International Women's Day: Tamil Nadu postmaster braves fear of wild animals

The electricity board employees living in the camp and the forest officials often give her advice on how to detect if an elephant is in the region.
A Fathima Rani, Kodayar Melthangal branch post office’s postmaster, during one of her treks in Tirunelveli. (Photo | V Karthikalagu, EPS)
A Fathima Rani, Kodayar Melthangal branch post office’s postmaster, during one of her treks in Tirunelveli. (Photo | V Karthikalagu, EPS)

TIRUNELVELI: For A Fathima Rani, walking long distances through the forest is a daily routine. The 58-year-old postmaster at Kodayar Melthangal branch post office treks nearly 10 km to deliver mails to the workers of a hydel power plant located deep inside Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

Her trek is not a walk in the park. "It rains often here and is almost always covered in mist. This makes it difficult to see wild animals in the woods," says Fathima. She crosses paths with leopards, bison and, wild boars, sometimes even run from them that too clad in a saree.

The electricity board employees living in the camp and the forest officials often give her advice on how to detect if an elephant is in the region. As the road is narrow in the mountain region, one cannot run left or right into the forest as it is a steep hill. "So, most of the time, I patiently wait for the animals to pass by or silently walk past them."

With a smile on her face, she recalls how a sleeping snake across the road didn’t stop her from going to work. Another day, she saw a tiger cub prancing in front of her and expected an angry mother to show up. She hid in the woods for nearly half-an-hour to not rattle the unsuspecting family before resuming her trek.
Nalumukku estate, located next to Kodayar Dam in the tiger reserve, is nearly 1,200 meters above the sea level.

In the past 25 years, Fathima has walked in the rain and wind, and has trained herself to handle encounters with tigers, leopards, elephants, wild boars, bison, and snakes. She is the connection to the outside world for forest officials, police personnel and eight families of the employees living near the dam.

She walks 5 km to the branch office and then back every day as there is no mobile network in the area and records need to be updated in the Rural Information and Communication Technology (RICT) device issued by the postal department.

"I was very timid when I began the job nearly 25 years ago. My husband used to accompany me on the walk to the upper dam in the first week. But then, I taught myself to be brave and go alone," she says.

A resident of the Nalumukku tea estate, she previously worked at a tea factory for four years and also picked tea leaves. She overcame considerable odds to get to where she is today. In 1997, when she was 33, she was appointed the postmaster of the branch.

"When it rains heavily, forest or EB employees help me get back to Nalumukku or they pick up deliveries from the sub-office,"she adds. P Haridasan, assistant engineer at the Kodayar plant, says Fathima never hesitated to walk to the plant every day. "We give her a lift to and from Nalumukku sometimes. Otherwise, she walks," he says.

Ambasamudram assistant superintendent of post office RP Balaji said he was surprised to see Fathima walk through the wilderness alone. All she wants to do is to send out a message that women of all ages could sustain in any job with a little perseverance and trust in themselves.

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