LUDHIANA: Members of the Ludhiana Philatelic club came together for their weekly meeting at the Ludhiana philatelic museum on Sunday, where they paid tribute to the 163-year-old telegram service.
The good old news bearers were of such significance that at one time, their arrival could not be taken lightly. Club member Dr S K Sondhi, a retired dean from the agriculture department, PAU said even though he never had a bad experience with the telegrams, he could not help feeling tense at the sight of one. "I have never had a personal experience with a telegram delivering bad news but my friend once told me about this experience with a woman in his neighborhood. When the messenger arrived at her door, she started crying out loud. My friend went to her and advised her to first read it and then react. The telegram read, 'your daughter has been blessed with a baby boy", he laughs.
Dr Sanjeev Mehta, an ayurvedic doctor and joint secretary of the club said while he usually received greetings from friends and family, his classmates from Amritsar sent him the maximum telegrams. "I would get a telegram from my classmates after they quarreled and it would read, 'come soon - we need you here'. I was studying in the medical college in Amritsar and would usually come back to Ludhiana during weekends", he recalls.
Club members who have been collecting stamps and postal stationary for a long time now say the practice is on the decline and something must be done about it. "Telegrams were once the fastest form of communication. With time, technology took over and things took a turn. We do not say change is bad but there are a few things in life that you grow up with", said club president Y P Bangia, 73.
Mukesh Malhotra, a resident of Bajwa Nagar and the PRO of the club, said, "Such has been the impact of instant communication models that I literally had to search for the telegram office today. I visited the office after 25 years".
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment