India Post stall at Biennale rekindles spirit of writing

At a time when emails and e-chats are the widely used communication modes, Kochi Muziris Biennale has come up with a bold attempt to rekindle the spirit of writing postcards and letters, making it a hit among visitors, especially international, at the contemporary-art festival.
An extension counter set up by Department of Posts in association with KMB at Fort Kochi's Aspinwall House, the main venue of Biennale, has been busy for the last two weeks with more people coming forward to buy postcards and inland letters to write down a few sentences to their dear ones and post them at the post box kept at the stall.

Above all, the red post box at the stall stirs a nostalgic feeling, a period when such boxes were an instrument of meaningful correspondence.
D Sreekumar, postal assistant at the counter, said majority of the people using the services are foreigners.
"We never expected that foreigners will show this much interest in writing letters and post cards. On an average, 30 people are using the services at the counter and majority of them are foreigners," he said.
The Department of Posts decided to be part of the mega art event as it provided the right platform to showcase the iconic India Post.

"In fact, we want to showcase our varied products to the people," said Ernakulam Post Master General M Venkatesharulu. "We are extremely happy that people still have a liking to writing letters and post cards which is a lost art in the present e-communication scenario," he said.
Biennale's Director of Programmes Riyas Komu said "though Inland letters and post cards have been close to our hearts, the advent of internet and mobile phones have pushed them into oblivion along with the distinctive shade of pillar box red which, since the late 19th century, had brightened our landscape."
The biennale with 100 main works by 94 artists from both India and abroad, concludes on March 29.