road,
Bombay-1.
The balance indicated below is now pastdue. Payment will be
appreciated. Balance to.......
Rs...................
We are calling your attention again to the balance of your
account, which is now considerably overdue. Please send us your
cheque at once. Balance to........
Rs..................
Reply after receiving the news of a customer's sickness Dear
Sirs,
Airer-careful consideration of your letter of August 1, we are
glad to inform you that we are granting your request for more
time in which to pay your past'due account of Rs. 4705.
In times of sickness, exceptions can be made to even our
strictest credit rules without working an injustice to our other
customers who rely upon us to give all the same credit treatment.
(219)
In return for this exception made in your favour, we feel sure you
will take care of this obligation by November 1, the date you suggest.
We extend our sympathy and our sincere wishes for a quick
recovery.
Sincerely yours,
Reply to a customer with due account Dear
Sirs,
Thank You for your order of .July 28.
In looking over your account, we find that your invoice of June 2
amounting toRs. 504 is as yet unpaid. As this account is thirty days past
due, it would not be in accordance with our rules (which benefit all
our trade) to give you an additional extension of credit.
The condition of your account may have escaped your attention;
hence we feel sure, now that we have reminded you of it, that you will
send us your cheque for Rs. 504. By so doing, you will be confirming to
our credit rules and will enable us to pass your order to our delivery
department for immediate forwarding.
Yours faithfully, Sending
duplicate bills
Dear Sirs,
Won't you please take care of the enclosed bill—before you
forget it?
The amount is insignificant, we know, and we dislike to bother
you about it. But your little debt, plus your neighbour's perhaps,
plus all the rest, runs into many hundreds of rupees. The total is
extremely important to us in running our business efficiently.
By sending us your cheque today, you would really be helping
us a lot. Thank you for your co-operation.
Sincerely yours
(220)
A first reminder of dues Dear Sirs,
We are sorry that we must again call your attention to your
unpaid balance of Rs. 437,00 which has been past due since last
January.
Your account was opened with the understanding that we
would serve you to the best of our ability and that yeu in turn
would make payment in accordance with our regular terms. We
belive that we have lived up to our part of the agreement. In
fairness, we believe that you should live up to yours.
Please send us your cheque for Rs. 466.00 at once.
Yours faithfully, Hinting at
the legal action
Dear Sirs,
Your account in the amount of Rs. 8705 is now so
delinquent that we must insist on immediate payment.
We have repeatedly and unsuccessfully brought this matter
to your attenation. We are disappointed that we had no co-
operation whatever from you.
It is not our desire or custom to be other than considerate of
our customers. Legal action unfortunately, is now our only
response.
Unless we receive payment in full by October 24, we shall be
forced to turn this matter over to our attorneys.
Very truly yours,

CHAPTER 7
Bills of Exchange
Martin & Austin Lbndon. E.
C. Dear Sirs,
H^ing verified your accounts for the consignment of B.
<$!r. tla per S. S. BRITANN1CA, we have to advise you

