24. Postcard Panic
And how I became the “postcard girl”
I’m coming to this super late, but I want to blame all the postcards I’ve been writing! I already sent a batch of 7 postcards and have 25 postcards ready to go. On my next trip to the post office, I need to buy a big bulk batch of stamps. With the rate at which I’m sending these, I might as well have a little stock in my studio cupboard. Between my friends, people on Instagram and via Substack notes I’m sending 30+ postcards around the world - and honestly I’d love to send more. Even though World Postcard Day (October 1) and World Post Day (October 9) are already over. The Postcard Swap that bee and I hosted on Instagram is over (we had over 120 people participate!!!) but if you still want one from me, this is your chance!
I think I’ve become the “postcard girl” in my circles. I don’t blame them, and of all the labels I’ve had over the years, I love this one most. For the last 6 years, any room I’ve lived in as I shifted countries and cities has been decorated with postcards.
The First Postcard I Sent
Darjeeling is known for its tea, but I only spent time in Glenary’s - the one cafe & bakery where you could find good coffee. It was back in 2015 though, so don’t come at me with a list of coffee places. I’d been in Darjeeling for a month by now but only had two authorised days to escape the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. We used the first day to eat, shop and buy absolute necessities for our expedition to the Sikkim Himalayas base camp. The second day we used to get haircuts, eat momos and be a nuisance in the Mall Road. Eventually we made our way to Glenary’s again, only to find Ben standing in the window of the cutest white hut. I peered in, and went inside when he waved back. It was the first time I was in a post office since our school kindergarten trip and I was enraptured. Ben was one of the few expats getting their Basic Mountaineering Degree with us, and he only had the old school button phone he kept on himself for emergencies. He taught me how to write a postcard! I chose a black and white photograph of the first Everest expedition and sent it to the only address I knew - my home. It reached my dad way after I did, also muddy, tired and a little bit tattered from the journey.
The First Postcard I Received
My friend Mia has been a gentle yet torrential force of influence in my life. I always envision them in parks collecting flowers or at home with their bulging bookshelves. They have a way of looking at life very romantically, and painting them in pretty words that leave you wanting more - more of their words, more of their thoughts, more of them. And in my case, more of their postcards. The very first one arrived to my new address in Berlin a month after I landed and my boriya bistar was finally unpacked. Until this brown photograph with a handwritten note reached me, I didn’t even know I could get my own postcards printed! Honestly, sending and receiving postcards are as much an addiction as getting tattoos. I’ve participated in many postcard swaps since and it’s always a warm feeling to receive one. Between poems and letters, many postcards flew between India and Germany - and still do because even though I’ve returned, Mia has found their new home in Berlin.
The First Postcard I Created
I was spoilt for choice in Europe because every city, town and village has scenic postcards you can pick up at any shop. In 2022, I found myself relaxing on the coffee-coloured lounger in my dad’s house with an Apple Pencil in hand and a blank screen staring at me. Tracing something is the easiest way to make something right? I scrolled through old photos till I landed on a picture of a rickshaw walla and doodled in his outline, his pink parda and some random flowers on the back of his seat.
I then experimented with illustrating skies and table designs for two other photographs. Before I knew it, I had a mini series! Two years later, it’s my best selling postcard and I’m sending them for reprint tomorrow. I call it my OG postcard - and there’s some rickshaw walla in India somewhere who has no clue that he has become mildly famous. I do wish I could’ve told him or sent him a print somehow. Perhaps in an alternate universe…
Postcards Galore
I host postcard writing events once every few months in Bandra, Mumbai. I share facts about India Post, guide them on writing postcards and even send them on their behalf. And of course I answer the constant “wait do people even sell postcards anymore?” I even made a little zine titled “Fantastic Postcards and how to Send Them” - a step-by-step guide for sending postcards for newbies! You’ll find a digital version as a permanent highlight on my Instagram - fully illustrated by me of course!
I hosted a workshop for the Fine Arts Club at the famous St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. I talked a little bit about the history of postcards, how art became a part of it and how they can make their own. We even spent some time writing postcards during the workshop! Most students, like me when I sent my first postcard, only knew their own address. So I carried a big stock of postcards with me to the post office and sent them to their respective homes.
The postman who had eagerly sold me 60+ postcards from a dusty old box in the back of his cupboard raised his eyebrows now to see me depositing at least 40 of them in the red box hanging outside. Did you know? The yellow postcard by India Post is only worth 50 paisa? It’s probably the only thing still available in India worth that much, especially since the paisa denomination has been discontinued.
Recently I expanded my collection of postcards to include fully illustrated designs, more photographs with illustrations, and also found ways to digitise my more old school ink-on-paper designs! I launched them in-person at my stall at IFP Festival at Mehboob Studios this past weekend, and plan to upload them to my online shop soon.
Vedi’s Postcard Club!
In true “postcard girl” fashion, I have a Postcard Club! It combines my love for art, sending postcards, and writing personalised messages. Every month, you receive original art in a postcard sized print and I write little personalised messages to you. Hopefully it can also decorate your space! Two month’s are already done, and the September & October postcards are in my little pile on my desk waiting to be sent out.
This newsletter begs me to ask your stories:
Have you sent a postcard yet? Where from? Who to? What design was printed on the front side?
Have you received any postcards from people? Did you bully people into sending you some or did you participate in some postcrossing or post swap?
And if none of the above, would you like to receive one from me? Just send me a message, I got you.
Sending you some dope Postcard dopamine,
Vedi
yesss, you’re the postcard girl!! i will take sooo many yellow postcards with me on my next trip, idk what will i write and to whom will i send, but i will surely take bunch full of postcards with mee, all thankss to youu!!