UBC Day 16 : The Last Telegram
We saw the end of an era. Our 163 year old telegram service was shut down on 14th July 2013.
I remember, as a kid, going to the post office in our colony and sending telegrams to relatives on behalf of parents. Those days we used telegrams mostly for sending greetings for Diwali and New Year and also about informing about ‘Reached safely’ or ‘Girls have passed their exams’ or ‘Reaching on 16th’ etc.
I am regretting not sending the last telegram to Aaryan, as a kind of souvenir. I am sure he has never ever seen a telegram. While, I was mulling over this loss of a memorable opportunity, I remembered something…
Like a woman on a mission, perched on a high stool, I searched for a bag full of memories, which lay on the upper shelf of a cupboard.
Soon enough, I found my object of desire… seeing it brought back so many memories…
It was 1995, KG and I were dating and had decided to spend our lives together. KG was posted in Indore then and I was in Jaipur. Letters and cards were the main means of communication between us, though sometimes we spoke over the phone too. I remember the STD rates were so high then and mobiles were still unknown to us.
One evening in February 1995, when I returned back from work, my mother gave me a piece of paper with a smile. I was curious and amazed at the same time. It was a telegram! Without much ado when I read the message in the telegram, it not only brought some smiles but some happy tears too.
It was a telegram from KG. While the mother and sisters could understand the message, they couldn’t decipher (O-Y-S). Of course, KG must have filled the form as OY’s and the person in the post office typed it as O-Y-S. (It should be OYs though, I guess).
Seeing it today, again, brought some more happy smiles…
Can you see, the way his name is spelt here. He has such a nice and a unique name (ok, not so unique now-a-days) and how it has been mutilated to Satish!!
I asked KG, if he remembered sending a telegram to me. His answer as expected, was a “No”. And when I showed it to him, he said, “Did I send this?” and in the next breath, he added, “You are not blogging about this, are you?”. I smiled and got busy in keeping this prized possession in my bag, but not before seeing him roll his eyes!
July 16, 2013 2:49 pm|
The telegram doesn’t look 18 yrs old, you have preserved it really well :)… They changed your husband’s name ! I have heard about stories where telegrams gave wrong messages because of the limited words used 🙂 I have never sent or received a telegram .. so no memories associated with it !
July 16, 2013 7:58 pm|
No special preservation efforts, just kept safely in a folder! 😛
His name is Kshitij and since it is difficult to pronounce and spell, some people simply call him Satish! 😛
July 16, 2013 3:05 pm|
lol @ his response!!!
And this was sooooo cute!!! Loved the way you saved it & all!!! 😀
As I have been saying in every blog..the only thing that I remember about telegrams is how we were asked to frame messages for english class 😀
July 16, 2013 5:30 pm|
I was going to say the exact same thing 😛 Actually don’t remember sending and receiving telegrams other than composing them for the English class.
Such nice memories here Shilpa 🙂
July 16, 2013 9:11 pm|
@ Smita and Swaram : Men, I tell you!! 😀
I have all the letters and cards that we had exchanged then. They make for some good hearty laughs and warm smiles every Diwali, when I do spring cleaning! 😀
Oh, yes, writing telegram messages were part of our curriculum too 😀
July 16, 2013 3:22 pm|
I-L-this telegram 🙂 A sneaky way to exchange love notes 🙂
July 16, 2013 9:12 pm|
Awww…. that’s sweet. Thanks 🙂
July 16, 2013 3:31 pm|
If we received any telegram when I was young, people would panic and would want to know if it is any bad news! Otherwise, inland letters and post cards were quite common. Yes, the telephone killed all of them and the cell phone has killed the telephone. What would kill the cell phone, now? Preserve your’s so that you can write a blog post after another 17 years showing an antique cell phone! 🙂
Destination Infinity
July 16, 2013 9:14 pm|
True, mostly the telegrams were associated with a bad news.
Wonder what would make cell phones obsolete… a micro chip in the body, perhaps!
