A forgotten echo of postal history

Express Tribune

13-02-2025

LAHORE:
Hidden within the grand premises of Lahore's General Post Office (GPO) stands a historic bell-silent for over a century.
Once a vital part of the city's postal system, this bell, installed nearly 175 years ago, no longer chimes but remains a symbol of an era when it dictated the rhythm of postal operations.
Originally placed in the old GPO building near the Lahore Museum in 1849, the bell was later relocated to the main GPO structure in 1904.
This magnificent colonial-era building, constructed at a cost of Rs316,475, even featured on a postage stamp issued in 1996.
The bell was installed by WT Clifford and played a crucial role in mail dispatch and delivery.
During its active years, the bell rang twice daily - once to announce the arrival of mail from across the country and abroad and again an hour before dispatching outgoing mail.
At the sound of the bell, postmasters and postal workers would rush to collect and sort letters and parcels.
Back then, mail was transported via bullock carts, bicycles, and railways to destinations such as Lohari, Akbari Mandi, Moti Bazaar, Railway Station, Mian Mir, Raiwind, Manawan, and Shahdara.
The postal system of that era categorised mail using red and white flags—white signifying "Royal Mail" or highly important correspondence, while red represented regular and government mail.
White-flagged mail was promptly dispatched through faster means, while red-flagged letters were transported via bullock carts.
The bell's echoes were a daily routine until 1907, after which it fell silent due to advancements in postal technology.
Eventually, letterboxes were introduced across the city, allowing people to drop their letters directly instead of visiting the post office. The postmen would then retrieve and deliver the mail, ringing their cycle bells as they moved through streets and neighbourhoods.
This bell, now a silent relic, remains one of the few of its kind in the subcontinent. Similar bells once existed in the Mumbai and Kolkata GPOs, making Lahore's GPO home to a rare surviving artefact of South Asia's colonial postal history.
Chief Postmaster Lahore, Huma Kanwal, while speaking to The Express Tribune, highlighted the bell's historical significance in shaping Lahore's postal system.
She noted that while modern technology has replaced such traditional methods, the bell serves as a reminder of a time when it played a pivotal role in connecting people.
She also pointed out the presence of century-old letterboxes in Lahore, further enriching the city's postal heritage.
Though it no longer tolls, this silent bell continues to tell the story of an era when its chimes guided the flow of communication, marking an essential chapter in the history of Lahore's GPO.