In the charged atmosphere at the Ramlila Maidan, in the midst of all the high decibel activity, Satish Chand, a postman from the Indra Prastha Post Office of New Delhi has quietly been delivering mail every day to none other than Anna Hazare.
(Continued from Part I)
Delivering mail to individuals and groups at temporary camps is not new to the Post Office. Satish himself has distributed mail to religious and political organisations camping at Ramlila Maidan many times in the past. What is different with Anna Hazare’s event is the volume. If it was one or two dozen letters in the past, it is a few hundred every day this time. “Annaji has also been receiving many e-Post messages”, says Satish. E-Post is a hybrid mail product where the e-mail messages from sender is printed out by the Post Office and delivered as a letter. The younger followers probably find a tailor made solution in e-Post to connect with the venerable Gandhian.“An office has been set up next to the stage, and it functions efficiently”, informs the post man. “Completing the documentation for registered letters and money orders has not been a problem”. He also reports that the flow of money orders has thinned – from about Rs.15,000 in the initial days it has declined to about Rs. 500 now.
As the crowd at the Maidan continues to respond to its leaders, our conversation gets increasingly subsumed in the noise. It would surely be difficult to ignore this build-up and this emotionally charged atmosphere, I argue. Doesn’t he get influenced when he witnesses this every day? “When I am in my uniform, my concern is only the mail in my hand”, Satish says with the same clarity of thought as before.
The brief chat over, Satish resumes his journey along the line of his duty. As I wade my way back through the sea of Anna’s supporters, my thoughts go to the karmic bonds that link people to other people and to institutions. Satish Chand has grasped the essence of his trade - the Post Office is all about simple tasks done the right way.
- PN Ranjit Kumar
The writer works as Director (Global Business) at India Post. The views are personal.
Wonderful , touching. Its reminds me the unique position captured by the Postman and Post Office across the globe. Be it kind hearted legendary Ravindranath Tagore, Munshi Premchand, or P.L.Deshpande (famous marathi writer) or be tough dictators , all accepted and admirers, the valuable place of PostOffices in the heart, mind of peoples . The wonderful touching words of Postman Satish are contemporary examples of it....
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