Another kick in the shin...

... for small enterprises and the people they employ.

New Year's Day was a hot afternoon, and when the bell rang at about 3pm, I was half expecting to find a guest. Instead of which I found a late middle aged man, with a letter from my bank. Sweat curled on his forehead, and the stench of his unwashed shirt reached me about 3 feet away. I asked him if he wanted some water, since he seemed in need of it. I got him some, and then offered to give him the whole bottle which he politely declined. As he started down the flight of stairs he said: "God Bless You!".

I have never seen him again. Though I think about him sometimes (like right now), and wonder what lead him to work for a low paying job in his middle age. Perhaps he had some bad luck in business, perhaps he is one of the mill-employees who never got there jobs back, perhaps his wife is sick and he needs the money. What I am almost sure off is that he isn't doing it out of a fancy of roaming the hot streets.

About a week earlier there was another ring on the door, it was the postman, dressed in a clean khaki uniform.He wanted his annual bade din ki baksheesh or christmas bonus. Our building has a common mailbox on the ground floor, and the only times a postman is seen at the door is when there is a registered letter or when he wants a baksheesh. He spends a lot of time in the sun too, but he has a secure job, and gets done by 5 pm everyday. He wouldn't be caught dead delivering a letter on Christmas, New Year, Sunday or any of the 14 official holidays he is entitled to.

He was handsomely rewarded 20 Rs., which is a pure surplus for him, because he gets a salary paid for by stamps and taxmoney. He screwed up his face and ventured down the same staircase. I am assured of atleast a few missing letters this coming year I am sure. Especially since the government is benevolently trying to ensure that only the disaffected postman has a legal monopoly on bringing letters to my door.

Courier guys, sometimes less polite than the nice man I talked about, and sometimes better dressed, eke out a living from the delivery of letters and small packages that are sent across the city for as little as 10Rs. with an assurance of delivery on the next day. Many of the smaller courier services have only a few offices and have inter-connection arrangements that they have arrived at without government coercion (think TRAI in India, FCC in America). They solve the problem of package delivery for many small businesses, and individuals, who would rather not sample the customer friendliness of IndiaPost which stops accepting registered letters by 2 or 3pm everyday.

But ofcourse, we shamefully have to look on as the government takes steps to ensure that the postman always rings after Christmas, but never on it.

(Link via email from Madman)