The ‘Red Post Box’, dying ‘letters’, postman’s bicycle come alive at this Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata

On entering the pandal, visitors can see letters, postcards, and inland letters pasted on both sides of the walls, a reminder of the communication system that ruled the roost in the pre-Internet era.

The pandal features even older practices, where carrier pigeons with notes strapped on their foot were used for sending messages, besides typewriters that were in vogue long before computers took over.

On one wall, one can see a big red post box, which branches out to tiny post boxes, hanging from different sides, each corresponding to a post box of a locality, the name and address of the addressee, be it in English, Hindi, or any other language. The postman’s bicycle and his letter bag are sure to take the visitors on a stroll down memory lane.

Snehashis Mukherjee, general secretary, CA Block Citizens’ Association, told The Indian Express, “This year, our theme is ‘Post Box’. We are sure it will stir nostalgia amongst many. Long before instant messages and social media, the humble red post box stood as a silent guardian of our most heartfelt emotions. Letters carried words of love, hope, longing, and news from afar. They were treasures to be cherished and often preserved, becoming priceless memories after the writer was gone. Today’s generation does not even know what a post box is or about inland letters. Through this, we can teach the present generation about the importance of the Post Box.”

Souradip Basu, assistant secretary, CA block puja committee, told The Indian Express, “In today’s fast-paced digital world, where communication is instant but fleeting, this theme will definitely remind us of the depth, intimacy, and permanence of handwritten words. During the planning and designing of the pandal, I even got to know about the inland letters and postcards. It is a gentle call to value human connection in its truest sense.”

Pandal hoppers were mesmerised by the letters and the colour of the post boxes on the walls; some were busy taking selfies while others were making reels.

“When I got married, I remember Trunk calls were expensive, so I used to write to my husband. While my father-in-law wrote on postcards I wrote on inland letters for a bit of privacy, the wait for the letters, the ‘tring tring’ sound of the post man’s cycle or even going to the post office to by the stamps those feelings are completely different, I still have all the letters that I wrote to my husband all those years ago,” recalled Nibedita Mondol of Beleghata after visiting the pandal.

Meanwhile, to Sonali Guha, a college-goer, the pandal visit was a storehouse of information. “I never knew about all this, we have social media and mobile, and we send emails so there is no need to write letters. It is time-consuming as well. We hardly see any post boxes nowadays,” Guha said.