i*Ma^aaiifci»^^,a^^
( 221 )
that we ha\e today drawn on you for £.5,643/- at three months to
the order Bradbury Co., Shefield. We trust that you will honour
the draft on presentation »o the debit of our account.
Yours faithfully, iieply to
above T nuia Exports Co., Madras. Dear Sirs,
We are pleaded to inform you that we have accepted your
draft for £. 5,64V- in favour of Bradbury Co., Shefield, to which
reference was made in your letter of the 27th August.
Yours faithfully, Advice of
Bill Drawn Dear Sirs,
In accordance with our agreement, we write to advise you
that we have drawn upon you for the sum of Rs. 645 dated 7th
September, to settle the amount of our invoice of the 28th July
last.
Requesting you to take up our bill on presentation.
We remain, dear Sirs,
Yours faithfully, Collection of
Bills
Gentlemen,
We are pleased to enclose the following drafts payable in
Bombay and should be obliged if you would credit us with the
sums collected.
1. At sight on Sidhanta & Co., for £ 654.
2. For 20th October on Kishor Traders, £. 1000.
3. For 2nd November on Nalin Electric Co., £. 895.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours faithfully, Payment of
Bills Dear Sirs,
We enclose a sight draft for 10,000 yen to your order on the
( 222 )
Toshiba Motor Co., and should be obliged if you would
effect against this draft the following disbursement on our account.
1. National Eng. Co., Yokohama, 2000 Yen
2. Japan Plastics, Kyoto, 4000 „
Perhaps you would be good enough to advise us as soon
as the accounts are settled.,
Yours faithfully, Informing to
draw B/E
Dear Sirs,
From the Account Sales enclosed you will observe that
we have been able to dispose off the carpets' consignment per S. S.
PRESIDENT for the total sum of £. 654, and that, after allowing for
our expenses and commission, there remains a balance of £. 587 in
your favour.
We ask you to draw on us under advise for this sum at sixty
days, when we should be pleased to honour your draft.
Yours faithfully, Reply to above
Dear Sirs,
We note with pleasure that our consignment per S. S.
PRESIDENT has been disposed off by you at a very favourable price,
and we thank you for your efforts on our behalf.
Your Account Sales has been examined and found in order. We
have accordingly drawn on you, through the Grind-lays Bank Ltd.,
for £. S87 at sixty days' sight, and should be glad if you would accord
our draft due protection.
Yours faithfully, Request for a
duplicate B/E
D,ear Sirs,
We reget to inform yew that the bill for Rs. 2,000 drawn
by Goldf ield Leather Works, and accepted by you has been lost; we
have, in fact, good reason to believe that it has been destroyed.
Perhaps you could arrange for a new bill to be drawn, and
accepted'by you.
 (223)
It is our sincere hope that this request will cause you no
inconvenience, we tender our apologies for this unfortunate
incident.and trust that you will convey them to the drawer also.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sirs,
We note with regret that you have lost the Bill for Rs. 5,000
drawn or. us by Goldfield Leather Works. Though we quite
understand your difficulty we feel sure you will realize how
inconvenient it would be for us if the Bill were to be presented after
we had settled our account.
In the circumstances we must insist on • your providing with
sufficient indemnity against double payment.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 8
Status Enquiry & Trade Reference
State Inquiry Dear
Sirs,
We have been requsted by Express Syndicate, Mathura to
forward 30 bales of staple cotton for which they propose to pay by
means of three month's bill. As the amount involved is more than
Rs. 2.000/- we are naturally reluctant to allow credit without some
assurance as to their standing.
We have also been iafurmed by them that you would be villing
to assure us on this point; if so, we should greatly appreciate
your advice, and it would give us pleasure to assist you similarly at
any time.
Yours faithfully, Only a
favourable reply
Dear Sirs,
(Private ard Confidential) We are pleased to be of
service to you in ascertaining the
(224)
standing of M/s. Express Syndicate, Mathura, about whom you
inquired on the 4th March.
In local commercial circle they are regarded as a substantial
trader with a clean record. There seems to be no reason for
withholding credit to the extent you mention, and we should have
no hesitation in doing business with them on the terms suggested.
It is, of course, understood that this no more than a personal
opinion; for which we accept no responsibity and we trust that it
will be treated with the strictest discretion.
Yours faithfully, An
unfavourable reply
(Private & Confidential) Dear
Sirs,
In reply to your inquiry of the 4th March concerning
Express Syndicate, Mathura, we would recommend a policy of
caution. Though the firm in question is an excellent business
organisation with a wide circle of customers, their operations
hardly warrant an allowance of credit to the extent mentioned.
There is little doubt that they are acting in the utmost good faith,
but we ourselves should hesitate to accept the conditions they
suggest. As for as we can see, payment of half this sum in cash
would be advisable.
We trust that we have been of assistance to you, and hope you
will recognize the importance of keeping this communication strictly
private.
Yours faithfully,
Inquiry from the bank Dear Sirs,
M/s. Auto Industries, of your town wishes to have credit
account with us and have given us your bank's name as a
reference.
We shall be grateful to you for any information you can give
us regarding their business and for your opinion of their
( 225 )
reliability and their business prospects. This information will
be treated in utmost confidence. Be assured, also, that any time
in the future, if we can reciprocate with similar information,
we will do so gladly and promptly.
Encl. 1 Sincerely Yours,
Checking of References
Dear Mr. Pradip,
Mr. Bajaj has applied to us for a position in our Shipping
Department. We are checking on his references and on the
employment record he furnished us. We shall appreciate any
information you can give us about him.
Please inform us in what capacity and for what period he was
in your employ ; and for what cause employment was terminated.
We enclose a stamped, addressed envelope for your con-
venience.
Yours sincerely,
Notifying Applicant of Placing Letter on File
Dear Mr. Adi,
We thank you for your letter of April 10 applying for a
position here. Your education, experience and other qualifications
are such as we would look for were there an opening. We regret
that there is none at present.
We are placing your letter on file, and when an opening
develops, we shall be pleased to get in touch with you.
S'ncerely yours,
Acknowledging an Introduction
Dear Mr. Nandu,
I thank you for bringing Mr. A. Sen to our attention. We
had an interview with him and our impressions confirmed your
good opinion of him. Although we have nothing for him now,
we will certainly get in touch with him if anything turns up.
You may tell him so.
Yours sincerely,
CHAPTER 9
Export Trade
Enquiry & Order Dear Sirs,
We have recieved extensive inquiries for articles in which, we
have been informed, you deal. 1 he most pressing demands are for
Silverwares and Imitation Jewellery, details of which will be found
in the specification enclosed. As v/e are not familiar with the
various qualities, we are prepared to leave the selection-in your
hands, but we must be supplied with the goods worthy of foreign
customers.
The holiday season is rapidly advancing, and the goods should
preferably be consigned by Scindia's JALSEVA leaving Bombay on
the 30th October.
The packages must be clearly marked with letters V. T. and
numbered prefacing a zero, 9 from upwards. Perhaps you would be
good enough to arrange for the insurance also.
We leave the question of prices to your discretion, provided that
total cost of the goods does not exceed Rs. 5,000. Should you
require any special method of reimbursement, we should make
every effort to comply with your arrangements, but in the absence
of any such intimation we should be prepared to accept drafts
either direct or through the Chartered Bank, for the amount
disbursed with commission at 8 per cent.
As the goods are mairly intended for Hong Kong, we would
recommend package in comparatively large units, and without
that degree of padding customary in the case of consignments for
the usual packages,
We trust that you will give the matter your most careful
attention, and hope to entrust you with farther business later.
Yours faithfully,
(227)
Exporter writes to manufacturer
Dear Sirs,
One of our most valued foreign clients has entrusted us
with the purchase of Silver wares and imitation jewellery, and
we are anxious to know if you can provide us with a variety
particularly suitable for Hong Kong market. We have in mind
some really artistic pieces with imitation pearls, which can be
counted slightly above average.
As rigid price-limits have been fixed, we trust you will
make an effort to submit a really competetive quotation. Your
quotation will not be expected to include special packing as the
goods will be repacked in Singapore.
Our clients have left us very little time for the purchase
and we must ask you to hold yourselves in readiness to deliver
witkin seven days. Further order, however, are not likely to be
so rushed.
The size of this trial order will probably assist you »n
assessing the value of this connection, and we feel it hardly
necessary to remind you of the benefit likely to accrue to you
from the supply of a satisfactory product.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above sending samples
Dear Sirs,
We are obliged for your inquiry of the 5th Oct, and are
ready to supply our famous products at the prices 10% less with
free delivery to your destination. Our s'lver wares and Imitation
Jewellery is very widely exported and its demand is increasing
rapidly. Samples of the same are forwarded to you for your
examination.
It is only the size of the order that enables us to quote this
special price and we accordingly trust you will not regard it as a
standing quotation for both large and small orders.
Delivery within a week would cause some inconvenience,
( 228 )
we are now working to otu full capacity; nevertheless, we are
prepared to meet you on this occasion.
We look forward to receiving further instructions at your very
earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully, final reply to
party
Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your order of the 3rd March, and lost no
time in approaching the manufacturers ; a result we have been
able to arrange for the shipment of the goods by S. S. Jalseva as
requested.
After carefully studying your instructions and consulting the
records of the other Singapore customers, we are confident of
having provided you with exactly what your customers require.
We trust that you will not object to our instructing the
Chartered Bank to surrender the goods against payment of our
draft for Rs. 5876/-, an invoice for which sum is enclosed. We assure
you that it is our policy to proceed on these lines with customers
whose standing is unknown to us' satisfactory references would,
however, cause us to relax these precautions.
We look forward to obtaining your permanent agency foi the
supply of such goods, and confident that our handing of this first
commission will induce you to entrust us with many more.
Yours faithfully, Enci
Invoice
CHAPTER 10
Import Trade
Informing Shipment
Dear Sirs,
We enclose the B./L. for silk goods you will shortly receive
by S. S. JALVIHAR.
The material has been specially selected for the Indian
market, and we rely on your making every effort to place it at
very copetitive prices. For your guidance, however, we would
like to inform you that for insurance purposes the consignment
has been assessed at Rs. 4,329.
We should be glad if, instead of placing the net proceeds to
our account at the Bank of India Ltd. Jogjakarta, you would
forward us a draft on Tokyo.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your Advice Note and the B. L. covering
silk goods dis atchedby S. S. Jalvihar, and are pleased to state they
have arrived in perfect condition.
You will realize, though, that in spite of the quality of this
cloth, sales are bound to be attended with difficulty at this time
of year. It is hardly necessary, however, to state that no efforts
will be spared to place the consignment at the best prices possible.
The proceeds will, of course; be forwarded to you without
delay.
¥«*fs faithfully,
Importers Inform brokers Dear Sirs,
We have just received from a leading British house a con-
 (230)
signment of 100 Boxes of Nylon socks, to which we ask you to
devote your very best attention.
This commission represents an excellent opportunity for
working up a most desirable connection with this firm, which
export; on a large scale most varieties of socks. Selling
arrangements would in each case be entrusted to you, and it is
probable that the initial commission, of 5 per cent would be
maintained.
We should be glad if you would immediately avail your-
selves of the Sampling Order enclosed. Encl. Sample
Yours faithfully, Reply
to above Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to state that the 100 boxes of Nylon Socks
entrusted to our case have realized the very attractive figure
of Rs. 6,000/- for which sum we enclose our cheque No. 432/A
on the "Central Bank of India" Delhi.
We look forward to receiving further commission from
you and trust that your suppliers will be satisfied with the
'result of this consigment.
You will, of course, credit our account with Rs. 300/-due
to us for commission.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 11
Agency
To a Manufacturer Dear Sirs,
At the 'Our Heritage' exhibition now being held here, we
had the previlege of viewing a selection of your engineering
tools and they appealed to us very much. After going through

