Snail mail: Navsari doctor receives letter after 31 yrs

SURAT: Can something be both touching and hilarious at the same time? Well this one is. A letter sent from Anand was delivered in Navsari town after 31 years. The postal department may not be very proud of this feat but the recipient says he is grateful to it for delivering the letter, though tattered from the sides.

Dr Ashok Shroff, 63, an eye specialist in Navsari, on Thursday morning received an inland letter delivered by a postman of Navsari head post office. The letter was posted by his doctor-friend based in Anand on January 1, 1982. This left Shroff shocked. He shared this news 'over telephone' with Kumar, who too was left dazed.

"I was thrilled to read the letter posted by my doctor-friend 31 years ago. Dr Shyam Kumar, an eye surgeon in Anand, had wished me happy New Year and also informed me that he had referred an eye patient from Anand to me. I appreciate the postal department for preserving the letter and delivering it to me," says Shroff, who runs Shroff Eye Hospital in the town.

Kumar (61) could not recollect anything about the letter because it was written 31 years ago. However, then letter was the only medium of communication, Shroff said.

Interestingly, the postal department collected a charge of Rs 10 from Shroff as the letter was without a stamp. "I would not have mind even giving Rs 1,000 for the letter. It is invaluable," Shroff said.

Navneet Sharma, deputy post master of Navsari head post office, told TOI, "Yes we delivered a letter posted 31 years ago to a doctor in Navsari town. We too are surprised as to where the letter had been lying all these years.

Copy : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com