India has 579,595 postboxes. Located in every bustling city gully and chowks of each little village falling off the map, they have witnessed our history. They carry stories. And bring charm to our landscape.
With India Post making some operational changes, could India’s timeless postboxes to go extinct? Take a postcard journey with Hemantkumar Shivsharan/Rediff past some of our cutest dak boxes...
Hikkim, Himachal Pradesh
The world's highest postbox is said to be at Hikkim, Spiti. At 14,567 ft, step into the postbox-shaped post office to send letters from the top of the world.
Srinagar, Kashmir
A little girl posts a letter to her grandparents at a postbox in front of the floating post office on Dal Lake.
Pune, Maharashtra
Heritage red against historic walls -- the pride of Pune’s General Post Office.
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
School children in narrow lanes of old Varanasi have letters to post and maybe stamps to buy too.
Gandipet, Hyderabad, Telangana
A newfangled double-slot letter box, for convenience, back in the day when there might have been little crowds waiting to stick their chitthis or pale blue inland aerogrammes in the box.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
The state's oldest post box is at Taj West End hotel. It is centuries-old but still standing strong. And classy.
New Delhi
Elegance in mail clearance... A Delhi postwoman in the signature Department of Post sari uniform collects letters from a postbox.
Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh
172108. That's the pincode of this post box and sleepy mountainous town in Kinnaur district. Did she just post a letter?
Chalakudy, Kerala
A rare Travancore-era relic in this town in Thrissur district is painted green, a postal gem of Kerala. These lovely-looking hexagonal boxes were manufactured in Madras by Massey & Co.
Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh
The heritage box on the grounds of Kasauli Club has majesty!
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Queens Road has a cuteness overload box -- smiles delivered with every letter posted.
Darjeeling, West Bengal
Probably as old as the 19th century hotel is the elegant box at Windamere at Observatory Hill -- a colonial-era keeper of stories in the snowy hills.
Jodhpur, Rajasthan
The whole local post department turns out to fete their box for its electronic clearing notification capabilities.
Ranchi, Jharkhand
When the Nanyatha Mobile App was started up, to electronically monitor letterbox clearance, the old-style patra petis off Main Road, Ranchi, were honoured with flower garlands.
Khandra, Panipat, Haryana
India Post honoured Neeraj Chopra’s Tokyo Olympics javelin gold winner with a special golden letterbox in his Haryana hometown, just 87.58 m from his home.
Mangaluru, Karnataka
St Aloysius High School, on Light House Hill Road at Kodialbail has its own India Post box.
Devlali, Maharashtra
So does the 1925-established Barnes School, several kilometres out of Devlali.
Kedarnath, Uttarakhand
A child posts a letter from at Bholenath Ji, Kedarnath.
Kolkata, West Bengal
At Shankaritola Post Office, Natbar Dutta Lane, near Santosh Mitra Square, the post dabba shares space with the laundry, lounging residents. And a helmet?
Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu
This dilapidated box, hanging outside a 4 by 4 hut of a PO at Ooty, can't get many letters. And the dog's nap is probably not interrupted often...
Somnathpur, Karnataka
You are awfully lucky to be able to drop off a letter here in front of the Kesava Hoysala temple, Prasanna Chennakesava Temple. It will get franked with an image of the temple on it.
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
He patiently waits for customers at the postal window next to the mailbox on a slow letter day.