a»iSiia»jigiaiiiii^.«jiifc^i^^«i^^^ *
( 231 )
the catalogue we have become quite interested in the same and feel the
possibilities of marketing these goods over here in Bombay.
You must be aware that we are the leading distributors for many
reputed concerns in this field, and have many years slanding in this
trade. We have an extensive sales department which has a thorough
knowledge of the markets of South India. V e are interested to do
business with you either on a consignment basis or if your price and
terms are suitable to us, on firm orders.
We are keen in handling your merchandise as sole agents and
wnich we think would serve your interests to the best advantage, and
also be more acceptable to ourselves.
Please let us have your views on these proposals ; if you are
prepared to facilitate us as your sole agent for the territory of
Maharashtra. On hearing from you we shall send our partner Mr.
Gupta to discuss further matter with you.
In the meanwhile we eagerly await your reply.
Yours faithfully, For Modern Trading Co., Reply from
Manufacturer Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your letter of 23rd Dec., and are pleased to
hear that you find our products satisfactory and that you think
there is place for their sales in the South Indian Markets.
If your Mr. Gupta will call on us when he is in Calcutta, we
shall be too pleased to discuss the possibility of coming to aa
arrangement with you, but we have not yet made any decision
regarding a sole agency. Perhaps you would like to give us some
idea of the terms on which you would be willing to operate as our
agent, and a rough idea of how much stock you could wish to have
at a given time.
(232)
Meanwhile we have pleasure in sending you your full ca-talogu
ES and price-lists, which will give you full details of discounts, and we
should be pleased to supply you with an initial order at these prices
against a sight draft on bank at 30 days after the booking of the
goods.
Yours faithfully, Writing
terms of agency Dear-Sirs,
We hereby take pleasure in ponfirming the agreement
reached at the recent discussions held at Delhi between us and your
Mr. R. R. Khanna, and look forward very much indeed to a
successful and mutual co-operation.
Prior to making the final draft for signature we should like
to inform you of the following terms and conditions arrived and
agreed between us.
1. That you will appoint us as * our Sole Agents for the
territory of Maharashtra for a period of five years from the
date of the agreement.
2. That you will pay as a commission of 12% on all sales
through us in the above said territory.
3. That we hereby undertake to handle no other goods of the
type manufactured by you or to stock them in our showroom,
4. That we will provide you monthly Statement of Sales and
shall accept your draft on us for the net amount of sales at 30
days sight.
5. That you will maintain at all times a complete range of your
products for display in our show room and further you
undertake to replenish any stock which we demand within
seven days from the date of intimation to be given to you.
We shall be happy to hear from you in confirmation of the
above mentioned terms and conditions.
( 233 )
With our best wishes,
Yours faithfully, Accepting
proposal Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your letter of the 15th Nov., and have
decided to entrust to you our agency for the territory of Delhi. We
have put all our conditions, including the commission in formal
agreement duly signed by us, which is sent herewith. If the terms of
this agreement meet your approval, we shall be glad if you will
return to us the copy duly signed by you.
In the hope that the agreement will receive your consent, we
quote you our present price as follows :—
White Drill 2/2 Coarse Rs. 178 per 100 metres.
Khaki „ Rough „ 130 „ „
All orders F. O. R destination. Accounts payable within 60
days, less 2i% discount, or 90 days net against our draft.
And we shall inform our customers that you have been
appointed as agent for their area.
Yours faithfully, Offering
to work as agent
Dear Sirs,
We are indebted for your address to our friend, Mr.
Pathak, of Jamshedpur, who was kind enough to inform us that
so far you have no representative in Delhi. We therefore, have
pleasure in recomending our agency business here, which has
been established for the last ten years, and at the same time offer
our services to act as your local agent.
As our speciality is cloths, and as we represent several
reputed firms in Calcutta and Bombay, we are well acquainted
with number of customers who are regularly in the market for
cloths. We believe that we could succeed in introducing your firm
to some of the most important buyers here.
Our terms are 2|% commission, and the refund of all our
disbursement, should there be any.
For reference you may apply to the following firms—
( 234)
1. Bangur Mills, Calcutta ;
2. Phoenix Mills, Bombay.
Should you decide to entrust the representation of your
firm to us we would use our best efforts to promote your
business in this area.
Yours faithfully,
Requesting for more Com mission
Dear Sirs,
We should be glad if you would consider some revision in our
existing arrangements in regard to commission.
When investigating this matter, you may allow the rise in
our sales to give you an incorrect impression of the conditions
prevailing here in the market, but you must remember that
though our sales are heavy, they are attended with more
difficulty than we expected when we undertook to represent you.
We trust that you will not accordingly allow these good results to
prejudice you when coming to a decision.
We would also ask you to note the demands made on our
time by adjustment of claims on goods which have proved
unsatisfactory; we hasten to add, however, that all defects have
bsen due to natural forces.
We quite appreciate that it ma> not be possible for you to
grant our request, but we rely on your giving it sympathetic
attention.
«* f Yours faithfully,
Informing terniirafron of agency
Dear Sirs,
It has unfortunately been necessary for us to terminate the
agency with M/s. South India Co., who represented us in the
Mysore area, and we must accordingly ask you to ignore the
party entirely, should they attempt to represent that they are
still acting on our behalf. We must also remind you that we
should not be bound by any of their receipts purporting
to come from us or for the supply of the order booked on our
behalf.
 (235)
In spite of our efforts we have not yet been able to find \ a
suitable party, and we should be obliged if you would over-1 look
the inconvenience incidental to the absence of our agency in your
area.
You would assist us materially by forwarding your order
direct to us unless of course a visit rrom a representative is
essential, in which case we shall be pleased to make some
special arrangement.
We apologize for any inconvenience you may suffer.
Yours faithfully, For
Alembic Works.

CHAPTER 12
Banking
Sending and drawing of Bills in Current Account
Dear Sir,
Please acknowledge the receipt of the following drafts and
credit the net proceeds to our credit after collection.
Rs. 2,453 on Sudarshan & Co., at 3 months:. „ 876 on
sight Wagle Traders

