The National Book Trust (NBT) and its bookshop is a mixed bag. By virtue of its selection of titles and authors, it offers a refreshing alternative to the production line setups of commercial bookstore chains like Crossword. Because of the very same reasons, the gulf between the title's promise and the delivered text can be vast due to the author being a sarkari selection. The book "India Post: A Journey through Ages" I picked from the NBT's store in Dehradun is one such, purposefully written it would seem, to aggravate anyone with expectations of structure and story-telling. That it is (claimed to be) written to celebrate one of the most important applications of the written word makes the circumstances twice as tragic. Owning the book makes me happy for its existence but sad for its execution.
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| World Post Day, 10-0ct-2024, ToI |
A Times of India supplement on World Post Day (10th October) looked at another aspect of the handwritten letter, its romanticization on celluloid as a medium of connection for lovers, soldiers, breadwinners and those displaced from home by their own success. The personalization that a handwritten letter brings and its physical journey from sender to recipient contributes to its value. The permanency of its words present a sharp contrast to the ever changing world that it navigates through. Even in the few days it had taken to reach its destination, things have been altered irrevocably but like every sensible person or thought it refuses to move at anything above its own chosen pace.
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