MANGALURU: When was the last time you have posted a postcard? The present generation may not have even seen one.
Forget mobile phones or social media, it is this humble postcard which is also now connecting one with the world.
These enthusiasts pick up pen and paper almost every day and send these postcards to strangers across the globe and also receive similar ones in their mailboxes. This art of snail mail is now the in-thing.
According to a conservative estimate, over seven lakh people from 215 countries have made friends with randomly selected strangers via this vintage link.
But ironically, it was the Internet that was used to promote this exploration of unknown destinations and cultures and people.
These enthusiasts who refuse to get rid of their passion of receiving a card or sending one are into what is known as Postcrossing, created by Paulo Magalhaes from Portugal on July 14 in 2005.
Its website says: “On this day 14 years ago, Paulo typed a command on his computer, and just like that, the Postcrossing adventure had started...Our fresh year that starts today is going to be an exciting one, as we’ve been busy working on some big projects behind-the-scenes. So stay tuned for some good news soon!”
Mansoor Bolar (48) from Mangaluru is one such postcrosser, standing number 2 in the country with over 3,804 postcards and he had received 3,806 cards so far from random people.
Working in a shipping agency and an avid philatelist, Mansoor learnt about postcrossing during philatelist meetings and became a member in 2008.
“The objective is giving happiness and receiving it back. The postcards are full of information because senders will go through our profile on Postcrossing website and choose the cards,” he explains.
He says, “Cards travel thousands of miles and some get damaged or crumpled.”
Vidya Bagalodi learnt about postcrossing from Mansoor and she has over 780 cards in her count. Last week, she has posted 40 postcards to random people.
“It is an interesting hobby one can teach their children. My daughter and I postcross and the postcards we receive come with a ‘bundle’ of joy,” she says.
For instance, Vidya received a bundle from Slovakia recently where the postcard sender has read through her entire profile and not just sent a postcard but lot many goodies, including pencils, since she collects thems.
“In all my cards, I mention a message, ‘Please don’t harm animals’. The postcards can also express the love for our country with beautiful themes,” she says.
In Dakshina Kannada, there are a handful of postcrossers who have taken it up as a hobby. “But it is not easy to ascertain how many are into Postcrossing because there is no forum that keeps track of them. We get to know them at philatelist or numismatics meets and try to organise the meets. There was a meet at Manipal in 2017.” Mansoor says.
But in a world where the postal system is collapsing, there are some challenges in Postcrossing as well.
To send and receive these postcards, the postal systems of the country should be also in good shape.
Some cards are lost in the process and there are other challenges too.
For instance, the postal address for China would be in their language and reproducing it in writing is difficult.
Another problem is getting hold of postcards.
Not many postcards are printed at present and so are not easily available in shops either.
India Post does print the postcards and Mansoor has collected them through parcel mail from Rajkot.
But these are small hiccups. In an age where digital communication is becoming more impersonal, cold and distant, postcrossers are happy posting or receiving that postcard from Slovenia, Ireland, Finland, Indonesia or Japan, and thereby living in their own world, a happy world at that!
What is Postcrossing?
It is a project where one sends the postcard physically after registering on the postcrossing.com website. The website provides postal addresses of random people with a registration number of the postcard.
On the postcard, this registration number should be mentioned and the addressee upon receiving the card will register this number in website which will make the sender eligible to receive a card from any random user.