Postcrossing Blog

At least once a year, postcrossers from Mumbai in India get together to celebrate their hobby and send some postcards. Last year, the Little Mail Carriers’ cousin was invited by Amit Surana (aka indianfriendszone) to tag along and discover his beautiful country. Here’s his report of the trip:

Hi everyone! It’s been a while… I hope you’re doing well!

Man… it sure feels good to get out of that envelope! :) Ooooh… and what do we have here?

Well hello ladies! Nice to meet you! Are you all coming to the Postcrossing meetup as well?

The local postcrossers are celebrating a special quirky date: 11/12/13! This sequential date only happens once every 100 years – how cool is that?

We met at Starbucks, and then moved to the General Post Office, who made a room available for us to share and write our postcards in a quiet environment. That was very nice of them!

A great crowd turned up, and it was really nice to meet everyone in person! And the postcards were really nice too – some where even especially designed for this event:

By the way, the building of the Mumbai General Post Office is stunning – one of the largest post office buildings in the world with 101 counters and 11,000 square meters of area. As you can imagine, it handles massive quantities of mail everyday! Do pay it a visit if you’re around…

… you might even get to meet a friendly postman, like I did!

After the meeting, I stayed in Mumbai for some time, and got to do some sightseeing with Amit, and learn a bit more about the biggest city in India. Mumbai is amazing: everywhere you look, there’s a piece of history waiting to be discovered.

We stopped at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (also known as Victoria Terminus), built in 1887 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. It’s made in the Victorian Gothic Revival style blended with traditional Indian architecture – and so remarkable that it earned UNESCO recognition.

Mumbai is also known for the Bollywood industry, which is based here in the city. We went to see one of these movies, and the songs were stuck in my head for hours afterwards… I even learned a dance move or two! I didn’t understand much of the story since everyone spoke Hindi… except now and then, when the characters would speak in English for a sentence or two! Amit explained that this is called Hinglish and it’s a mixture of the two languages.

I also got a chance to see the magnificent Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and the Leopold Café nearby. This was a solemn moment in my trip, as I remembered the many people who died or were wounded here during the November 2008 terrorist attack.

After that I was feeling contemplative… Since Mumbai lays by the sea, this was the perfect occasion to take a stroll on the beach, and dip my feet in the Arabian Sea while watching the sunset. Chowpatty beach is one of the most famous in Mumbai. It’s here that people come to try the local delicacies or just relax at the end of a long day. There were monkeys dancing, snake-charmers and even fortune tellers!

A short walk from the beach was Kamala Nehru Park, which features…

… a boot house! Isn’t that amazing? Who wouldn’t want to live in a boot? It’s inspired in the nursery rhyme There was an old woman who lived in a shoe – though I didn’t find any old women there, only happy children!

On my last days in town, there was another Postcrossing meeting, where we visited the Elephanta caves, a famous UNESCO heritage site on an island 10km from the coast of Mumbai. The caves have a series of sculptures, from the 5th and 6th centuries, depicting the cult of Shiva. They’re amazing! I felt even smaller than usual next to them…

Glad I wasn’t alone! There were a lot of friendly postcrossers there with me :)

I had an wonderful time in India with Amit and all the postcrossers, but now it’s time to go! Into the mailbox I go… who knows where I’ll pop out! :)

Thank you Amit, that was lovely! Keep an eye on the blog, we have a feeling we’ll be hearing from the Little Mail Carrier’s soon…

Danny (aka wildernesscat) was born in Estonia, but moved to Israel when he was just 10 years old. After discovering Postcrossing in late 2008, Danny has sent over 3000 postcards… and risen to be the top postcrosser in Israel! :)

Here is what he had to say to our interview questions:

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

I had always been fond of writing letters and postcards, but never knew that people exchanged cards on a regular basis. Then one time, as I was corresponding with my friend Aet (aka jalutaja) in Estonia, and she suggested I tried Postcrossing. At first I didn’t believe that the idea actually worked, but after I got my first card from a total stranger, I just couldn’t stop going. The idea fascinated me, and I became an avid participant, up to this day.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

I am enclosing a picture of the only post office we have in our town. Kfar Yona is a small place, and we don’t have mail distribution to residential addresses. Every family has its own post office box (similar to the ones you see on the wall), and you have to collect your mail there.

I am also enclosing a picture of a regular Israeli mailbox. Next to the box you can see my electric bicycle. I use it as a main means of transportation on weekdays.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

What I like most is the selection of a new address, and choosing the right card for that person. I do quite a bit of research before I settle on a postcard. I check their favorites, their received cards (to avoid duplicates), and some other links that may be present in the profile. Then of course, comes the preparation of the card itself. I have different stamps of different sizes, and stickers to decorate the card. Everything has to match perfectly, so the card’s surface is used in the most elegant way. I like to write down the date and the weather, and sometimes I add some sort of doodle in the corner. It has to look just right :)

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

Well, actually I have two such cards. What makes them special is the fact that they were sent from countries that have no postal ties with Israel. There aren’t many countries like that, and when someone living there makes an effort to send me a card (via 3rd party), it makes me appreciate it even more because I know that the sender has invested time and thought into getting it to me. One is from Wadih in Lebanon, and the other is from Bilal in Pakistan. So close by, yet so far away.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

My kids and I like spending time outdoors, particularly mountain biking. Every other weekend we load our bikes on the car, and set out to one of Israel’s nature reserves. The reserves are located mainly in the North of the country, were the climate is cooler, and there are several marked biking trails. On other days we go on day-hikes, and look for Geocaching treasure. We picked up this hobby on a recent trip to Australia, and now continue doing it back home. We were surprised at how many caches are hidden all over the country!

