Email seems to have overtaken everything today, even while travelling. Notebook computers are popped out by travellers to keep in touch even while enjoying a cappuccino in the airport, but strangely the ubiquitous picture post card has never gone out of style.
It does not matter where you travel and to which city in the world, stands of colourful post cards are the first bait put out to lure the tourist into coming into souvenir stores.
Be it Paris or Rome, London or New Delhi, the post card has automatic hands reaching out to pick a few to send across the miles to friends and loved ones with the underlying legend — ‘wish you were here!'
What's interesting is that postcards are not just stunning pictures of the place you are visiting, but several countries sell creative post cards with witty lines and unusual pictures of iconic places. In Berkeley, California, there was a photographer's store which sold cards of an eclectic collection of subdued nudes on the Golden Gate Bridge or among San Francisco's sights. London had sets of cards with wonderful charcoal sketches, with an acid line of mystifying British humour. And Florence had a lot of risqué and erotic cards of the renaissance masterpiece, Michelangelo's David, with a focus on particular body parts. Rome has whole stands of delightful black and white cards of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in their fairy tale romantic film “Roman Holiday” being sold right from the railway station to the Vatican souvenir store.
Post cards can be bought in whole sets or individually and most often deals are given on two or more cards being bought. Most hotels also offer a service to post the cards in Asia. And in Bali and Nairobi, the shops selling cards also offered stamps, so you can write out your postcard and post it on the spot. The Vatican Post Office sells both cards and stamps.In Bangalore and most of the big cities in India, post cards are sold in sets by hawkers who come up to you when you visit a tourist spot. They sell the newest and best cards, especially near the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore, the palace in Mysore, Basilica of Bom Jesu in old Goa, the Gateway of India in Mumbai and post cards of Vasco Da Gama in Calicut and stunning Kalari Pati poses in Mahe.
