7 months ago
3
Every postcard tells a story, says a station connected the Instagram provender of India Post. Who amended to vouch for this than R Padmanabhan, a autochthonal of Manacaud successful Thiruvananthapuram, who has been sending handwritten postcards to his contacts for implicit 2 decades now.
The fig of cards helium has sent till day mightiness person crossed 1.2 lakhs, says Padmanabhan, who has a database of implicit 13,000 addresses. “I nonstop them each day. Today I sent 33, of which 4 carried wedding day greetings, 3 had decease day messages and the remainder had day wishes,” says Padmanabhan, who volition crook 60 adjacent month.
A postgraduate successful commerce, helium took to sending postcards arsenic a hobby portion taking tuitions. “I sent day wishes to a student, and his parents were moved by it. That was the beginning. I collected commencement dates of my students and started sending them cards. At the clip the fig was hardly 60 oregon 70 cards a year. Eventually I expanded the database by adding commencement dates of friends, relatives and others,” helium says.
The fig accrued erstwhile helium became office-bearer of Kerala Vellala Maha Sabha. “I had entree to the addresses of the members and frankincense implicit 8,000 names were added to my database. I looked astatine it arsenic an accidental to physique a rapport with the members of the community,” says Padmanabhan, who utilized to enactment arsenic a coordinator with the Centre for Adult Education and Extension nether the University of Kerala.
Since the postcards person go a happening of the past, they are not sold astatine each station offices. In Thiruvananthapuram, they are present disposable lone astatine the General Post Office. He purchases 4,000 cards astatine a clip — that is 4 bundles with 125 sheets each [eight cards successful 1 sheet].
He is systematic erstwhile it comes to sending the cards. “For instance, for the period of October, I support the cards acceptable by September 25. I instrumentality printed addresses connected the cards and put them by dates. I bash immoderate artwork connected the cards earlier penning the messages. If the idiosyncratic is successful Wayanad oregon Kasaragod I nonstop it 5 days up of the day they are expected to person it. I did not halt during the pandemic. Only that I couldn’t station them each day,” helium adds.
Padmanabhan is excited astir the information that galore radical person preserved his cards and adjacent nonstop him photographs. He has been sending cards to governmental leaders arsenic good and immoderate of them person replied. “These see Sonia Gandhi, AK Antony and Oommen Chandy. I besides nonstop New Year greetings to each the members of Legislative Assembly,” helium adds.
He says that sometimes the cards are returned due to the fact that the code mightiness person changed. “Sometimes the recipient is nary longer live and household members reply.”
It has go a passionateness task for Padmanabhan who believes that determination is simply a quality successful simplicity. “For a communal antheral similar me, it is hard to spend an costly card. The postcard has been the elemental and budget-friendly enactment for me. I person seen an epoch erstwhile we communicated lone done letters and cards,” helium says.
When Padmanabhan started the practice, a postcard outgo 25 paisa and present it is 50 paisa. “When the rates of different postal services went up, I was disquieted if they would hike it to ₹1. That would person upset my budget, and I mightiness person adjacent stopped the practice,” helium says.
