How this Bengaluru bookstore is reviving the practice of writing letters

The Sunday Letter Project, which began in 2025, is a global initiative with Beku Books in JP Nagar Bengaluru as the only participating letter keeper from India. We find out what it is all about

Published - October 20, 2026 01:47 pm IST

The Sunday Letter Project aims to revive the art of handwritten letters in the digital age. Every week participants from across the world write one letter . Founded in 2025 by Rebecca and Karl of Wildflower Illustration Co in England, the project is a community writing initiative.

In the Sunday Letter Project’s database, the only listed Letter-Keeper from India is Bengaluru’s Beku Books located in JP Nagar.

Letter-Keeper shops act as the regional address for the participants. They ship letters abroad to the other letter-keepers, and receive letters from across the world. They also hold them until the intended recipients collect their letters. This method helps people find pen-pals from across the world without sharing their home addresses.

This initiative is completely free and acts as a shop-to-shop letter writing movement, replicating the Poste Restante system (where a post office holds letters and packages until the recipient collects them in person). Each participant can write an introductory letter with basic information about themselves attaching their letter-keeper’s address. This letter will join a pool of letters across the listed shops for other participants to choose and reply.

One can also choose to respond to introductory letters by others in the pool.

“It started off as a pledge to write a letter every Sunday,” says Premsakhi Mokkapati, head curator at Beku Books. “A customer can walk in and read a letter; they can photograph the letter and return address and choose to write back to them. Introductory letters are kept at the bookstores so a person can have more than one pen pal.”

Handwritten letters at Beku

After starting their project in Bengaluru through Beku Books, Sunday Letter Project has received a good response from the frequent customers at the store. “Our customers are also sending letters to people across the world, and picking up responses. We hold on to their letters until they are able to come and pick them up.”

Beku Books came across this initiative on social media; they submitted the required form and paid a small yearly fee to cover the administrative charges. Upon approval from the Sunday Letter Project founders, their bookstore is listed among the participating shops from across the globe.

“We have received messages from people around India asking if they could send us letters as well. It feels nice to be doing something that no one else is , but we are also planning to conduct a few events to encourage more people to write letters.”

The central intent behind this initiative is to bring back the practice of physical writing.

Having said this, she mentions the few rules of the Sunday Letter Project — one should not include personal details including phone numbers, addresses or social media handles. Self-promotion or advertising is not allowed and letters should always be kind and respectful.

For more information visit thesundayletterproject.com or @beku.blr on Instagram

Published - October 20, 2026 01:47 pm IST

books and literature / Bengaluru / The Hindu MetroPlus

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