Help is at hand for all those who have ever suffered in the hands of the once unpredictable Indian postal service. As an image-building measure post offices have been spruced up and now as a measure to receive feedback and answer queries and complaints, Post India has become the first central department to join Twitter.
Youngsters who have suffered because of inefficient postal service welcome this move and recall their problematic experiences. Many have borne the brunt of delayed or misplaced examination forms in the mail, as Amitabh Anand, Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan alumnus, says, “Once I had posted an examination form a good month before the last day for entries. And it still wasn’t delivered on time.”
Angshuman Roy, PR executive, seconds, “It was the sole cause behind me missing pre-medical exams of BHU. It was upsetting because I had flunked another entrance and was banking on this one.”
Some say parcels have an uncanny habit of arriving late. Nikki Jha recalls a few instances when Rakhis sent to her brothers abroad arrived months after the day, but adds, “My brothers however tied their Rakhis and enjoyed the chocolates packed.” And Abhishek Rajagopalan, civil services aspirant, recollects, “After a vacation my parents dropped me in the hostel and only when they left did I realise that the key to our home was in my pocket, since I had locked the doors shut. So, innocently, I went to the post office behind school, parceled the key back to my father’s office address and totally forgot about it. Four months later when I returned home for the next vacations did I hear that they had to break open the locks because ‘someone’ had misplaced the keys, but they didn’t know who. And weeks after that my father received the parcel signed by me with the keys in it.”
And especially for posts such as these does the Indian Post mailman reply, saying, “Many thanks for the positive tweets, and in equal measure, for the brickbats. The latter will keep us focused on the looming challenges.”