Telegrams at snail pace

With the 163 old telegram service having come to an end, several thousand people queued up and sent their first and last telegrams last week. The service may have come to an end but for many, they are still awaiting confirmation from their loved ones that their telegrams have been received.

Telegram, which a few decades ago, used to be the fastest mode of communication; lost its glory with the advent of telephone, mobile phones and Internet. On the last day of the service, nearly 20,000 telegrams were booked in 75 telegram offices across the country compared to the usual 5000 odd sent till then. While the telegrams were sent out with the help of Indian Post and BSNL, who were in charge of telegram service operations; several thousands of telegrams have not yet been delivered.

There was always this joke going around that the person who sends a telegram to day he is arriving on a particular day at a particular time, would reach much ahead of the telegram. This has been its reputation and looks like, even on the last day, it kept up its reputation!