BEGINNING
TODAY, THE TELEGRAM IS HISTORY
-Bernard
Fernandes
In the summer of 1981, after having answered my SSC board
exams in Lonavla, I was a picture of nervousness at home in Goa. The results of
the Maharashtra board were due any moment. Soon, the postman was at our doorstep with a
telegram addressed to me - the first of its kind for me! And the start was indeed joyous - that of glad
tidings!
A telegram was indeed something special. It was feared and respected. In our family only the strong would step forward to study the contents of the telegram. Was it about death of a relative, an accident, or some grave tragedy? Or could it be the bearer of good tidings - birth, success in exams, arrivals of loved ones from distant shores? A terse statement that carried enormous weight!
In sending a telegram one had to 'measure' one's words, for every extra word meant extra money! It could beat the modern day Twitter for short effective statements.The telegraph service was deeply woven into the fabric of Indian society. It bonded families, gelled neighbourhoods and even held a nation together.
I have not received nor sent many telegrams, but the few that my family and I received have left an indelible mark on me. That’s why I chose to celebrate the last day of the telegraph service in India – reports have it that the last telegram will be sent tonight - through this composition. A telegram will retain its uniqueness - it could evoke deep emotions of joy and grief, tranquillity and anxiety, courage and fortitude in a manner only it could. No electronic media can ever replace this small piece of paper bundled with love and laced with apprehension.
A telegram was indeed something special. It was feared and respected. In our family only the strong would step forward to study the contents of the telegram. Was it about death of a relative, an accident, or some grave tragedy? Or could it be the bearer of good tidings - birth, success in exams, arrivals of loved ones from distant shores? A terse statement that carried enormous weight!
In sending a telegram one had to 'measure' one's words, for every extra word meant extra money! It could beat the modern day Twitter for short effective statements.The telegraph service was deeply woven into the fabric of Indian society. It bonded families, gelled neighbourhoods and even held a nation together.
I have not received nor sent many telegrams, but the few that my family and I received have left an indelible mark on me. That’s why I chose to celebrate the last day of the telegraph service in India – reports have it that the last telegram will be sent tonight - through this composition. A telegram will retain its uniqueness - it could evoke deep emotions of joy and grief, tranquillity and anxiety, courage and fortitude in a manner only it could. No electronic media can ever replace this small piece of paper bundled with love and laced with apprehension.
Au revoir telegram – beginning today, 14th
July 2013, you may be relegated to history but I pride myself in a generation
that lived to see yet another illustrious ‘way of life’.
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