When the written sentence travelled

In these days, when communication has become the preserve of WhatsApp and cellphone calls, it is hard to imagine a time when the written sentence travelled at a slow pace. But it was a reality in the Madras of the past.

In the 1980s, trunk calls had to be booked to speak to someone back in the village or a distant town. Telegrams had to be fired to break the news of a death or drop a wish for a ‘happy married life’. And registered post was the preferred medium to send valuable documents.

As news trickled in about the termination of the registered post service and its merger with speedpost, it seems to be a follow-up to the closure of the telegram-service over the last few years. Back then, when Pallavan buses criss-crossed the city, and meeting anyone was in person and not the virtual props that all of us have been reduced to in these days of hyper-technology, the post office had immense value.

The General Post Office (GPO) on Mount Road was a beehive of activity. Inland letters and postcards were posted, money orders were sent, telegrams were submitted and registered post was signed in with hope and prayers. The pincode was the most important number and often determined whether what you posted, landed accurately.

The GPO still remains, offering a peep into a gentler time and has managed to stay relevant despite our phones wilting under an information overload thanks to multiple WhatsApp groups. In the days of snail-mail, a grandmother’s demise was known through a fixed template: ‘Grandmother expired rush immediately’.

This was the telegram in which even a punctuation cost money and hence the message was dealt with in a sparse method, direct and devoid of any euphemisms. Even if the telegram was deemed to be fast, it was not a patch on the instant alerts on offer these days.

If the telegram was a double-edged sword, dealing with tragedy and celebration in equal measure, the registered-post offered assurance. It cost a wee bit more but there was the guarantee that it would reach the correct address. Sealed and sent with precision, the recipient had to sign an acknowledgement. Education certificates, loan documents, and insurance claims were all mailed through this option.

The GPO in those days had the additional charm of a few second-hand booksellers thronging the pavements outside. A stroll across the road to Buhari for a cup of tea and bun-butter-jam was inevitable, and it completed the experience. As post offices increasingly take a backseat, a way of life is being lost.