July 16, 2013 3:32 pm|
What a sweeeeett telegram that was 🙂
July 16, 2013 9:15 pm|
It is 😀
July 16, 2013 3:56 pm|
Oooo love letters in telegram huh! This is definetely a first
July 16, 2013 9:16 pm|
Oh yeah… never heard anyone mentioning about sending love via a telegram! Wow! KG thought quite out of the box, then 😉
July 16, 2013 4:11 pm|
Nice of you to keep all these memories alive, by 1) safekeeping 2) blogging. I have never sent a telegram, but I’ve received one from my Dad when I was in a camp (way back in 1996) and hadn’t sent any letters / made calls for close to a month. It was short & curt. “Dead or Alive!” it said, and I got a dressing down from my camp commandants who made sure I wrote back a long long letter. The telegram sure served its purpose, aye!
July 16, 2013 9:20 pm|
Thanks RGB. Yes, I remember reading about your participation in NCC – Republic Day Camp. Wow… that’s a wow! telegram from your father 😉
July 16, 2013 4:23 pm|
Awww……so cute….were you married in 95? Me too the same year in june:)
LOL at your husband asking if you are blogging about it.
Yes, telegrams….i remember it brought all kinds of news. But, whenever the post man said’Telegram”. All of us would rush out praying to god. We wanted only good news. An era ends with it. I wish i too had gone to the post office to send the last telegram to any family member.
July 16, 2013 9:24 pm|
We got married in 1997.
The family members of we bloggers now know very well that we are crazy enough to write/do anything for our blogs 😀
Yes, wish had known about it a bit earlier… would have definitely sent one last telegram! Sad, we missed it!
July 16, 2013 5:06 pm|
Preserve the telegram and you can show it to yr grandkids. I had to explain to my son about the telegram era. But a telegram , for me, has evoked more scare than joy. I would always fell it was the harbinger of bad news.
July 16, 2013 9:29 pm|
LOL 😀 That’s an idea, Kalpana. 😀 Hope that happens 😀
True, somehow this poor guy was associated with bad news!
July 16, 2013 5:32 pm|
Awww such a sweet gesture 🙂 such a romantic telegram too…ahh those were the days of Romance. Get this telegram laminated and you can show it to your grandchildren 😉
July 16, 2013 9:31 pm|
Laminated!! KG would think oops believe oops get confirmation…. (I guess, he already knows it) that I am raving mad! OMG!! Guess, it is safe on this blog now!! 😀
July 16, 2013 7:10 pm|
I have never seen any telegram before this pic…And honestly I am still trying to figure what is the message and where it is written! I could only see addresses!
July 16, 2013 9:34 pm|
Gosh! What are saying Karan!! 😀 I am laughing out loud!! 😀
July 16, 2013 7:23 pm|
awwww…..im going so gaga over this, that now i regret never having sent a telegram all my life!
July 16, 2013 9:35 pm|
LOL 😀 You all make me think that I am from some Stone Age 😉
July 16, 2013 7:41 pm|
Aww. Very romantic.
July 16, 2013 9:36 pm|
😛
July 16, 2013 9:05 pm|
That was really sweet. Guys in the late 90s were sweet. Of course, they all deny doing such things now. But, really… that was a sweet time to be involved with someone.
This is such a diabetic comment na… so many sweets! 😛
July 16, 2013 9:37 pm|
I AM LAUGHING SO HARD AT THIS SWEET ‘DIABETIC’ COMMENT OF YOURS, KADAMBARI 😀
July 16, 2013 9:36 pm|
How adorable was that Shilpa..
So soo soooo awesum
Did he see this post yet?
