My name is Satyanarayana. I have been working with India Postal Department as a postman for the last 25 years. I joined in May 1987 and worked as a temporary staff for 12 years, after that I was made a permanent staffer. People often ask me, since people write emails these days rather than letters does it make post offices and deliverers irrelevant? I tell them, ‘no it doesn’t’, because I deliver their internet bills. Post offices will always be important. It’s a necessity.
I completed my PUC, and I am from Bangalore. I live in Bannerghatta Road with my wife and children who are going to school. I reach office by 7.30 a.m. and work till 10.30 a.m. Then I leave office to deliver letters. Depending on the workload, we work till 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. I travel by bicycle and it gets stressful navigating through endless traffic, but I don’t mind. Earlier, I used to deliver letters in Madiwala. Now in Koramangala, I deliver letters specifically in sixth block. Every two or three years, our shifts are rotated and we are assigned different areas.
I haven’t ever thought of doing any other job because I get satisfaction from this job. And if you ask me what makes for a good postman? I would say, being disciplined, punctual and sincere.
The city has changed a lot over the years. Many people from outside the state are coming to Bangalore to work. I like this because I get to interact with people of different identities. There are many more buildings and offices than before. A city is bound to develop, it isn’t in our hands, we have to accept the changes. The traffic is quite bad; every other person has two wheelers. Bangalore still has some residential areas that are planned well and is quite neat, it makes my work simpler because I can easily find out door and house numbers. The only thing that I find difficult to deal with is the rising cost of living.
I am is a weekly column about men and women who make Bangalore what it is.
