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Journalism of Courage
Pandharenath Gaikwad is not an articulate man. He would rather be delivering letters than stopping to have a chat. And deliver letters he does 8211; he8217;s been doing so for the last 30 years, one of the longest-serving postmen in Pune.
8220;I8217;ve been here at the City Post for the entire period,8221; says Gaikwad. But his postal career began long before, in the village of Bhiwri, as a runner for the local post office. When he passed the postal examination in 1969, he came to Pune and to the Pune City Head Office. He8217;s been around ever since, from 7.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., when he comes in after finishing his rounds.
He does not, as one might imagine, have a cycle. He walks his beat. 8220;He must cover at least 15 km. a day,8221; says Deepak Keskar, a more eloquent fellow-postie. This would not include the effort involved in climbing the stairs of multi-storey buildings that do not have their post-boxes on the ground floor. Keskar explains that the department of posts has made it mandatory for multi-storey complexes to have postboxes for each flat on the ground floor. 8220;But most do not comply.8221; he smiles wryly, 8220;And so we send their letters back. Once that happens, they install their letter boxes!8221; Six hours later, Gaikwad is done for the day. He does not have a working lunch, so sustenance must wait till 4 p.m., when he can go home.
Delivering letters is the part he loves most about his job, even though at 52 years, he has begun to feel the strain of a six-hour walk. 8220;But I do not like travelling in the cash van because there is too much responsibility involved,8221; he says. Keskar explains that every so often, a postman must travel in the cash van with a single constable in order to deliver or collect cash from the outlying post offices. 8220;These are large amounts of money,8221; he says, 8220;and the postman has to walk alone to the post office while the constable waits in the van with the rest of the money. Now if the bag is stolen from the postman during this time, the money is taken out of his salary and he is punished.8221; The punishment is a stoppage of increments in salary for a couple of years. Gaikwad has done the cash run some four to five times.
Does he think people appreciate postmen. 8220;No!8221; says Gaikwad. But he8217;ll do the job anyway and people in the area will see him around for at least another eight years.
