Early Morning Adventure - Discovering the Post Office

Weekends are special. Not because you don't work but because you get to finish all your pending house work that you ignored because you were working in the office.
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For the first time ever, I got a Speed post (keeping my passport as an exception). I had opened a bank account in Oriental Bank of Commerce and after about 15 days I got a call from the Post Man on the week-day asking me to come and collect a cheque book dispatched from the bank. I was at work when I got his call, I couldn't teleport myself home to receive the package and its impossible to do anything else on a weekday with my tight schedule, so I promised him I would visit the post office on my weekend (Saturday) and collect it. It appeared as though, he was not very happy with it and he warned me to be there before 11 AM if I had any value to that package else it would be sent back. Once its sent back, getting it again in a pain-in-the ass task! A chill ran down my spine with just a thought of it, so I immediately set a reminder to be there the coming weekend which was 2 days away.

Saturday finally came after a long wait - 

On Saturday morning, with a herculean effort I managed to wake up around 9:30 AM. I did not know where the Post Office was and Google Maps came to help as usual. To my luck, this post office was only 2.2 km away as per the map. 

I felt good, the morning breeze, the bike ride after a long week of driving my car on the martian road full of craters, the birds chirping, cloudy weather and a post office so nearby. I also felt its all in control. Just go, meet the post man, sign, collect the mail come back home in less than 20 minutes, enjoy the rest of the day - this sounded like a super plan!

But, here is how something else was written to happen to me that day.

I started from home, I reached the place where Google said there is a Post office, but here is where I stood. What happend to the post office? No POST OFFICE?

So I went ahead, as you can see on the left deep in the picture are two men sitting and discussing about the architectural wonder of the building under construction in front of them. I wanted to find out if ever a post office existed there. There was hardly any road left, thank god I had not come by my car. A four wheeler would have seen its last if it had to navigate through this narrow road. Firstly my bike's rear tire sunk in the muddy water, it took about 5 minutes to get it out of it. Then when I approached the men, they pointed out to a brick wall saying thats the post office. I thought they are pointing in a direction not to the wall, and so I took a U turn and maneuvered my way back assuming I have missed the post office.

I then asked in a shop, I asked a man, I asked a vegetable seller, a lady, a school kid and to my surprise everyone pointed in a direction I came from. All I could see was a bunch of water drums in the middle of the road like in the pic below.

So I came back to the muddy road again, met the same men, asked them again. They again said in Telugu "I think you are worried because there is a brick wall" what the hell did he mean. The man was huge, tall, dark with a felony look but he had the voice of a woman. I was convinced he is sure not tricking me into a scandal or loot me or something. Atleast he would have a hoarse male voice like they show in Telugu Movies. The man did not appear to qualify to be a villian. I bravely walked ahead of the brick wall. Behind the wall there was a house.

I saw someone inside the house with the door open. I thought I will find some one who can solve the mystery and show me the mythical invisible post office!

The time was 10:35 AM already and I remembered the warning post man had mentioned about collecting the post before 11 AM or its gone!

I eagerly entered the house, I had my helmet on and a Lady saw me coming ran inside, shouting, very loudly, aaaaa ooooo oooohhhhh and slammed the door shut! GODDAMIT!! what the hell happened! 

I stood Frozen! She felt I am a ALIEN? because I had my helmet on? What in the world did I do? I was in no position to do anything to her, I carried no weapons, nothing! below is the picture of the house behind the brick wall. The door that you see is where the lady ran and shut the door!

 Then I saw an old man standing and I walked ahead I saw a man with some mud in his hand walking inside. I asked him in Telugu with more respect than I had ever given anyone I know "sir, everyone is saying there is a post office here, do you know where the post office is?" the guy gave me a cold stare like "what an idiot" and looked at me top to bottom, scanning me twice. I really did not come here to rape if the lady who ran inside was his daughter. All I wanted was a post office. I had already asked more than 12 people, and including Google Map. This was the place where everyone said its post office. Then the old man responded "akkada undi chudu" and pointed me to the guy in white Baniyan.  I was actually standing right in front of the post office! Man! the post office had appeared out of no where! It was a house and now its a post office! No boards, no hoarding, nothing officially written, even on a wall nothing! I was actually standing in front of an Indian Post office, a century old 40 Billion dollar company !  In the above picture the post office is on the left! I had to walk in and see left! thats it! And to make sure I am not being conned (because I could not believe it) and looked into the room. There were some Ganesha Idols and some other stuff, but I noticed some letters lying on the floor and a lady standing in front of it. (This was another lady).

Then the man sitting inside is the POST MASTER!

I walked in, narrated him about the call I got, about the cheque book etc.,All he responded was he gave me a nod. He turn turned to his right like in the picture above, opened a wardrobe or something and pulled out my package. As you can see the ganesha idols behind him, the letters, adhar cards lying down on the floor. Thats the post office! How in the world was I supposed to know! Every kid seemed to know the location and even on google there was an entry! But there was not even a board, nor an office! 

I learnt that this guy has been working here for the last 18 years as the post master. He has been the only employee and its a home-office. Work from home is not new to our country I thought. But this is not work from home, this is like "Home your work" sort of a thing. Ganesha Idols, pottery, postman cum post master dual role, shop at the front, this is beyond entrepreneurship I thought. I smiled thinking all this but what I could not still understand is that why that Lady ran away seeing me! anyway, one mystery was unscathed as I had found the hidden post office! I felt like Indiana Jones! I took the parcel, signed a huge book, must be a ledger. 

I thanked him, and I finally made my way back home. I met the two men, they were still checking out the architectural wonder of the building, it was just a regular house but I wonder what they had to scrutnize and talk about so much. I thanked them, I thanked the nearby shop and I returned home. 

Thats how my day started, I got something to smile about, see something great and observe the fun side of life! Its been a great day of learning and introspection!