Home Delivery Service

He started his professional life as a postman. The village he lived in did not offer many career options, and he was sure he did not want to be a farmer.

He enjoyed the hopeful glances cast in his direction, as people awaited letters from their loved ones. Gradually, he saw the looks turn to disappointment, as a generation moved to cities to earn a living, and kind of relinquished the place of their origin. He hated saying,

“There’s nothing for you today, Auntie. Maybe your son will call. Who writes letters these days?”

Mobile phones had reached, where other amenities couldn’t. Internet connectivity was intermittent, so people were not hooked on apps. They used a phone to make and receive calls. Low levels of literacy were a barrier to messaging.

He will never forget the day the Big Boss arrived in the District Town Hall to address a meeting. He said their department had been granted a license to provide banking services. The postmen would soon be armed with a micro-ATM and a mobile phone to receive messages. They would go house-to-house to accept cash deposits or let the villagers withdraw money from their bank accounts with a swipe of the card, or biometrics. It was a part of the financial inclusion exercise.

Mr. Allsopp felt important once again. He will soon deal with money, and instil hope in villagers’ hearts. He is in midst of a career change from postman to banker. The Class 12 examination he passed with good grades is paying off now. And he did it without migrating to the city, to live in holes. He enjoyed his spacious ancestral house, and the fresh air.