Bangalore:
What is it about nostalgia? What makes people who have never sent a telegram in their lives make their way to a telegram office and queue up to send one - just because they won't be able to do so again in India?
Sunday was the last chance we had - before the government stopped the service that was just not financially viable anymore in an era of new and faster communication. And Bangaloreans queued up through the day to send that last message this old-fashioned way.
The usual brevity of this style of communication was tossed aside - as long messages were sent with no thought of economical word counts.
We met people who recalled the alarm the telegram generated - when it brought bad news. But also the excitement of births and job appointments announced in brief, long before Twitter or the SMS.
And yes - I also sent my first and last telegrams on Sunday.
Stop.
Sunday was the last chance we had - before the government stopped the service that was just not financially viable anymore in an era of new and faster communication. And Bangaloreans queued up through the day to send that last message this old-fashioned way.
The usual brevity of this style of communication was tossed aside - as long messages were sent with no thought of economical word counts.
We met people who recalled the alarm the telegram generated - when it brought bad news. But also the excitement of births and job appointments announced in brief, long before Twitter or the SMS.
And yes - I also sent my first and last telegrams on Sunday.
Stop.
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