Chronicling Chennai’s dwindling dalliance with letters and post boxes

Across Chennai, the brooding presence of rusty red letter boxes in disuse is an unrequited love letter to the city’s former self

The imperturbable faces of the crooked red letter boxes planted all over Chennai are like epithets the city has forgotten to use. The ones that remain, project the presence of an era that broods in its absences.  

For a generation that has forgotten, or never learnt the joys of sending and receiving packages by post, a letter box is often confused with the post box. The post box is what people hang outside their doors or gates. Whereas, letter boxes are big, red and planted on the street or prominent junctions, and run by the post office.

S Narayanan, a tax consultant and a resident of Nungambakkam remembers, “There was a time when many houses or offices did not have addresses. Instead, in official papers, they would mention the P.O box for correspondence which was unique only to the addressee. This was located on the premises of the Post Office itself.”

Narayanan’s dalliance with the post does not end there. He adds, with a glint in his eye, “While growing up I would immerse myself in spy thrillers and detective stories. I remember dead drops or dead letter boxes that were used for tradecraft. Spies would use them clandestinely to transfer items between networks. I read it in John Le Carre’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But now, that paints a very romantic picture. With radio-based and satellite communication, dead drops have become a thing of the past.” 

In one of the deep pockets of Mylapore, advocate V Geetha Rani has a more utilitarian approach. She says, “I have had a post box attached to my house for more than 10 years now. Earlier we used to write letters to friends and family living away, but now I receive important court orders and case related paperwork through the post.”

The biscuit colour post box attached to Geetha’s home, she says, is the only registered postal address with the court and is crucial for all work related correspondences.  

Monojit Kumar, former Director General of Postal Services, India, says, “I live in a one storeyed building. We have a room on the ground floor which is lined with post boxes for each flat , and they have been in a state of disrepair. “