Rs. 3,329
The above amount to be credited to our Account No. 2, •which
you will kindly take up at maturity.
Yours faithfully, Increasing
rate of interest Dear Sirs,
The rate of interest having advanced in consequence of the
steadily increasing scarcity of money, we shall likewise be obliged
from the 1st of April to raise our interest from 3 per cent to 3| per
cent for business operations in Current Account.
_»^*£^^Ssi
( 236 ) /
I
Should these terms not suit your convenience, it is at/ your
option to withdraw your account with us at the end of this
month.
Yours faithfully, Party
refusing to accept draft
Dear Sirs,
Your draft for Rs. 5,766 maturing on 1st June, drawn on
Hooghly Rolling Mills, was presented by us for acceptance,
which, however, was refused by the drawee without assigning
any reason whatsoever.
Please let us have your instructions.
Yours faithfully, Party
writes to customer
Dear Sirs,
We wrote you on the 2nd February, advising you that we
had drawn on you in a bill for Rs. 5,766 maturing on 1st June
to the order of the Grindlays Bank Ltd.
The Bankers have just informed us that you refuse to
accept our draft, and do not even give a reason. We wrote you
on the 20th Jan., informing you that we should draw on you
for the amount of any account; if we heard nothing from you
within a week. You returned no reply and therefore we fail to
understand why you refuse acceptance of our draft. Had you
preferred some other mode of settlement, or if the due date was
inconvenienient you should have written us to that effect.
We have instructed the bankers to present the draft once
more, and^trust that you will accept it without delay. Alter-
natively, please advise us if you wish to make some other
arrangements for payment of our account.
Yours faithfully, Party
writes to bank Dear Sirs,
We thank you for the information contained in your letter of
the 5th February. We cannot account for Messrs Hooghly
(2 3 7 )
^Rolling Mill, and their refusal to accept our draft, which was
iuly advised. You would oblige us by presenting the bill a
econd time, but if acceptance is again refused, please return
iflto us.
Yours faithfully,
\ BANKING & FOREIGN TRADE
Letter for opening current account
Dear Sirs,
Please open a current account for us in the above firm
name and enclosed here is the specimen signature of our Ma-
naging Partner who is only authorised to sign cheques on behalf
of the concern.
A sum of Rs. 500 is also sent alongwith to be deposited
with the opening of our account.
Yours faithfully,
Instructing bankers for payment
Dear Sir,
Please transfer the rupees equivalent of 500 to Rodin &
Stanes, Glasgow, in favour of Machine Texo of London E. C. 3.
This sum represents payment for costs incurred by that firm
on our behalf.
With thanks,
Yours faithfully, Special
Instructions Dear Sir,
We thank you for your letter advising us of receipt of £.
200 from the National Bank Ltd., on behalf of Messrs
Machine Exports of London. Kindly credit this sum in our
account No. 1 and we shall be glad if you will make the necessary
transfer and inform us accordingly.
Yours faithfully, Request
for overdraft
Dear Sir,
With reference to our interview of 2nd July, 'we request
your permission to overdrav. our account up to a limit of
( 238)
Rs. 2,500 between August 1 and October 15, 1965.
As explained to you by our partner Shri Sharma we haW to
meet during this period certain capital costs incurred in t|e
expansion of our business. The total advantage of this exp sion
will not be felt until the start of festival season, i. e., 1st August,
when considerable sums will be due to us from/our overseas
customers. As security, Savings Certificates worth Rs. 4,500 and
the insurance policy for Rs. 1000 will be deposited with you.
We are eagerly looking forward to a favourable reply.
Yours faithfully Reply to
above Dear Sirs,-
After giving a careful consideration to your request as
contained in your letter of 4th July, I have granted you an
overdraft for Rs. 2,500 till 15th October. 1965, subject to the usual
provisos that there is no change in the position of the firm as at
present existing.
You are therefore requested to furnish with us the securities you
have mentioned in your letter and in the -meanwhile it will be in order
for you to overdraw your account subject to the maximum amount as
mentioned by you.
Interest will be charged at 6% and will be calculated on the daily
balances. You are requested to clear your accounts by the 15th of
October as no outstanding will be allowed after that date.
Wish you all success in your venture.
Yours faithfully,
Sending sight draft Dear
Sir,
We enclose our sight draft on Messrs. India Curios Ltdv of
London and attach Bill of Lading to evidence our shipment, and other
documents as listed below.
( 239 )
Kindly deliver these documents to the party above named ainst
payment of the draft, and credit the same to our ount with the
amount received after deducting your
lission.
Yours faithfully,
ling a guarantor for overdraft
Deai Sirs,
note with regret from your letter of 7th September you are not
prepared to allow me an advance against personal security. As I now
appreciate the position, however, I have obtained a letter of
Guarantee from Messrs. Chandrabhan Varma, which I now
enclose, duly signed and stamped.
I understand that the Guarantors are well known to you and I
trust that you are prepared to accept the security offered and
finance me to the extent of Rs. 2,500 for the period arranged at
the rate of 5 per cent on daily balances.
Yours faithfully,
Muni Raj Delay in
clearing of cheques
Dear Sir,
We note that you are under the impression that these
cheques are available for drawing purpose as soon as they are
submitted for collection, but we would remind you that it is
customary for bankers to require three days for clearing.
Though your cheque No. A/4324C, dated 23rd November, for
Rs. 5,000 in favour of' Messr Gopichand & Co., absorbed the
proceeds of an uncleared country cheque, payment was not
refused, but we must ask you to allow in future for the delay in
clearing.
Yours faithfully, Complaint
for dishonouring the cheque
Dear Sir,
We are surprised to learn that you have dishonoured out
cheque of the 4th March, for Rs. 4,300. in favour of the
(240 )
Universal Pictures -*ith the remark "Funds not sufficient".
You will notice that our balance after the honouring the
previous cheque was Rs. 2,300 to which sum must be add the
cheque for Rs. 2,100 drawn on the Dena Bank in favour by M/s.
Anant Palace and submitted for collection on the 3rd March.
As you appear to have had ample time to collect /this sum
and credit it to our account, we should be glad if/ you would
inform us of your reasons for dishonouring our cheque.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above
Dear Sirs,
Referring to your letter of 8th March, we regret that it was
necessary for us to refuse payment of your cheque of 4th March.
You appear to have overlooked the fact that the cheque
drawn by M/s. Ananta Palace in your favour was postdated
with the result that the proceeds cannot be credited to you;
account before 15th of March.
In order to honour your cheque, the allowance of an
overdraft would have been necessary, and as the sum in question
would have been rather large, we were unable to grant credit
without previous arrangement.
We trust that you will understand the position now.
Yours faithfully, FOREIGN ACCOUNTS
Instruction to a Bank
Dear Sir,
We have just dispatched by the S. S. Meghdoot to the
Nairobi office of India Shipping Co., a consignment of 100 bags
of Tuar Dal to be held at your disposal. The goods have been
shipped in execution of kan irder from the Narskibhai Tejshi of
whom we have only a very little knowledge.

^.^^A^fe^^iii^^ -
( 241 )
In the circumstances, we think it would be rather unwise
surrender the shipping documents against mere acceptance )f the
Bill of Exchange.
We accordingly enclose a sight draft on them, together th the
Bill of Lading, and we must ask you to obtain pay-mW of all that
is due before you allow them to take posses-sioft of the goods.
You will, of course, debit our account with all the necessary
expenses.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 13
Insurance Correspondence
Asking for insurance of goods in transit
Dear Sirs,
We should be glad if you would cover us to the extent of Rs.
5,000 at 4 Ps. per cent on cotton goods in transit between Bombay
and Aden.
The goods are to be packed in the usual way, and dispatched
by S. S. SAYONARA to Aden where they will be collected by our
consignees.
It must be understood that the risk attaches immediately
goods leave our possession on the 12th April, and that the
war risks are included.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sirs,
We are obliged for your letter of the 1st April, instructing us
to cover you for Rs. 5,000 as 4 Ps. per cent on goods from Bombay
to Aden.
(242 )
The policy is being prepared accordingly and will be for-
warded by the end of^the week.
Yours faithfully,
Asking for redaction in the insurance rate
Dear Sir, /
We regret to state that we are not quite satisfied with tne
rate of 15 Paisa per cent quoted for the insurance of our pre
mises at the above address, against fire.
There appears to be no justification for this rate, as other
companies are prepared to cover on identical conditions at 10
Paisa per cent; as a matter of fact, we still hold policies at this
rate, and it is only our desire to distribute the risk over many
companies that induces us to accept your quotation.
We should accordingly be glad if you would cover us to the
extent of Rs. 15000, but we would remind you that this sum
would be increased considerably if you were willing to reduce
your rate to 10 Paisa.
We shall highly appreciate your final reply as to our pro-
posal at your earliest.
Yours faithfully, Reply to
above Dear Sirs,
We note with regret from your letter of the 3rd March that
you are under the impression that the rate 15 Paisa per cent
quoted for the insurance of your premises is excessive, but we
would remind you that the rate is a general one, adopted by all
the larger and reputed companies. It was only after careful
consideration that the rate was raised to this figure, but the
frequency with which fires have occurred recently in the various
industrial towns left no other course open to insurers.
The fact that you have been able to obtain cover at the old
rate has caused us some surprise and we can only assume you
have been able to renew old policies at tne original rate.
(2 4 3 )
We are grateful for the offer of larger amount, but even (on
this condition the business would not be worth while at the ild rate,
as the claims from this rate of insurance have completely
absorbed the premium income.
\ A policy for Rs. 15,000 is being prepared and will reach you by
the end of the week, but in the meantime we are of course
waiting for your instructions.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to a firm asking for claim
Dear Sirs,
Re : Your claim against Pdlicy No. 1234. We are in receipt of
your letter of the 12th May in regard to the fire in your mills and in
reply we have to state as below :
That your claim is receiving our generous cosideration and
in the meanwhile we shall request you to submit to us full details
of damages caused due to the fire.
That it is necessary to attach all the relevant papers in
support of your claim alongwith the report of our surveyor who
will visit your mills in the next week.
Please note that your method of calculating the damage is not
applicable to us and it can only be ascertained after the survey
report.
It is necessary for our records that the policy be forwarded to
this office, which we shall be glad to receive at your earliest so as
to make the essential endorsement.
Yours faithfully, Insurance
Claims
Dear Sir,
Re : Policy No. 12345/AB
Yesterday evening a burglary was commited at this house and a
large quantity of clothing and jewellery was stolen.
( 244 ) /
A complaint to this effect is also lodged with the local/
police station. /
Would you please send a Claim Form so that I can make
formal claim under the above policy.
Yours faithfully,

