A postcard from memory lane: Revisiting Dhaka’s GPO

My earliest recollections of the city's General Post Office are linked to my late grandmother. I vividly remember her taking me to the Philatelic Bureau every Saturday to see whether any new commemorative postage stamp issues had been released. For a nine-year-old, that was nothing short of an adventure!

I remember returning with a smile because there was always something to add to my budding stamp collection. My mother had already introduced me to philately, so I was hooked early on, but it was my grandmother who turned it into our special adventure and to this day, I remain an avid collector. There was a joy in sending and receiving mail, a feeling most people from the younger generation hardly ever experience. For me, the GPO has always been at the centre of that ritual.

I remember taking the weekly letters written to my foreign friends and standing in the long queue to have the envelopes registered, as this ensured their safe and speedy delivery. It was always a good idea to visit the GPO in the early hours because as the day progressed, the crowd got thicker. For those who had missed the office hours, there was even a night post office!

On days like 9 October, which is still observed as World Post Day, the place used to take a festive air. New stamps were often released and the Philatelic Bureau would bustle with activity. People would buy stamps and some would even post the stamps on the very day of release, keeping philatelic souvenirs called First Day Covers. Stamp exhibitions were arranged in the GPO Auditorium and there used to be seminars and workshops on collecting techniques.

Photo: Palash Khan

The General Post Office (GPO) still stands at what was once the heart of Dhaka. A place full of activity even a decade ago, it is now only a shell of its former glory.

In the age of social media and WhatsApp, the postal department no longer witnesses a flood of letters. Most people who come to avail their services are bulk mailers from different government departments and private offices. They still need to post their business mail but not out of necessity and only to follow official procedures.

I visited the GPO recently, after a long gap, expecting it to feel empty. And it was! The place was quiet and the feeling of importance that once floated in the air was no longer there.

Walking through the corridors of the GPO, I could still find clerks handling packages and sorting through envelopes. I was also surprised to see that the post office still offered the Money Order service! There were counters to encash mobile transfers and to make mobile payments — something unheard of when I used to frequent the post office.

As I stood by the same counters I and my grandmother visited, I realised how much the GPO had changed. The earliest post office in Dhaka dates back to the eighteenth century and while GPO may no longer be the centre of communication it once was, for me — and I imagine, for many others like me — it is still a place of personal importance and a reminder of the beauty in handwritten letters, of patience, and of the human need to reach out to one another.

Photos: Palash Khan