The Magic of Letter-writing
By: Ravi Desai
Tags: Postcards, Philately, Postman, Letters, Snail Mail

Picture courtesy : PixaBay

Friends,

Today I want to tell you about Postcards, Postal stamps and Philately. These are very interesting things. Nowadays we cannot meet our relatives and friends in person, and if we meet then it is only for a short time. Video calling and WhatsApp are there but after a while we grow tired of them.

But these are the times when it is necessary to be in touch with each other, and here comes the Postcards and Letters for our rescue. Postcards are very small in size so you cannot write more than a few lines , but it is not at all required to write long messages every time. Suppose you miss your friend then you only have to take a postcard and write a short message for that friend in it. And then you have to post it in a nearby postbox. The rest will be done by our postal department.

We don’t know when that postcard will reach its destination, but at least we could send it and express our thoughts , that is the real fun of this whole thing.

A Postcard

It seems ridiculous and a bit old fashioned when instant messaging services are available, we send postcards and letters. It is a matter of personal choice. I personally feel that a letter from a friend is a prized possession and we keep it with us for years as a souvenir. Whenever you look at it, even after decades, it looks as if it has just been delivered by your postman and it’s still fresh.

Video calling and WhatsApp chats are good, but we don’t remember what we talked about during a video call just a week ago, while a letter remains there always, with fine ( or most of the times illegible) handwriting of your friend. Even if that friend is living in a distant place, some part of him or her will always be with you in that letter from him/her.

Not just the postcards , there are other colorful “Special Covers” which our postal department releases regularly .

Special covers released by IndiaPost

“Indian Handicrafts” , “Uttarayan”, “Mahatma Gandhi”, “Environment Day” themes

These envelopes have different themes such as Indian Handicraft, Siachen Glacier, UNESCO World Heritage Sites , Indian wildlife, Mahatma Gandhi, and most recently they released special covers based on Covid 19 theme.

Covid 19 covers with a barcode

These Covid 19 covers have a barcode on them, perhaps this is the first time in India that a special cover has a barcode, if you scan it then you get the information about how to protect oneself from Covid infection . ( Here they have made a mistake. In India, every day our maternal uncles — we call them Mama- send us useful videos , tips , forwarded messages about “Protection against Covid” on WhatsApp . One ingenious tip is to apply mustard oil inside your nostrils so that a protective layer will form which will kill the covid virus instantly. It’s a pity WHO has not recognized the genius of our Indian Mamas, but my point is there is no need to spread more awareness about Covid through a postcard when all we need is a resourceful Mama who knows everything about any damn disease on the planet earth. )

Sorry for the digression.

Recently our Ahmedabad Philately Bureau released a special cover based on the Kite Festival in my city Ahmedabad.

I am posting here some pics of these covers,and now let’s talk about Postal Stamps. Every country releases special postal stamps , and these stamps when they are out of print become a rare collection . Some people collect postal stamps and this hobby is called Philately. Every major city in India has a Philately Bureau at its main post office branch. From here you can purchase colorful stamps and other special items like Special covers, Picture postcards , etc. released by IndiaPost.

“Constitution of India” miniature stamp sheet

“Indian Fashion” stamp sheet

e.g. There was recently the Shri Ram Temple BhoomiPoojan ceremony in India. On this occasion, there were special stamps based on our epic Ramayana released by our postal department.

Ram Temple Bhoomi Poojan cancellation mark

Other than that stamps based on Mahabharata, Indian Soldiers in WWI , Environment, Women’s Day ,and so on are published by our Philately Department.

You only have to go to the Philately Bureau of your main post office to purchase them.

Special covers “Folk Dances of Gujarat”

Or else here is the India Post website where you can order these stamps and Special covers online. ( Due to Covid pandemic, it is better to purchase stamps online, and you can get them within a month via postal mail.. … and trust me, if you purchase something from India Post, the parcel will surely reach your place )

If you are using a Special cover then instead of using a simple stamp, you can use these special stamps. I am sure your friend will really appreciate it when he/she receives an envelope with a beautiful stamp on it. ( There are special “Fragrance Stamps” which smell like a flower image on them. )

“Mahatma Gandhi” stamps

And then another useful option is Inland letters. They are priced at Rs 2.50 each. I love Inland Letters.

Inland Letters

Suppose you have 5 friends who are very special, then every day if you write to one of these five friends a letter and drop that letter into a nearby post box then you will feel as if that friend is with you all the time, you will never feel lonely. No matter whether your mail reaches its destination, you would feel the joy of expressing your thoughts, emotions, complaints, and some funny moments with that friend.

Again, it’s not at all necessary to write about serious issues or in a formal manner.

“Meghdoot” postcard

There are postcards like “Meghdoot Postcards”. They are very very cheap. ( You can write only on one side, the other side comes with a printed advertisement) .They are priced at Rs.0.25 each. So you can buy them in bulk. I bought 400 Meghdoot postcards for only Rs 100.

Now what you can do is write WhatsApp messages you receive every morning about positive thinking in that Meghdoot postcard, and send that postcard to your friend. ( You don’t get WhatsApp messages every morning ??? Don’t worry, I will give you my Mama’s number. He will be happy to oblige. )

Picture Postcards for children

Dear friends, these postcards and letters are the best means of communication, and no other thing can replace them. It’s a thrilling experience to drop a letter into a post box and then wait for your friend’s call when he receives that letter. Also anticipating a delivery of a letter from a postman is something which is quite exciting.

You just try this postal service once. 9 out of 10 times your letter will reach its destination. ( As I am writing this post, many of my friends are receiving my postcards and letters every day , and I can assure you that your letters too will reach me, we should trust our Postmen )

We are deeply attached with our school friends, teachers and distant relatives; and we must keep reminding them how important they are to us. Things we cannot express over a telephonic conversation, we can easily express through a letter.

So let us write a beautiful letter, using the colorful stamps and envelopes released by IndiaPost.

Your letters will fill your friends’ hearts with positive emotions and whatever difficult situation they are in, they will feel themselves ready for the future struggles with the warmth of your emotional message.

( And yes, once again , don’t forget the power of a positive thinking message sent by your Mama.. spread his messages through “Meghdoot Postcards” )

Wait… one last thing .. ( this is the last thing only, I promise..)

Why is that postcard called “Meghdoot”?

“Megh” means cloud and “Doot” means messenger. In his poem “Meghdoot”,ancient poet Kalidasa used a metaphor where clouds act as a messenger for two lovers. Google “Meghdoot by Kalidasa”

So friends, I have to take your leave now. I have some more postcards to write today.

We will talk about stamps , special covers and some stories from my letter writing journey in some future posts.

Goodbye friends..

Share happiness through our modern “Meghdoots” aka Postmen.