Receiving a handwritten letter or even a much-loved monthly magazine by post still brings a warm feeling at a time when WhatsApp chats and emails are the norm.
India Post celebrates the National Postal Week every October starting with World Post Day, which is celebrated on October 9, the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in Berne, Switzerland.
While it was during the British rule in India that systems were put in place to make postal services methodical and reliable, it developed leaps and bounds post-Independence. In fact, the government-run postal system and telephones ruled the entire gamut of communication in the country, until private players came post-liberalisation. The boom in the information technology sector has given people more options, and today, almost everybody in the country has a mobile phone that performs multiple tasks, including many that were earlier done by the Postal Department.
Bengaluru, the information technology hub of India, has several postboxes that stand testimony to what they meant to the people but they are no longer sought after as they were even two decades ago. They continue to stand as reminders of a time when life in the city, which was also once known as a pensioner’s paradise, was slower, with an intentional lifestyle, but which has given way to the survival of the fastest.
However, India Post continues to play a key role in transporting letters and parcels and in offering financial empowerment through savings schemes till today.
Bill board: A postbox on a pavement in Bengaluru is in danger of being buried under a pile of sand.
All sizes and shapes: Various models of postboxes on display at a museum
A postbox stands as a silent sentinel to illegal parking.
Leaning tower: Standing at a precarious angle, a postbox still manages to do its job.
Bright and cheery: A postbox with a unique shape at a government office premises in Bengaluru.
Off limits: Behind a cordon till the pavement is relaid.
Here to stay: The affordability of postal services attracts customers even as technology booms.
Nothing is by chance: The posting of a letter is a deliberate act.
Fine pillar: A postbox at a star hotel is a cynosure for all eyes.
Published - October 16, 2022 12:57 pm IST