CHAPTER 14
Financial Letters
Inquiry for Shares
Dear Sirs,
We have come to know that the shares of the Industrial
Machine Ltd., are likely to prove a very sound investment at
present. As we do not have any definite information regarding
the financial position of the company, we are unable to decide
in the purchase of Ordinary or Preference shares and hereby
request you to kindly advice us as to their relative merits.
As the yield is in some circles considered likely to rise, we
are prepared to purchase them at a premium, but in view of
the comparative uncertainty of the return, we find difficult to
fix up a definite price limits, and should appreciate your advice
with regard to a price which would at least return us roughly a
profit of 5 per cent.
We should be obliged for a reply at your earliest conve-
nience, when we should be prepared to give you further
instructions.
Yours faithfully,
Reply to above
Dear Sir,
We are in receipt of your letter of 3rd Dec., and thank
you very much for the same. In regard to the Industrial
Machine Ltd., we are unable* to say anything.
 (245)
You will realize that the future of the Industrial Machine ., will
be greatly affected by the Government decision with retard to the
report of the tarriff commission. Till then due to uncertainties we
recommend you to buy only Preference shares. As however, there
is a possibility of heavy profits we would suggest that roughly
one-third of your purchase should consist of the Ordinary shares
; provided that you aim at specula-1 ting in dividends, the
proportion of the Ordinary shares might I be increased to a
limit.
I With regard to the price of the shares as yet, in our
i opinion Rs. 100 for the preference shares and Rs. 95 for the
j Ordinary shares.
! As the market is going up and there is much demand of
| this stock, you will go at once for the purchase.
Yours faithfully,
Selling shares of a company Dear
Sirs,
As we are not at all satisfied with the last Report and
Accounts of the Merl Plastics Ltd., and therefore decided to
dispose off the shares we hold in the above said compaay, in in
all numbering 10 bearing the serial Nos. 13336 to 13345.
The market price of these shares is reported to be fairly
well at the exchange according to the papers and we feel that
our shares will fetch a good price up to Rs. 125 or more.
We request you to kindly find out a buyer at the above
price and we shall be prepared to execute the transfer and for-
ward the certificates immediately for cancellation.
Yours faithfully.
(1) I. O. U. form
To
(Name)...........
(246) /
/
1. O. U. Rupees five hundred for value received. /
Rs. 500/-only. '
Yours faithfully, Gurdit Singh (I. O. U. form is legally valid
without date and stamp.)
(2) Joint note
Thirty days after date, for value received; we promise to pay,
severally and jointly, to Sardar Sheel Singh or order seven
thousand rupees.
Sd/ — partners
(3) Receipt Note
Received from M/s.,-.........five hundred rupees in full
for account up-to-date.
(4) Non negotiable note
Sixty days after date, I promise to pay to Mr. ... .........
eight hundred rupees for value received. Rs.
800/-
(5) Bill of sale
Dear Sir,
In consideration of one hundred rupees paid to me by.. I do
hereby sell and deliver into his possession my...... ......
.....property.
Yours faithfully, Witnesses
(1)..............

(6) Sight draft To

M/s... .........
Dear Sir,
At sight pay to the order of. ......ten thousand rupees.
and charge to the account of............
Yours faithfully,
(247)
(t) Promissory note
Twenty days after date, I promise to pay to Mr............
for value received, five hundred rupees.
Signature
(8) Demand note Dear Sirs,
On demand I promise to pay to Shri.......................one
thousand rupees for value received.
Signature
(9) Negotiable note Dear Sirs,
Two months after today I promise to pay ,Mr...............
or order, for value received, two thousand rupees in............
goods at market price, at the time.
(10) Note payable at Bank
Thirty days after date I promise to pay you to the order
of Mr, Shyam Lal at Central Bank, Bombay ten thousand rupees
for value received.
Rs. 10.000/-
(11) Negotiable draft
Messrs.........
Three days after sight, pay to the order of................
six thousand rupees for value received and charge the same to the
account of........
Signature.........
(12) Due bill
Due (Name)............^wo thousand rupees on demand
for value received.
Rs.2,000/-
Signature...............
(248 )
(13) Inland bill of exchange
Fifty days after sight pay to the order of myself five
thousand rupees for value received.
To.......... .
Signature............

CHAPTER 15
Legal Letters
Engaging Solicitors Dear
Sirs,
We are carrying on the business of money lenders in the city
of Bombay. We advanced a sum of Rs. 60,000 to M/s. Laxmi
Industries Corporation, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Bombay on the
security of their two houses, the details of which are given
below. We agreed to an interest of Rs. 600 per annum. The
debtor has failed to repay the amount inspite of repeated
demands.
We shall be thankful if you please initiate legal proceedings
against them for the recovery of the amount. The mortgage deed
and other relevant papers are attached herewith for your
information.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully, Encl.
Mortgage deed
Contacting a lawyer
Dear Sir,
We are indebted for your address to Mr. J. W. Smith of the
Koel Tea Co., and wish to make use of your services by instructing
you to enter an action against Baker Tea Co., of Post
 (249 )
Box No. 123, Pathankot, concerning the recovery of a claim for
Rs. 2,354.
You will learn the precise facts from the enclosed docu-
ments, but for your better understanding we make the following
comments and explanation of our instructions :—
1. The place of payment is Imphal, although we have sold the
goods c. i. f. Calcutta, c. i. f. meaning cost, insurance, and freight.
The c. i. f. delivery, however, implies only that the seller bears
the cost of transport but it in no way changes the place of
transfer of legal ownership. From the above facts it appears that
:—
(a) The risks of transport, in so far as they have not been
transferred to a third person by insurance, are to be
borne by th e buyer, and not by the seller.
(b) The examination of the goods and the objections raised
by the buyers ought to have taken place in Imphal and
not in Calcutta or Pathankot.
(c) Furthermore, the examination must be regarded as an
incomplete, because only few cases were examined and
there is no proof that the remaining cases showed the
same defects.
For the rest we leave this matter in your hands, fully con-
fident that you will carry the action successfully.
If you require any further particulars we shall be glad to
furnish them on hearing from you.
Enclosed we send you our power of attorney signed in blank.
Please acknowledge receipt of this immediately on arrival and keep
us informed of tbe progress of the case.
Yours faithfully,
(250 )
Seller's letter to the lawyer after hearing judgment
Dear Sir,
We have received your letter of the 5th July, advising us of the
unfortunate issue of our action against Messrs Baker's Tea Co.,
and it is far from us to make any reproach to you in the matter, yet
we consider the judgment of the Imphal Court as an unjust one. As
you doubt the success of an appeal, however we shall refrain
ourselves from carrying the matter any further, and authorize
you to collect the amount in question from above named party,
and let us have your statement of accounts.
KindJy remit us the balance to our credit by cheque.
Yours faithfully, For
Whiter's Tea Estate

