The postman comes

Today in this world of emails and blogs and smses, in short,of fast and easy communications , I can not but remember the postman who was a common and popular figure in my childhood days.
The postman had, in the busy parts of the city, 3 rounds per day. He was a household figure, was witness to the happy and sad events of a family. He knew in which house a wedding was to take place and so was partcularly prompt in giving the letters there. And of course he was invited for the wedding.
The birth of a child was another joyous occasion.
He was also given Bhakshish for the various events that happened in all families.
I remember my father, waiting literally in the middle of the road, for the postman to bring my brother's letters, when he went out of our small town on getting his first job. And our postman also knew that the boy who he had seen grown up from a lad to an educated young man, had now gone out in to the big world out there.

Each are had 2 or 3 postmen and we were familiar with ours.
Another communications means was the telegram. Somehow a telegram had all our stomachs churning. We sensed and feared it was some bad news of death ...
Unless of course there was a wedding or a housewarming or some such function so that we guessed the telegrams were best wishes ones and there was no anxiety or fear.
Speaking of telegrams, who can indeed forget the telegram scenes in that most and ever popular film "Sound of Music"!
Gone are those days.
Today it is the click of the mouse on the computoror the flitting of the fingers on the mobile and instant messaging.