It stands as a symbol of waned glory in an almost abandoned village. The plantation area of Kottamala still has a post office, though the estate was shut down in 2013.
It functions from a room of an estate lane (workers quarters), though most of the workers had abandoned the area after the plantation ceased to function.
The first post offices were established at tea plantation areas as it was vibrant with activities prior to settlers arriving in the high ranges. The tea plantations in Devikulam and Peerumade taluks were started by British/Scottish planters.
The plantation areas host the oldest post offices, many of them without much renovation over the years. They function from buildings of parent companies at nominal rent.
Prior to Independence, mails and other official orders from the main offices abroad were promptly delivered to managers in a systematic way. “They understood the importance of communication networks and the post office at Kottamala was one of the oldest in the area,” says Sadasivan Pillai, former superintendent of the Kottamala tea estate.
The post office building mirrors the state of things in the estate now. Only the skeleton of buildings, mostly of estate lanes, remain now.
“It was one of the vibrant post offices in the area and Upputhara was the nearest town. It catered to nearly 2,500 workers living in the plantation. With the closure of the estate, many of the workers have left the area,” he says.
“The post office provided all normal services,” says Sushumakumari , who spent her school days at Kottamala. It catered to three estate divisions and the mails and parcels for workers were distributed at a common place where tea leaves collected by them were weighed, she says.
Unlike other estates, most of the workers at Kottamala were Malayalis. It was Sushumakumari’s grandfather who brought many workers at the time of tea planting there. Now, three generations have passed and many British-made structures, including a church and hospital, have gone to seed.
Now, the post office caters to nearly 400 workers who remain in the estate lanes. Kottamala was once a self-sufficient plantation village tucked away from the main tea auction centre of Wagamon during the Raj era.
