Chapter 7 — Carrier of Words

Khetaram is the sole Gramin Dak Sewak (postman) of Somarad Branch Post Office in Rajasthan. For 15 years he has delivered mail on foot across the Thar desert to remote hamlets just 2.5 km short of the Indo-Pakistan border, with his left shoulder slumped from years of carrying a mailbag.

Gramin Dak Sewaks are rural postal delivery workers who form more than 50% of India Post's total workforce. They work only five hours a day, must have another means of livelihood, and can serve until the age of 65. Until 2001 they were known as 'delivery agents'; since then they have been recognised as Gramin Dak Sewaks.

Khetaram operates 120 km beyond the last railhead at Barmer, 50 km beyond the last phone, and 10 km beyond where the road crumbles into sand so soft that even bicycles cannot move. He walks on foot carrying a mailbag of up to 28 kilos, facing temperatures above 50°C, scorching summer winds, and swirling sandstorms.

An envelope with the right corner torn off signifies that it contains news of death (Ashubh Samachar). Khetaram does not carry such a letter into the house; he stands outside, reads it out twice, then tears it to bits, saying "Bad news must be destroyed."

Mulk Raj Anand, in his book 'Story of the Indian Post Office,' noted that in no other country are people in remote villages so dependent on the post office for transmission of small sums of money. For families in this arid land, survival is partly dependent on money orders remitted by relatives.

He delivers even when his body signals that the temperature has crossed 50°C (officially recorded as 49.9°C to avoid a state holiday). Sometimes severe heat forces him to postpone deliveries till after sundown. Water is too precious to waste on washing, so he can only wipe his body.

A scheme to scrap the GDS and transfer the job to patwaris (village record keepers) was proposed and summarily rejected. Village elder Budh Singh is quoted saying, "We knew they would not be able to do the job," reflecting the deep trust communities placed in GDS workers.

The British postal system was set up in India to relay company dak between administrative centres. After Independence, India Post's mandate was to bring the entire population within the mailing ambit. Post offices grew from 25,000 in 1947 to more than a lakh and a half across the country.

The poem argues that words often fail to truly satisfy the heart. A few sincere words spoken from the heart bring more joy than many meaningless ones. The poet uses similes — words are like summer birds that depart, and like weeds — and ends by comparing empty words to showy plants that blossom but bear no fruit.

The textbook identifies alliteration in 'scorching summer winds and swirling sandstorms' and a metaphor in 'turn him into a walking sandman' within the extract describing how his khaki turban and uniform are his only protection against the desert's furies.

Famine (akaal) is a way of life in his area; in a good year he gets one crop of bajra, which cannot feed his family of five. He says, "We would starve without this job." His appointment as a GDS gave him a new lease of life and an assured income.

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