The Inland Letters

When my mother showed me a blue paper with her address neatly typed on it and blessings from
her father wrapped inside it in his handwriting, I asked her what it was. She told me the name of that
awesome looking piece of paper- ‘Inland Letter’. Full of curiosity I logged in to my computer to read
more about it. To know what I found dear friends, read on!
Inland Letter Card (ILC) was introduced on 2nd October 1950 by the Ministry of Communications
(Post and Telegraphs) vide Notification No.R-1-31/49. They were placed at par with the existing let-
ters and postcards. Though the official postal notice said that the name of the new stationary intro-
duced would be ‘Inland Letter Card’, we find only ‘Inland Letter’ written on it. But in 1969, its full
name was introduced along with its denomination fixed at 15p. They were available both in English
and in Hindi. These inland letters as the name clearly suggests could be used for internal circulation
in India only but in India they could be sent from any corner to any other corner of the country. In
case someone used them for cross border transmission of messages, the letters would be taxed.
Keeping in mind the bulk use of these letters by the business community, the inland letters were
issued in two varieties- embossed with price and the un-embossed ones. The un-embossed inland let-
ter cards were specially meant for the business people who used franking machines for postage pre-
payment. There were 10 postal depots that issued these ILCs throughout India out of which one was
in Nagpur. What a great feeling! I just wish I could go to the Postal depot and get 1000 such ILCs
issued. You will be amazed to know that the price for 1000 un-embossed ILCs was just Rs.7 and 8
annas! Isn’t that difficult to believe? Holding one ILC in my hand was giving me the feeling of a
King! I was feeling so special.
Dear friends, this great way of communicating came to an end because of the advent of faster
means to communicate due to technology advancement. It became easier and faster to communicate
by way of telephone, messages, e-mails and now by other means and modes such as social media
apps. But believe me the expression on my mother's face when she was holding that blue piece of
paper sent to her by her father cannot be described in words. It's a treasure for her more valuable
than anything else in the world. To experience this immense feeling of joy, why don't you ask your
parents or grandparents to show one to you too? I am sure everyone would have one ILC full of
their old sweet memories neatly tucked in their cupboards or trunks somewhere.

--Shreenabh Agrawal
Std IX
The Chanda Devi Saraf School

MORNING The atmosphere was pleasant,

The beam of morning light sitting
in my balcony,
Welcomed my sleepy face with offering me,
tea and honey.
The green yard was blooming
with blossoming flowers,
My lazy mind woke up jubilantly,
The sea was sparkling as if to compete the sun,
I sat in the balcony having tea and baked bun.
The laughing roses and waving lilies,
Gave me a huge smile piercing my cheeks,
Including birds having chirping beaks.
The nature here was gracious and docile,
Lending peace demanding no money,
It was like a dream that came to reality,
Starting with a beam of light
sitting in my balcony.
GOOD MORNING
--Sayee Barokar
Std IX
Bhavan's B.P. Vidya Mandir Sri Krishna Ngr

8 Twinkle★STAR TheHitavada, Saturday, April 21, 2018