The Death of Telegram
I remember the last telegram I sent to my father when I was a student in 1974: Please send fifty urgently. There was no salutation or closure, or unnecessary words. Any extra word would cost me money. I sent an ordinary telegram as I could not afford an urgent telegram.
The telegrams were famous when I was growing up. This postal tool was the only means to communicate an urgent message: Births, deaths, appointments, graduations and transfers. Early morning or a late night receipt of a telegram always conveyed a piece of sad news. “ Start immediately’ would be the standard text in many telegrams. The reason would be missing. My parents would read the messages with trembling hands and start their preparations to travel. Arranging for money at short notice was challenging, and they borrowed from neighbours. There were a few trains and buses, so travel logistics was a big issue.
The person who sent the telegrams, called a telegram operator at the post office, was a hero. He knew a new language- Morse Code. I felt thrilled to see him playing with the key on the keyboard. He operated the key as a virtuoso and beamed confidently with a virtual crown on his head. You should see him when he was sending the telegrams. I never realised that he could make errors which would make an enormous difference to the receiver. The telegrams were also a great source of amusement. I remember my only knowledgeable uncle in the village sending a telegram to his nephew: “Son born Sunday morning, both safe.” He attempted brevity and wanted to save the cost by removing unnecessary words. But the recipient was amused with the following text: “Sun born Sonday Morning and both safe.”
I worked with a supply chain company in Mumbai, and one of my colleagues sent a message to his father-in-law: “Wife loaded arrange delivery” after seeing off his pregnant wife at the station. Regional language options were unavailable, and many took the help of the postman who delivered the message for translation.
Telegrams were famous during the war and the peace. During the war, the generals communicated through telegrams using some cyphers of encryption technologies to make it difficult for the enemy to intercept. During peacetime, the tool served various purposes. I remember Greetings telegrams for birthdays, weddings and anniversaries. I would send a number eight or sixteen from a list of thirty-eight to a bride or a bridegroom, and each number had a standard line for a specific occasion.
Eight reads like this: “Best Wishes for a long and Happy married life.”
Ten goes like this: “ Hearty congratulations on your success in the Examination.”
Sixteen reads this: “May Heaven’s Choicest Blessings………… on the young couple.”
A few played pranks using telegrams, and I remember my mother receiving a telegram indicating the death of a cousin. She rushed to the town and found the person alive and kicking. A minor incident between the husband and the wife made the man send the telegram. The telegram came very handy in movies to move over a crucial scene effortlessly, and the story would take a different direction.
While several countries have discontinued the telegrams because of cost issues, this service thrives in Japan, Portugal, and a few other countries.
The telegram era in India ended on the 15th of July, 2013. The first telegram travelled on the wire between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850. Could you imagine the same technology supporting sending the first and last telegram over 163 years?
