This postman delivers mail to a village that exists only in memories

NO one writes the code 673577 in their postal address anymore. The number once linked to a green, bustling Mundakkai now belongs to a graveyard of memories.

- LAKSHMI ATHIRA @ Meppadi

NO one writes the code 673577 in their postal address anymore. The number once linked to a green, bustling Mundakkai now belongs to a graveyard of memories. Stone pillars bear the names of those who lived there—most of whom lie buried beneath the land the Chooralmala-Mundakkai landslides swallowed a year ago. The post office is gone, the homes are gone, and the ward itself has faded into a silent stretch of abandoned land.

For P.T. Velayudhan, the postman who once knew every home in Mundakkai, the change is heartbreaking. Now stationed at a temporary post office in Meppadi, he sorts through the sparse mail that trickles in—mostly ATM cards and bank notices. Survivors or their families collect them directly, replacing the familiar door-to-door rounds that once defined his days.