How to Mail a Package in India

Let’s just say you’ve been in India for a few weeks, amassed a bunch of souvenirs for (mostly) yourself and others, and don’t want to lug your new booty around the subcontinent.

You head to the post office, with goods in tow. Ask for a shipping box and are met with blank stares. Boxes? Envelopes? Not here. Oh no. It’s time for the postal worker to make a quick phone call to the local tailor to have a package handmade for you.

A mere 35 minutes later, and you’ll be ready to ship!

 

Step 1: Have man make you a box. This involves carving an old Kingfisher Ale box into shape. And that involves rulers, scissors and copious tape.

Step 2: Grab copious amounts of cotton cloth – enough to wrap your newly made box with and then some.
Step 3: Take to your old-school sewing machine and stitch this baby up!

Step 4: Within minutes, your tailor has sewn a perfectly fitted cotton box cover.

Step 5: Take a long needle and handsew this sucker shut! But wait … that’s not enough …
Step 6: Light a flame and melt some hot wax around the seams to ensure there’s no tampering via India’s post.
Step 7: Voila! Your package is ready to enter the vortex of the Indian postal system. It’s time to kick back, relax and pray for delivery. (we’re 2 weeks and counting at this writing!)

2 Comments

  1. That’s incredible, Val. The hand-made package seems like a great souvenir in itself. I’m starting to think that life in India is sort of kind of more or less different from Philadelphia.

  2. Strangely, this reminds me a bit of the Baltimore postal system. 🙂 Waiting and praying are a big part of mailing things here. Love the old school sewing machine!