Despite everything around us going high-tech and digital, the tradition of sending rakhisthrough post has seen a dramatic increase this year.
Thanks to social media, emails and text messaging, greeting near and dear ones on a festival is just a click away. But on Raksha Bandhan, every brother across the country wishes to flaunt that thread of love on his wrist, despite the distance separating him and his sister. And this is one time of the year, when the services of the postal department and other courier agencies are most sought after. With the advent of digital rakhis last year, the services of the postal department and courier agencies in the city took a major beating. But this year, they are back on track!
Drastic increase this year
Call it going 'back to roots' or whatever you may, but the postal department and private courier agencies confirm that compared to last year, there has been a visible increase in the number of rakhis sent through post this year. Indra Sena Goud, the proprietor at DTDC Gachibowli says, "This year we've been getting almost 150-200 rakhis on a daily basis, which is almost a 40% increase when compared to last year. People have been coming since two weeks ago to send the rakhis." A representative of ANL Courier Services echoes the same. "We've had people pouring in non-stop for rakhi couriers. This year, we've also received orders for lesser-known places in the country, majority being villages in Eastern India." Talking about this increasing trend, Sankar Raja, manager at DTDC reasons that one of the major reasons is the increasing migration. "Rakhi is a major festival in the North and because of the lucrative jobs in Hyderabad, a lot of North Indians have been migrating to the city. And this in turn has led to a steady increase in the courier services during festive seasons."
GPO works overtime
The city GOP is currently working overtime to ensure all rakhis reach their destination on time and have even introduced novel concepts to safeguard the product from damage. "Compared to last year, the response has improved this year. We are still in the process of getting the final figures, but the services have definitely seen an upswing. And since it's raining heavily in many parts of the country, people are also using the special water-proof Rakhi envelopes introduced by the government of India. We have already sold more than 250 such covers," says a GPO representative. Numerous complaints of late delivery last year, has pushed the GPO to work twice as hard this time around. Jose Kollanoor, chief post master, Hyderabad GPO, informs that the postal team is working overtime to ensure delivery on time. "We have made special arrangements to see that the letters are delivered on time. Postmasters have been strictly told to deliver all the letters handed to them by the end of the day."
Tradition cannot be replaced
While sending mithai or chocolates with the rakhis are the norm, K Jitesh, business associate at First Flight informs that the tradition of adding a pinch of kumkum and few grains of rice to the package has increased this year. "It adds a personal touch and fills in for the physical absence," says Jitesh. Interestingly, brothers too have been reciprocating the love and bond through post.Jitesh adds, "About 15-20% of the couriers are return gifts by brothers. From teddy bears, sweets, chocolates and even readymade dresses, they are sending everything. On several occasions, we've had requests for delivering hard cash which is considered shagun. But since it's against our rules, we had to decline them." Despite the presence of online e-rakhis, popularly called digital rakhis, the custom of sending rakhis via posts cannot be replaced for some. Ravi Ukonda, manager at Track on Courier says, "Digital rakhis were a rage when they were introduced, but the trend has almost died with time. Now, it's back to the good old post office."
Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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