😀
July 16, 2013 9:40 pm|
Thanks D 😀
No, he hasn’t read it as yet… 😉
July 17, 2013 12:19 am|
Awww that is a priceless telegram and so well preserved Shilpa:)
OY’s and ILU and IMU was the erstwhile SMS lingo…
July 17, 2013 11:38 am|
Thanks Reshma. Yeah, there was a song also with the same lyrics! 😀
July 17, 2013 12:52 am|
How cute and so heart warming…I remember composing telegram in English class as well though I never communicated with anyone through telegrams… its a verrrrrryyyy cute post. <3
July 18, 2013 12:03 pm|
Some beautiful memories of the past! Thanks Kajal. OMG, you haven’t sent a single telegram too!!!! 🙂
July 17, 2013 12:53 am|
that’s such a precious telegram ♥
July 18, 2013 12:03 pm|
It sure is! 🙂
July 17, 2013 1:30 am|
That was so sweet of KG to send you such a telegram. And kudos to you for having managed to keep it in such a nice condition even after so many years 🙂
July 18, 2013 12:05 pm|
I have bags full of such old things. Have all the cards and letters that we have exchanged. They make for some fun reading and reliving old memories every now and then! 🙂
July 17, 2013 6:38 am|
What an amazing keepsake!! In this day and age of electronic means we just don’t have these types of things to treasure. My folks always got each other the loveliest greeting cards for all occasions. When my Dad died and I was going through his desk, I was touched and moved that he had kept every single one. This is priceless and you are so lucky to have it!! It is hard to save a text message of love, but something like this you can keep forever!
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
July 18, 2013 12:09 pm|
I can relate to your experience on seeing your father’s cards. Every now and then when I read these old cards and letters, it is such an heartwarming experience, I can smile for days together on remembering them. True, now we are in this tech age, though it has it plus points but it cannot match the charm of these old cards, letters. 🙂
July 17, 2013 8:02 am|
LOL!! his response was classic! 😀
And you have preserved it so well! wow! 🙂
precious memories indeed
July 18, 2013 12:13 pm|
My man is like this only! 😉
Yes, beautiful, fond memories 🙂
July 17, 2013 8:07 am|
Hi shilpa
I got reminded of that character in ‘the sound of music ‘ obsessed with telegrams . That’s a sweet souvinier 🙂 I remember a few people used to be terrified of telegrams as it usually brought some bad news
July 18, 2013 12:15 pm|
Is it?? Haven’t seen this movie! Thanks Jaishree!
True, telegrams used to scare a lot too 🙂
July 17, 2013 8:41 am|
This is so adorable! and such a precious piece of memory you have there, Shilpa! In recent times, we never bothered about telegrams till now, when it finally retired… i feel sad somehow 🙁
July 18, 2013 12:16 pm|
Even , I am feeling bad about it, though haven’t used it for since the last 2 decades or more! 😛
July 17, 2013 12:00 pm|
Awww…
I loved this piece…
Full of love…
and reminding the good old days that would never come back again..
Never ever again!!!
July 18, 2013 12:17 pm|
Yes, some wonderful and beautiful moments of the past which can be just remembered and re-lived now! 🙂
July 17, 2013 12:16 pm|
That is such a sweet reminder of days past 🙂
July 18, 2013 12:17 pm|
Oh yes, it is 🙂
July 17, 2013 12:21 pm|
SG , that was an amazing and beautiful anecdote.
And wonderful that you kept the treasure.
July 18, 2013 12:18 pm|
Thanks Anil 🙂
July 17, 2013 1:46 pm|
One of the sweetest posts, Shilpa! Awwww at OY’s!
I felt rather sad to read about the end of telegram service! Although it was, to a large extent, synonymous with ‘bad news’, it did deliver some wonderfully heartfelt messages too, like the one you’ve shared of KG.
An end of an era, hai na!
July 18, 2013 12:19 pm|
Thanks Deeps. Glad you enjoyed reading this. True… telegrams have marked an end of an era. Though feeling sad, but am glad that we were a part of that era! 🙂
July 17, 2013 5:51 pm|
Woh To Theek Hai,but, why are you preserving the old telegrams?
Just curios…Indore—-Jaipur? How come?
July 18, 2013 12:20 pm|
That’s because, I love storing such treasures! 🙂
Indore was before our marriage! 🙂
July 17, 2013 7:12 pm|
such a cute post Shilpa 🙂 I an actually expect my husband to react same if I asked him something of this sort. He doesn’t remember anything from our courtship period or so it seems 😀 Wow Shilpa it must have been such a lovely souvenir 🙂
July 18, 2013 12:23 pm|
Oh, yours also behaves like this! Men!! 😀
I wonder, if forgetting about all these things is a deliberate attempt on their part?! 😉