Last mail delivered, Ram Sharan 'Postman' signs off from Parliament
Prime ministers and ministers changed and there were new faces of MPs every five years but Ram Sharan Postman, assigned Parliament beat, remained a constant walking up and down the corridors of power for the last 21 years. Right till he delivered his last daak. Sharan retires on Tuesday. He says, "Content to have served all with equal importance and without a single complaint."
Technically, Monday would have been his last working day
Had Monday not been Janmashtami, today would have been his last working day in Parliament. After long hours of walking from one office to another to deliver mail inside the sprawling Parliament House complex, Sharan said that he would take a few moments to quietly sip tea outside the Red Cross building on Sansad Marg and reflect on the day that had been.
I never let anyone be disappointed: Sharan
"I never let anyone be disappointed. If anyone asked me about their mail not getting delivered, I'd make sure it reached them. My job was to deliver their post which I did as best as I could," Sharan said.
People were afraid to be posted there: Sharan
When he was posted at Parliament House in 2000, nobody wanted to take the beat because of its labyrinthian corridors and seemingly similar rooms and doors that appeared confusing to most. "People were afraid to be posted there. They would request to be shifted within two days. In the initial few days, I, too, was confused as doors and rooms were same," he recalled.
Ministers, their staff helped him in small matters
The map was soon etched on his mind though, and he continued delivering mail to their recipients without error. It was not unusual for him to come across ministers or their staff, who became familiar with him and helped him in small matters.
'Everything kept changing but my focus was always on duty'
"Prime ministers and ministers, all these people kept changing, but my focus was always on my duty," said the 60-year-old. Much has changed since 2000 when he was given the beat. Back then, Mondays were the busiest and heaviest days. Every Monday, he would put three bags of mail, each weighing 50 kg, in postal van, which then dropped the bags at Parliament library.
He would reach Gol Dak Khana at 10:00 am
Sharan said he would reach Gol Dak Khana at 10:00 am from his home in Faridabad. For an hour and a half, he would sort mail, make entries in computer, load mail, and wheel out his cycle to make the one-kilometer journey to Parliament House.
He gave up his bicycle after an accident in 2011
He traveled his route on cycle daily, till one evening in 2011 when he met with an accident while returning to the office, after which he had to give up traveling through the cycle. In the last 10 years, he would hire an autorickshaw from Gol Dak Khana to Parliament Library (paying from his pocket) and walk back to the office in the evening.
He also worked with the Railway Mail Service
Notably, before joining the Parliament, he worked with the Railway Mail Service from 1981 till 1989, also a department of India Post. In 1989, India Post put out a notice for postman vacancies, for which he applied and got through after writing an exam.
It has been a lifetime of work well done: Sharan
As he hangs up his boots and readies for his farewell tomorrow, Sharan said, "There are no regrets. It has been a lifetime of work well done." He now plans to become a member of the union of retired postmen. "I was Ram Sharan Verma till school, now everyone knows me as Ram Sharan Postman. That is my identity," he added.
