Anchal: The mail must go through

An old, dilapidated building atop an isolated hill. Totally deserted. No one goes there anymore. The path that led to the structure once is no longer traceable. The letter box is crumbling with rust and may topple any day.

But it is all part of recent history.

A few decades back this place was a hub of activity. It was an Anchal office. Now, Anchal was the name of the postal service of India’s native state, Travancore. I haven’t been able to clarify when this service began. Initially it was meant for government communications only. But in 1860 it was opened to the public as well.

Anchal coexisted with the British India Postal Service but they didn’t work in tandem. Both were separate entities. Anchal delivered letters only within Travancore State and the neighboring Cochin State which too had a similar service. For any mail to other parts of the country, the British India Postal Service had to be relayed upon.

Travancore introduced postage stamps in 1888. Cochin followed suit about ten years later. These stamps had two major differences. The early Travancore stamps showed only the Sanku, the State emblem whereas the Cochin stamps carried the portrait of the ruling Maharaja. Travancore had its own currency in which the value of the stamps was shown. In Cochin stamps, this was in British Indian Currency.

The Anchal Service used the railway, boats, buses and even canoes. And there were the Anchal Runners who delivered mail to the offices in the interiors where other means of transport could not reach. They ran at a steady pace holding a two-foot long staff on which bells were attached. The chiming would warn the people along the route that the Anchal Runner is approaching. They should remove all obstacles from his path.

The mail had the right of way.

Quite a few people used to gather at the Anchal Office even though there was a home delivery service. Normally they spent time gossiping till the mail came. The Anchal staff knew almost everyone in the locality. If there was mail for anyone present it was handed over to the addressee and then the Anchalkkaran (the delivery man) would go on his rounds.

There would still be a few hanging around the Anchal Office even after that. These are the illiterate. Someone has to read out the letters to them and also write replies on their behalf. I suppose that those who offered the service for pay or otherwise, were men of honor who would not reveal the contents of the mail.

Shortly after Independence Travacore and Cochin became one State and the Anchals merged. On April 1, 1951 the Anchal Services were absorbed by the Indian Postal System.

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Photo acknowledgement:

Source	http://www.flickr.com/photos/pyngodan/4440173054/in/set-72157617877364692
Author	http://www.flickr.com/photos/pyngodan

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.

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A Travancore Lady by Raja Ravi Varma

Taliat - a clarification

Responding to my post The greatness of human nature – a true story a viewer who was in Trivandrum during 1930s and 1940s sent me an email stating that a Taliat was Chief Justice of Travancore

There were two Taliat brothers, Joseph and Jacob at Trivandrum those days. The elder, Joseph, was the Chief Justice. Jacob became the Surgeon General of the State around 1947. I think that he was also the Surgeon General of the integrated Travancore-Cochin State after Independence.

Jacob’s son George emulated his father by becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. He was a well-known specialist in pediatric surgery and was with the Trivandrum Medical College. He died rather young.

Joseph Taliat’s daughter Lucy was a doctor too. She was with St. Martha’s Hospital, Bangalore and, if I remember right, was also associated with the St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore during its formative years.

Taliat is an ancient Syrian Christian family from the present Ernakulam District. During the time of the maharajas too, citizens could reach top positions irrespective of their religion.

Another interesting detail – the Maharajas of Cochin had the title ‘Protector of Christians’.

Ends.

Also see: The last of the Travancore Maharajas

The greatness of human nature – a true story

One July morning in 1938. A young man, eighteen years old, comes out of the Science College building in Trivandrum, Kerala after registering himself for B’Sc Chemistry.

A few hours later he is involved in a car accident. By about 4o’clock in the afternoon someone takes him to the General Hospital with severe head injuries and multiple fractures on one leg. He is admitted as an unidentified accident victim. He is a stranger to the capital city and no one knows him.

Two eminent surgeons of Travancore State (see: The last of the Travancore Maharajas), Dr. Jacob Taliat who was the then Superintendent of the hospital, and Dr. Kesavan Nair, both FRCS, undertake an 8-hours long operation to repair the head injuries. Setting the victim’s leg without any limp was to take nearly five months.

Next morning when the patient recovered consciousness he tells Dr. Taliat his name (Narayanan) and about enrolling for B’Sc. The doctor immediately calls Dr. Modgil, the Principal of Science College and a personal friend. The Principal (who was a Punjabi), checks the registration papers and finds that the boy had passed the Intermediate Examination of the Madras University with record marks. Dr. Modgil rushes to the hospital and calls on the boy along with Dr. Taliat. Such visits become routine.

Months pass. One day Narayanan asks Dr. Modgil whether he would be able to write the 1st B’Sc examination that year. He had not attended a single class yet. Pointing to Taliat, Modgil replies: But for this doctor you would have lost your life. Now you are worrying about losing one year.

A minimum attendance was required to write the examination. Only the Vice Chancellor of the newly formed Travancore University had the authority to grant exemption to this rule. That person was Dr. Sir CP Ramaswamy Iyer, the Dewan (executive head under the Maharaja) of Travancotre. He was a controversial person who, among other things, was often accused of being dictatorial.

On Dr. Modgil’s recommendation, Sir CP (as the Dewan was generally known) looks into Narayanan’s previous records and allows him to write the examination. In 1940 the boy graduates in the First Class with rank. Parry & Company immediately grabs him as Research Assistant. The brilliant young chemist was keen on continuing with his studies in agriculture chemistry and Dr. Modgil wanted to offer him a Fellowship.

There was a problem though. Parry & Co was paying Narayanan Rs.200 a month. The University could offer only a stipend of Rs.50. Dr. Modgil goes to Sir CP who immediately increases the stipend fourfold.

And thus emerged Dr.CKN Nair who was to become internationally famous in his field. But not before Sir CP intervenes once more on his behalf. In 1946 the State bureaucracy tries to prevent Dr. Nair from proceeding to the U.S.A. for further studies. The Dewan however clears the program.

I am amazed by what Dr. Jacob Taliat, Dr. Kesaan Nair, Dr. Modgil and Sir CP did for a total stranger. Their kindness and generosity help one to reaffirm the faith in humanity.

[This is based on an autobiographical article by Dr. CKN Nair in the Mathrubhumi Weekly of July 21-27, 1998. I came across it in the archives at Thekkanattu Parayil, Olavipe]

Ends.