CHAPTER 16

Correspondence of the Company Secretary

Requesting for auditing of accounts Dear Sirs,
Due to the renovation of our premises, it appears to be
advisable to close our accounts before the 30th of this Month.
We shall highly appreciate your beginning the annual audit
a fortnight earlier this year in order to shift our books and
stationery to our godown.
It is only after careful consideration that we have decided to
make this request and we do not think it necessary to stress how
very helpful your co-operation would be.
Yours faithfully,
(251 )
Informing to call Board of Director's meeting
Dear Sirs,
We are in receipt oTyour final report put forward by you on
the maintenance of our machinary and plants. As the same requires
a careful study of all the factors related to the scheme we had
decided that the impact of your report on our personnel must be
studied and no hasty decision is to be taken.
In the above circumstances, we are summoning a Board of
Directors' meeting in the first week of next month to discuss the
report in full and to take a decision.
A copy of the final decision will be forwarded to you for the
necessary action to be taken in safeguarding and upkeeping
of our plants.
Yours faithfully,
To,
The Chairman,
Dear Sir,
In my opinion it is advisable to call a meeting of the Board
of Directors to discuss the matter of Bonus for the year 1962-63 as
the agitation of the workers is reaching to the high pitch and they
are threatening a strike if the Bonus is not declared within
fortnight.
If you will kindly let me know the date and time suitable to you
for this meeting, I will then be able to contact the
other members of the Board.
Yours faithfully,
Letter on behalf of the Chairman Dear Sirs,
I have been instructed by the Chairman to call a meeting of
the Board of Directors to discuss the Bonus for the period
(252)
1962-63, on Monday the 1st of November at the registered office
of the company at 5 p. m. sharp.
Your presence is requested.
Yours faithfully, A letter
to shareholder Dear Sir,
As required by you in your letter of the 3rd November,
1964 I am enclosing a copy of the Minutes of the last meeting held
on 25th October last in connection with the retrenchment of the
staff in our factory No. 2 due to the scarcity of the raw materials.
Yours faithfully, A letter
of thanks Dear Mr. Rogers,
I take this opportunity to thank you most warmly for your
very excellent hospitality and co-operation extended to our Mr.
Singh, J. S.
I hope and look forward to be able to receive a visit here
from you in the near future. I very much appreciate your
kindness for providing all the facilites to gain the knowledge of
the new technique.
With kind regards. Yours faithfully,
Booking hotel accomodation for the Chairman etc.
Dear Sir,
The Chairman and 2 Directors of this company will be
visiting Bombay in October, for the 'Our Heritage, Exhibition
and will require a suite with three bedrooms. 'A single room on
the same floor if possible, will also be acquired for their
secretary, and a room for their driver.
Please let me know whether you can reserve this accomo-
dation from 15th October to 21st inclusive. I shall be glad to
have a reply by return, with details of your charges.
Yours faithfully,
C 253)
Confidential office circulars
To
All Branch Managers,
Dear Sir,
This is to inform you that at the last Board meeting it had
been decided to curtail some of rights enjoyed by the branch
Managers, and the same are to be brought under the Head
Office. This will enable company to follow the uniform policy in
regard to the execution of orders, rates of discounts and credit
facilities.
You are, therefore, requested to forward to this office all tha
forthcoming correspondence pertaining to above mention ed
subjects alongwith your suggestions if any, and due consideration
will be given to any commitment made prior to this notice.
This small change of policy is only due to the fact that the
independent judgement on the part of branches has resulted in the
steep fall of our sales and lack of confidence of our
customers in our products.
Yours faithfully,
Secretary Informing
Labour Leader
The President, Workers
Union, Madurai, Dear
Sir,
It is to bring to your notice that the workers of our factory are
likely to go on strike as the bonus talks held with them resulted in
failure. We take this opportunity of informing you that the
workers are likely to suffer more by their present course of
action.
We are of the opinion that the matter could still be set-
(254)
tied amicably by arbitration and we are prepared to discuss this
matter with you at your. leisure.
We are all the time anxious to help our workers to earn as
much as they can and to increase their efficiency.
We hope to hear from you at your earliest.
Yours faithfully, Secretary

CHAPTER 17
Sales and Sales Promotion Letters
Introducing a new product
Dear Sir,
We think you will be interested in the new soap and the soap
powder we have just introduced to the trade. Generous samples of
both have been dispatched to you by Parcel Post. These products
are the result of months of careful research, and are likely to
revolutionize all of the methods in use at present. A trial will
convince you of their merits, and we submit them to your strictest
criticism with confidence.
From the Price List enclosed you will see that the prices are
surprisingly low, and we would remind you that it is only our
system of mass production that enables us to maintain these
economical prices without any sacrifice of quality.
Special terms are allowed to customers who place trial
orders before the end of the current month.
We accordingly look forward to your advices at your
earliest convenience.
Yours faithfully,
(255)
Reply to above Dear Sirs,
We thank you for your letter of the 21st October, and for the
samples of your products which you have so kindly sent us.
Both types of article seem to be of the highest quality, and you
may rely on our following the instructions for use most carefully
when giving them a trial.
Your prices appear to some degree excessive, but it is possible
that a test will cause us to revise our opinion. We should in any case,
however, be obliged if you would consider some reduction on large
orders.
We trust that your products will justify your claims and we look
forward to placing regular orders with you.
Yours faithfully,

Soliciting a customer
Dear Sirs,
We have been informed by M/s. Austin Supplies Ltd. that you
are looking for a competent Clearing and Forwarding Agent to handle
your inward and outward consignments. We take pleasure in
offering our services at your disposal and providing you with the
best of facilities.
As you must be aware, we are associated with this busi-ne«s since
our very inception in 1943 and have gained a lot of experience of your
particular line. Our staff is familiar with all details of the work
involved at a lesser cost and that has helped us in securing almost all
the big concerns dealing in exports and imports. We can surely
minimize your expenses in clearing and forwarding.
It is needless to say that our experienced staff is well ver-

.-fjaMifcait&sai^,, .j^^^.^.
( 256)
sed with the Customs formalities and all the work entrusted to us
is executed without delay which is very vital to our clients.
We are enclosing herewith details of our handling charges
which are exceptionally low and we hope you will appreciate the
care given to our customers and their consignments.
We are prepared to provide you with special facilites,
should the demand arise for such an emergency at a very
nominal rate.
We are looking forward to hear from you.
Yours faithfully,

