I started the day by missing my 615am train to Agra, following further misadventures which made me laugh. On my way back to Delhi last night, I stopped by the post office by the station to find some stamps to mail off some postcards and here is what I found. I love how everyone is so friendly, accommodating and flexible—there are no hard and fast rules here. Or rather rules, if any. At all. I was having so much fun postmarking the postcards and wandering around the rest of the building, I forgot to pay for my stamps.
I love it that everything is still ink to paper as Nalis had told me previously. The Indians love paper and they love having piles and piles and piles of it everywhere and somewhere while the rest of the world has gone online and digital with filing information for quick and easy retrieval.
(Above) Postcards making their way to Yankee Doodle Chen’s and Lils. This old man was very sporting, even though he didn’t say a word. I hope the postcards make it to their destinations! That would be a nice story.
After whatever items are postmarked, they are left on a random small table sticking out from the wall… and god knows where they go next.
My guess is they make it into bundles wrapped with canvas before being taken on the train or bicycles to be sent as land/air cargo.
Somewhere behind all this process is an old man sorting things out manually. bit by bit.
And this organised mess must surely have a system going. I think I can work in a post office, only that I would probably have to resist the urge of investigating what people are sending to other people on the other side of the world.
India has been incredibly exciting and in many cases, all the misadventures that are supposed to happen to other people always happen to me. But, that’s the whole point of travelling anyway, getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing new things, things that are meant to only happen in books, movies and other people. So wrong suitcase and missing the train aside, it’s been super awesome. A friend of mine’s positive mantra is “All is well”. Ironically, it comes from a Hindi song, and really, India for me is kind of like this: Full-on random, just like this video. In times of adversity, dance and sing all iz vell.
