Highlights-
- Kolkata has inaugurated India’s first Post Office café.
- This parcel cafe, named Siuli is opened to act as a philatelic ancillary shop.
- The name of the café is given after a native flower “Siuli.
To maintain its hold in not only the market but also in conversation, in people’s mindscapes, the Indian Postal Department (IPO) has inaugurated India’s first post office café. Surprisingly, all of the cafe’s furnishings have been upcycled. Siuli, the parcel cafe housed in Kolkata’s majestic General Post Office, doesn’t require much to entice its customers. Its name itself is a wonder! The name of the café is given after a native flower “Siuli”. Siuli is a well-known trinket-shaped flower in saffron and white.
The café is started to act as a philatelic ancillary shop. Everything from philately (stamp collecting) albums to silver trinkets, including Ganga water from Gangotri on the Ganges, is available at the café. In addition, India Post will provide packaging services for the first time in the country. Customers’ parcels will no longer be dependent on commercial companies that impose outrageous fees.
All about the siuli, parcel café
Siuli, the Parcel Café will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The café will be managed by the in-house catering department. The department formerly ran a tiny staff canteen in a hall corner. The remainder of the hall served as a counter for philatelic ancillaries such as mugs, coasters, cushions, and brass plates, all of which included prints of relevant stamps. These things will continue to be available for purchase at the café.
The cafe has been elegantly furnished with a postal motif by an in-house team. The cafe’s attraction is its vividly colored wooden furnishings and sofa seating for around 34 people spread across the 1,450 sq ft room. Each table arrangement will also be kept at a safe distance.
“A step towards the betterment of the people”
“The café is not an ornamental one, it has parcel booking counters which are completely functional. The idea is to strengthen our ties with the current generation,” Niraj Kumar, Postmaster-General of Kolkata Region. He further regarded the cafe as a step towards the betterment of the people.
Kolkata GPO
Kolkata GPO is one of five philatelic bureaus in the country that are permitted to see United Nations stamps. The others are Mumbai GPO, Chennai GPO, Parliament Street, and New Delhi GPO.
Indian Post office
As per the official website of India Post, the country has the world’s largest postal network. India has around 154,965 Post Offices (as of 31.03.2017), 139,067 of which are in rural areas. A post office serves an area of 21.56 square kilometers and a population of 7753 persons on average.