Notjfying price increase to retailers

Dear Sir,
With effect from the 15th of next month the prices oi all our
Products will be raised by 10%.
While we regret this increase, which we are making in common
as per All India Toiletaries Manufacturers Association's
directives, but we assure you that no change in quality of our
product will be made. This increase has become unavoidable in
view of the rising costs of labour and increased cost of raw
materials. Our view, however, is that even with this increase out
products are still slight lower in prices and higher in quality
than those of our competitors in this industry, and we do not
think that sales will be affected due to this slight enhancement in
prices.
Our new price lists are being prepared and these will be
sent to you as soon as they are ready. Meanwhile, to help you
with business you are now likely to order, we will charge you the
old rates on all orders received in our office up to and including
January 15.
We assure you of our best co-operation and a prompt
attention to your orders.
Yours faithfully,
CHAPTER 18
Trade Circulars
Admitting a new partner Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to advise you that we have this day admitted to
partnership Mr. B. C. Sharma, who has been for many years
associated with this business in various responsible capacities.
We are confident that Mr. Sharma will exert all his abilities
to further the interests of the firm, and we trust that you will
continue to favour us with your valued orders.
A specimen of Mr. Sharma's signature is shown below,
Yours faithfully, On
appointment as sole distributor
Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to inform you that we have been appointed
sole distributors for the J'aime books for the whole of India.
Titles of this publishing house need very little introduction to
the trade, and we are content to state that it is a ready profit for
retailers to sell these titles.
We are now in a position to effect delivery for their 2 new
titles from stock, and you will observe from the catalogue
enclosed that all prices are subject to a very generous trade
discount of 33%
We have always aimed at serving you to the best of our
ability with quick-selling titles, and we think we may safely
claim to be offering you once more another series of tittles on the
most convenient terms.
Yours faithfully,
(257)
( 258)
Retirement of a partner
Dear Sirs,
We regret to announce that Shri Bishan Chand, our valued
partner and colleague, had found that ill-health necessitates his
retirement from this partnership, which he founded. He will,
however, continue to act in an advisory capacity.
Though his valuable assistance will be missed, the business will
be conducted just as it has been hitherto. The deficiency caused by
the withdrawal of his capital has been adjusted by contribution from
the remaining partners, and the firm has completely regained its
original state of adequate capitalization.
No further changes will be made in the constitution of the
firm, its name, or its policy.
We thank you for your confidence in the part and trust that
you will give us an opportunity to prove that our present
standards will be fully maintained.
Yours faithfully, Acquiring
of a firm
Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to imform you that we have acquired the firm
of M/s. Durga Coal Mining Co., from 1st of this month.
Not only shall we trade under the old name, but we shall make
every effort to adhere to the old policy of sound service, on which
the success of the above said firm has been built.
It has been our good fortune to be connected with this line for
many years, and to become acquainted with the special requirements
of its various customers. This first hand information, together with
infusion of additional capital, places us in a position to offer goods
of particularly suitable for industrial use and to satisfy the most
exacting requirements.
Perhaps you would be good enough to extend your co->
operation as usual.
Yours faithfully,
 CHAPTER 19
Letters to the Editor
Exports and Imports
Sir,
At a time when the prospects of getting foreign aid have
become bleak, the need to step-up exports and diversisty cannot
be over-emphasised.
However, looking to the way in which the Government is
treating exporters, it is extremely doubtful if our country will
ever be able 10 achieve a breakthrough on the export front. A
sine quo non for stepping-up exports, particularly of non-
traditional items is to give exporters an assistance from the
Government's side and—even more important—remove the
impediments in their way.
The following instance serves to point out the deficiencies in
the administration's present attitude to non-traditional exports.
The Government has offered a concession of 25 per cent to 50
percent in Railway freight for moving most engineering goods
from the manufacturing centres to the posts. However, in the
case of aluminium exports, this concession in railway freight
has not yet been granted.
Furthermore, when an exporter transports his products to
the port on getting definite indications about the date when
berth facilities would be available for loading, no berth is alloted
on the scheduled date. As a result, the exporter has to incur
substantial demurrage and also expenses for moving and storing
the metal until a berth is allotted. One would have thought that
in view of the priority assigned to exports, berths would be
allotted on the scheduled dates to aluminium exporters. Delivery
of goods on schedule is an important factor for
^•aaaijlygatega^^
(260)
establishing healthy trade relationship with the foreign buyer. If
delivery schedules are not honoured because of the vagaries of
port authorities, the foreign buyer will lose confidence in Indian
exporters.
Even more out of tune with the Government's avowed
policy of stepping-up exports is the delay in granting cash
assistance on exports of aluminium ingot—something which is
readily available to other engineering products. Time is
important in these matters. Since indigenous costs are much
higher than international aluminium prices, the domestic
aluminium producers will be able to keep up their exports only
if adequate cash assistance is promptly made available. Seme
time ago, the planning Commission had convisaged an export
largest of 30,000 tonnes of aluminium per year by 1970-71. Indian
aluminium producers are already building up good evuort
outlets for Indian ingot but they can keep it up only if their
efforts are backed by prompt Government support. If the
Government does not encourage aluminium exports now it will
never be able to build a 30,000-tonne market in another
two years.
Yours, Pen-friends
Sir,
Throughout the world there are thousands of close friends
who have never had the pleasure of meeting personally. They have
created valuable friendships, through the exchange of personal letters.
The excitement of establishing friendship with someone of another
culture and nationality costs no more than a stamp paper and an
envelope. The pen-friendship division of the English-Speaking Union of
the U.S.A. makes it possible to correspond with an individual with whom
you have some thing
in common.
Yours,
( 261 )
Vanaspati prices
Sir,
The permission granted by the Government of India to a
further increase in the price of vanaspati shows th at the
Government has at last yielded to the pressure of vanaspati
manufacturers who continue to influence the Government.
Since the merchants and manufacturers tried to justify
their action by raising the price of vanaspati on account of
increase in the prices of different oils, the Government ought to
have arrested this upward trend in oil prices by imposing a
statutory control on raw materials (oils like groundnut, kardi)
itself and observed the price behavior of vanaspati prior to
increasing its price with immediate effect.
On the other hand the step that the Government has taken
in delicensing the manufacture of vanaspati by any industrial
undertaking producing the commodity upto 100 tonnes per dav,
commendable in veiw of the fact that it would help increase
production causing an immediate reduction in the prices of the
commodity. Even then the possibility of» mischief likely to be
played by merchants in holding the stock for maintaining a
higher level of prices, cannot be ruled out. The best that the
Government can do under such circumstances would be to
undertake the production and distribution of vanaspaii through
co-operative societies.
Yours,
Clean Bombay
Sir,
When the city o( Bombay has been divided into 140 wards arid
each ward is represented in the Municipal Corporation, surely
there is a meaning to this. But what may 1 ask those 140
corporators, is the purpose of them being there if the very basis
job of getting the city rid of unhealthy way of life still persists-
wbether it is due to faulty sanitation, stench filled dust
 '-'( 262 )
bins, swamps and slums. Surely. If the 'elder' put their shoulders
to the task of eliminating filth and dirt the average citizen would
be only tob glad to co operate.
Yours, That's All
Sir,
In 'The Politics of Scarcity', Myron Weiner spotlights the
Indian Governmental attitude thus :—
......"Only when public order is endangered by a mass
movement is the Government willing to make a concession, not
because they consider the demand legitimate, but because they
then recognise thfr strength of the grSup making the demand and
its capacity for destruetiveness. Thus the Government often
alternates between unresponsiveness to -the" demands of large but
peaceful groups and total concession to groups that press their
demand violently."
It was, however, a relieving feature recently to find that the
Union Government has been able to take action against*
Government servants, on an illegal strike. One wonders, bow-ever,
how long this show of firmness of purpose wiH really last. There are
bound to be people who under the guise of so called sympathy for
the strikers or the desirability oL ai^ amicable settlement or the
necessity of not being "vindictive" will seek to have the requisite
Government action watered dowrK It is for the Government to see
thai the "native hue of its resolution" is not sickled over once again
as so often in the past and that it shows itself capable of firm action.
In its own way such firmness would have a beneficial repercussion
all throughout the country.
rJegal, in his "Crisis of IndiaT wrote :—
"The towering majority of Congress in Parliament has
exciled Opposition groups to believe that the speediest way of
accomplishing their immediate purposes, and simultaneously
( 263 )
discrediting the Government, is by organising street pressures '
against it. And the eventual collapse of the Government to ! such
pressures on significant occasions has enormously invigo-j rated
this view."
| The question is not whether there was anything to be said
for the strikers or for the Government. The question as Lewis
 Carroll puts it is, "Who is to be master ?—That's all."
Yours, Water
Sir,
Is is estimated that by 1984 the demand for domestic use of
water will increase by at least 50 per cent in proportion to
increase in population. Expanding industry all over the world
will take a larger part of water to be used in the coming years
for cooling and condensers. In this field, it is estimated that the
total world requirement would be just the double, by 1984. And
agriculture might need a hundred per cent increase from now
and then as the pressing need for food in the under-
developed'world results in a great increase in the irrigated areas.
Experts say that the total demand of water between now and
1884 in the world will be approximately double, with no change
in the volume of natural supply, though there is controversy on
exactly how much of the rainfall reaches the rivers or the ground
water aquifers, on the amount of evapo-trans-piration which
takes place and on the volume and processes of replenishment
of aquifers. These points are studied by the International
Hydrological Association who are expected to give a sooind
basis for evaluating the resources and for analys-inf the effects of
