Post offices have lately lost their charm, with the world moving to text messages, e-mails and video calls to connect with the ones they love. Enter India’s first post office cafe, Siuli, to rekindle the love for these spaces. By Anushka Goel
Among the newest cafes in Kolkata is a bit different from the standard ones. Siuli (named after the popular saffron and white flower found in the region) is the Indian Postal Department’s (IPO) cafe, opened in the popular General Post Office (GPO) building in Kolkata. The parcel cafe, which opened a couple of months back, serves as a philatelic ancillary shop, writes Firstpost.
What we know about Siuli, India’s first post office cafe
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The cafe is run by the post office’s in-house catering department. The furniture is repurposed, and the cafe is filled with stamp collecting (philately) albums and trinkets, writes Indian Express. Open from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, the place used to earlier run a small staff canteen, while the restof the hall housed philatelic ancillaries, including cushions, coasters, brass plates, mugs, stamps and more. These continue to sell now, alongside the cafe, which boats of bright pops of colour to attract the younger crowds.
The cafe is not just ornamental, but functional, too, as it houses parcel booking counters. “The idea is to strengthen our ties with the current generation,” Niraj Kumar, Postmaster-General of Kolkata Region, said, writes Firstpost.
The bright wooden furniture and sofa seats, which can host up to 34 people at a time across the 1,450 sq ft space, are among the major highlights of the space. Further, ample distance between seating not only makes it apt for the current pandemic times, but adds to the old-time aesthetic appeal of the space. The aim behind the space is to connect with the youth, while using the country’s postal services to increase parcel deliveries. And yes, sipping on a coffee or a refreshing beverage is going to be a fun experience to indulge in!
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