The End of an Era of Suspense!!!

In our school going days having a telephone was a distant dream. But I consider the life was more peaceful without the device than with the device, because it hardly worked on those days. I remember often we used to go to the local post office to make a call. However, my blog is not about the telephone, I already spared a page for it before. I am writing about Telegrame,  a service too provided by the same company, I mean BSNL.

Telegram or Telegraph

Telegraphy derived from Greek word Tele "at a distance", and graphein "to write" is the long-distance transmission of messages without the physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus semaphore is a method of telegraphy whereas pigeon post is not.

Telegraphy requires that the method used for encoding the message be known to both sender and receiver. Such methods are designed according to the limits of the signaling medium used. The use of smoke signals, beacons, reflected light signals, and flag semaphore signals are early examples. In the 19th century, the harnessing of electricity brought about the means to transmit signals via electrical telegraph. The advent of radio in the early 1900s brought about radiotelegraphy and other forms of wireless telegraphy. In the Internet age, telegraphic means developed greatly in sophistication and ease of use, with natural language interfaces that hide the underlying code, allowing such technologies as electronic mail and instant messaging.

Telegraphs have existed in Europe from as early as 1792 in the form of semaphore lines, or optical telegraphs, that sent messages to a distant observer through line-of-sight signals. In 1837, American artist-turned inventor Samuel F. B. Morse conducted the first successful experiment with an electrical recording telegraph.

The story of Indian telecom began with the telegraph when the first experimental electric telegraph line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour in 1850.

The telegram also known as taar, disappeared for once and for all on July 15, outpaced in the age of text messages and emails. The telegraphic service began in India in 1850  by cable, later wireless but what spurred the Indian telecom revolution has eventually been overtaken by it. It is the end of an era. The last telegram was sent on July 15. After that, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has decided to discontinue the service which started the Indian telecom revolution in 1850.

Whenever, I think of a telegram my mind swipe away to the days when a telegram means either good news or bad news. It also bring back the memory of a friend who was my neighbour too in Mumbai. How terrified she used to be only by sighting a khaki clad man armed with a telegram at her doorstep, as if she was going get a heart attack.

!!!This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last. - Oscar Wilde!!!

!!!The courage to imagine the otherwise is our greatest resource, adding color and suspense to all our life. -  Daniel J. Boorstin !!!