man's interference in the hydrological cycle. However, it is
evident that there will be increasing number of situations of
water scarcity.
Perhaps it is relevent to consider the vital observations
suggestions made by the Doctor entitled "Droughts-causes and
(264)
Effects" in respect of conservation of water resoures for irri-
gational needs in Mysore State especially during drought con-
ditions, such as we have faced recently. The observation that
"until we maintain adequate supply m wells and tanks, prevent or
minimise loss by evaporation, and device methods of recharging
the soil with water to compensate for the loss through
conservation of rain water, the future may be dark and dismal"
should focus sufficient attention on the problem. For our very
survival we have to conserve water by every possible means,
including measures such as melching, cover-cropping, day farming,
etc., wherever feasible so that the water resources may
well be utilised meticulously with definite socio-economic
purpose.
 The exhortation of the Rockfeller Foundation expert who
was invited to examine the water outlook in the State should be
eye-opener to all concerned. He advocated, "more research into
that complicated area of water management which would
consider water as crop, a resource, to be cultivated, nurtured,
stored and harvested over long periods of time."
In order to adapt the dependable supply to increasing needs it
is clear that considerable development in the water field will be
required everywhere. The magnitude of the problem can hardly
be over-estimated and a number of measures will have to be
employed to meet the situation. There will be many progressive
changes, in our habits of thinking about water, about its value,
about the inter-relation between its uses, about the inter-
dependence of the people living in the same basins with all legal
and political implications in involves. And man will begin to
realise clearly how much he depends on it,
says an expert in Hydrology.
Yours, ESI Scheme
Sir,
I fully agree with forthright remarks in these columns about
(265 )
the hardships ESIS patient experience to get their medicines from
the ESIS medical stores. For that matter many of the victims, I
am sure, can congratulate him for exposing the facts. I myself was
the victim of a similar incident two days ago.
On October 8, I went to a nearby ESIS medical store for some
medicines, along with the doctor's prescription. Alas, instead of
getting the medicines, badly needed, all I could get from there were
excuses. At least thrice I took the trouble to go and wait there for
my medicine but always the answer was that some medicine or the
other was out of stock. Afterwards I decided not to go at all.
It is a pity that patients are put to so much inconvenience and
hardship. If ESIS authorities cannot make arrangements to
supply medicines badly needed by their patients, it would then bs
better if they abolished this scheme altogether.
Yours, Civic
Affairs
Sir,
It is distressing to see that in a thickly populated town like Agra,
having a population of more than 7 lakh, there are no public-
urinals, throughout the town. Cleanliness is said to be next to
Godliness, but unfortunately in our town the City Fathers are
fast asleep. Perhaps they don't seem to realise the necessity of these
public urinals. The surroundings of schools, colleges, bazars and
markets are filthy and very dirty. Due to non-existence of urinals
people are found committing nuisance anywhere they like.
Will the City Fathers of Agra be kind enough to construct some
public urinals soon enough ?
Yours.
Periscope ? Sir,
Shri Namboodripad, Left Communist, Chief Minister of
 ( 266 )
Kerala, openly defies the Centre's authority. He gets pats
from his right-counterpart Com. Dange.
Chinese Embassy in Delhi, flouts, Union
Governments's instructions and sends invitations
directly to individuals for China's National day.
Our Minister for State for Foreign affairs. Shri B.R.
Bhagat hurriedly calls a press conference, just to declare
that we will not support any move to include Czech
issue, on the agenda of U.N. Assembly.
Are these the shadows of coming events ? May God
save the Motherland.
Yours,
Freedom Fighters
Sir,
In response to the news under caption Freedom Fighters
may I take the opportunity to express that the rehabilitation of
the Freedom Fighters should have been solved by now by the
Union of India without much delay. This could have easily
been done if the leaders had followed the ideal of Mahatma !
in deeds. Itss a pity that the freedom fighters are leading very ;
miserable life as their means of livelihood have been destroyed
by the colonial masters.
J Yours, Text Books
Sir,
Every year student faces great difficulty in securing
text-Uooks, An illustration will suffice to show you that
this difficulty persists throughout the year.
At the commencement of the new academic year 1968-69.
the Bombay University recommended "Plain Tales from the
Hills," by Rudyard Kipling, as a text-book for Additional
English and " 1984" as the compulsory novel, for the Inter
mediate Commerce classes. Even though three months have pas-
( 267 )
sed since the reopening of colleges, and the terminal exams are due
in the first week of October, these two text-books have not
appeared for resale in the market, after the limited initial stock was
exhausted. Consequently hundreds of students are faced with the
grim prospect of appearing for the terminal exams (due next week)
without any text-books.
Such a situation betrays a lack of foresight on the part of the
university authorities. They must see that the books which they
recommend to students are available freely.
Yours, Free Sale Sir,
It is indeed gratifying to note that there will be free sale of
toddy from December 1, 1968, in the Mahara'shtra State. I feel
confident that many an addict, who was at the mercy of
bootleggers owing to good palatable liquor being out of reach,
would switch over to this pleasant drink which, if taken in
moderation would have beneficial results.
May I suggest that instead of the unsold toddy being destroyed
it could perhaps be used for the preparation oftoddy
vinegar.
Yours, Facts
Sir,
Central assistance to UPfcjtaakes strange and painful reading.
It not only betrays lack of sympathy for the poor and backward
people of UP but also a hostile attitude towards them. A
dispassionate look at the figures of Central assistance to UP
during the three Five Year Plans will belie your assertion that UP
has been given a fair deal by the Central Government.
Let me quote from an article about UP which appeared in
The Times of India, dated September 17 (Ahmedabad edition) "It
may be mentioned that per capita Central assistance allo-
 (268)
cated to this State for the First.Second and Third Plan periods was
Rs. 14, Rs. 18 and Rs. 46 as against the all-India average of Rs. 25,
Rs. 27 and Rs. 58 respectively during the three Plans. Also the
per capita Central assistance was less than the national average.
The inevitable consequence has been low investment and
stagnation."
Coming to the question of Central investment, a look at the
figure again shows bow UP had been neglected by the Centre in
the past. No Central investment worth the name was made in UP
during the first two Plans. During the Third Plan, after much
persuation, begging and protest, some Central undertakings, with a
capital investment of about rupees 100 crores, were located in UP.
This sum is only five per cent of the total Centra) Investment of
about rupees 2000 crores. Even if one excludes the investment in
steel, this figure rises to only 10 per cent for a State which has 16
per cent of our country's population.
This investment policy of a public finance institution like the
LIC also reflects the same indifferent attitude towards UP. Out of an
investment of about rupees 800 crores made by the LIC the whole
of northern region accounts for only about 18 per cent of this sum.
What will be the shares of UP in this 18 per cent, can easily be
guessed. The facts I have stated above leave no doubt that UP has
been given anything but a fair deal by the Centre. As regards the
question of population in UP raised by you in your editorial, it
may be stated that during the period 1951-61 the percentage of
increase in UP population was 16.66 as against an all-India average
of 21.51 (data from Census of India, Paper No. 1 of 1663,
Government of India Publication). Your suggestion that Central
assistance based on the consideration of population will tempt the
people of UP to increase their number, is, to say the least, naive.
Yours,
 ( 269 )
Politics
Sir,
Parliamentry democracy, based on party system is unsuited to
the genius of India for the simple reason that public opinion in
India has not crystallised itself into definite political parties with
well defined policies and principles or tenets. It was a fatal
mistake on the part of our Constitution-makers to grant 'adult
franchise" to the illiterate ignorant and superstitious masses of
the country. We have tried this costly experiment to our
detriment with no good result. The country has been prevented
from having a Government of talents, as Rajaji has put it, which
alone will be able to steer—the ship of State. The one-party-rule
of the country has brought in its wake a lot of corruption. One
feels that corruption and nepotism has become the order of the
day. The wisdom of John Stuart Mill when he said that political
education must precede political enfranchisement in order to
achieve good results, was not heeded. Where was the need to
burry and introduce adult franchise in a country which is
notoriously illiterate, poor and hungry. It is said that one can
purchase votes with small bribe of one or two square meals a
few days before the election No wonder the right sort do not get
elected. Moreover, elections are so costly that an average
educated and
self respecting man hesitates to join the fray unless backed by a
political party.
Few independent candidates of talent, with a bent for public
service can successfully fight an election today. One here recalls
the Rajaji's remark that some of the present-day legislators any
magistrate could easily put behind the bars for notorious illegal
activities. What is required today is, as Vinoba Bhave has said
the establishment of a "Sarvodaya Republic" in every village,
bereft of party politics or party cliques. It should not be
forgotten that the heart of Hindustan is in the millions of villages,
which flourished as autonomous
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village republks in ancient India. All modern amenities could be
brought to the door-steps of our villages and in order to heJp them
produce more. That alone would make India self snfficient_in food
and clothing. A ruthless policy of decentralisation of heavy
industries will have to be followed in order to prevent the exodus of
villagers to towns and cities, creating insurmountable problems of
"slums." Then alone will our cities be the ideal business centres
with villages supplying various raw materials or components
through a well-knit system of transport as prevails in
Switzerland—a country with which India has many things in
common including the language problem.
Yours,
Gandhi Stamps
Sir,
The Gandhi birth centenary year began on October 2,1968. The
Posts and Telegraphs Department proposes to issue a series of
four stamps of different denominations to commemorate the
occasion and for that two paintings have been carefully selected.
The first painting shows a profile of Gandhiji with the Buddha,
the enlightened one in meditation, in the background. The
Buddha was the embodiment of compassion for all suffering
living beings. His teachings created deep impressions upon
Gandhiji. The other painting depicts Gandhiji working on his
spinning wheel beside a photograph of a church, a temple and a
mosque together, indicating Gandhiji's vision of communal
unity.
Jawaharlal Nehru rightly remarked about Gandhiji: "Where
he sat was a temple, where be walked was hallowed ground."
May I suggest, a few stamps should be issued on the thoughts of
Gandhiji to keep us on the right path ?
Yours,