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Yes, as corny as it may sound, I like the idea of promoting peace and understanding between people. There are many different religions and different walks of life in our country, and sometimes hatred stems from pure ignorance. People portray the other side in negative light, and fights are started over nothing. There are lots of common denominators between people, and when they open up to ideas different than their own, great friendships can form. I am happy to say that I have friends and acquaintances that speak different languages and hold opposing political views. It is okay to disagree on some things, but it’s also important to respect each other, and treat each other in a civilized manner. I think that Postcrossing can promote these ideals in a friendly, relaxed manner.

Remember some years ago, when a class of students in Tuvalu sent postcards to raise awareness for the plight of their tiny country?

Well, they’re at it again! This year’s project is called “We are One”. Emily (aka emilytao), the volunteer who is helping the children on this project, explains the concept:

"Being one of the smallest and most remote nations in the world, it’s easy to miss out Tuvalu on the map. Through postcard exchanging, we wish to make this island country more known to the world; hence the idea of “We Are One Project” was born, which aims to connect Funafuti’s (the capital island) Primary School children with postcrossers from all over the world. Students will benefit from writing postcards in English, further motivating them to become better writers… or simply to have more enthusiasm in learning English!

Once we receive postcards, students will be assigned to do studies and research on different country’s unique culture or history. They will be amazed at the fact how big the world is; bigger than they had thought, beyond the skyline of coconut trees and the sea.

Through this project, we hope to help our children be more connected with the rest of the world, and understand that we are all part of it, for better or worse, WE ARE ONE WORLD. "

How wonderful is that? :) They’re planning to send around 400 postcards, and the first ones are already on their way! If you’re lucky, you might receive or send one to them!

Oh! And if you didn’t know where Tuvalu is, or want to learn more about this Polynesian island nation, don’t forget to check out their page on Wikipedia.

PS – We know that Tuvalu is a “rare” country, but Emily and the children won’t be able to engage in direct swaps for the duration of the project. So please respect their choice, and don’t contact them requesting for swaps.

Yes, you read that right! With the Queen’s royal approval, the tiny island of Guernsey will be the fourth country (or in this case, special territory) to launch its own Postcrossing stamp!

Why Guernsey, you might ask? Well, it’s all thanks to Michael (aka GIBSONMS)! One day, Michael decided to get in touch with a few postal services and make the case for a Postcrossing stamp as a way to spread the word about the project. He was really enthusiastic and persistent, and what do you know… it worked! :)

So ladies and gentlemen, we’re proud to announce that on May 28th, a new Postcrossing stamp will be born! Here’s what it will look like:

Fun, right? It was designed by Guernsey Post’s marketing team, and it depicts an outline of the island of Guernsey with a smiley face, giving the thumbs up to Postcrossing! It will be available online on the Guernsey Stamps page from May 28th onwards, and also on the local post offices.

No matter how many Postcrossing stamps are born, it’s still a great honor for us to see them come to life. How many websites do you know that can boast this? :) So we’d like to give our heartfelt thank you to Dawn Gallienne at Guernsey Post for believing in the project – and especially to Michael, for his dedication!

By the way, we’re preparing a Postcrossing meeting in St. Peter Port, on the launch day, so that all postcrossers can come together and send postcards with the new stamp. It’ll take place on the main Post Office (Envoy House, La Vrangue) at 2pm – do get in touch on the forum, if you’re planning to attend. Everyone is welcome and we look forward to seeing you there! :)

Today we’d like to present you a special kind of postcards… linen postcards! Have you ever heard of them, or received one?

By the name alone, one might imagine that linen postcards were made from… well… linen! However, while the surface pattern of the card resembled linen fabric, the cards were actually made from a very inexpensive paper stock with a high rag content and finished with a pattern that resembles the crosshatched surface of linen. The reverse side of these kinds of cards was smooth like other postcards.

Linen postcards were extremely popular from the early 1930’s to 1945, when they were ultimately replaced with photochrome postcards, boasting a glossy finish and realistic looking photos. Some manufacturers, mostly located in the south of the United States, still produced linen cards up until the 50’s and 60’s. During their heyday, the biggest publishing company of top-notch linen postcards was Teich. Founded in 1898, they didn’t receive any real recognition until they began to come out with imaginative scenes on their linen postcards. They were the ones responsible for the creation of the Large Letter postcards, remember?

It was owner Curt Teich who realized that by creating more of a surface area on the cards, you enabled the heatset inks to dry faster, allowing the dyes to remain stronger on the surface. This concept gave linen postcards their unique vivid color, which was a huge advance from the previously popular “white border” postcards that could only muster up a bland and blurry finish.

The subject matter of linens was extremely varied, ranging from town and scenic views, to interiors and comics. Roadside establishments such as diners, motels, bus and gas stations were also showcased, representing a significant era of American culture. Some companies also used these cards as a way to advertise their products. These cards alone document many important events in history, making them quite valuable as collectibles.

I must confess I quite like them because of their unusual texture! :) Have you ever received on of these? What do you think of them?