cats of kochi

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English is the only language this site is written in. More will appear in this list as they are finished, so there is nothing else to choose today.

cats of kochi

Language

Englishthe only one, so far

A man in a khaki uniform and cap holding a ceremonial item, walking in a procession among men in traditional white and gold dress.

The Marathon Mail Runners of Fort Kochi Post Office

The Anchal Post Runners ran with postal bags balanced on their heads and carried a two-foot staff with bells attached. When people heard the bells coming down the road, they made way.

Published 8 April 2026

The Story Of This Historical Post Office

The pin code here is 682001. Locals sometimes call it "Pincode One" - and while that's more affectionate than official, it tells you something about how this place is seen. This was the first postal hub in the Kochi region.

Mail has been received and sorted at this exact location since the 1500s. When the Portuguese built their fort and settlement in 1503, ships from Lisbon carried letters from loved ones alongside cargo. One ship in the fleet was set aside just for mail - locals called it the "mail ship." The mail from those ships was received and exchanged right where the post office stands today.

The Dutch took over in 1663 and kept the postal system running. The British continued it until Independence. Three colonial powers, same address. 682001.

The space you see today was acquired by the postal department around 1922-23, and the current structure was built in May 1928, when Fort Kochi was still part of the Kingdom of Cochin. So when someone tells you the building is 500 years old - that's not quite right. The site has been a postal hub for five centuries. The building itself is about a hundred years old. Still impressive. Just different.

The Mysterious Green Box Nobody Uses

Walk up to the entrance and look to the side. You'll spot a hexagonal cast-iron post box, painted green with gold details. It's sealed shut - no mail goes in anymore. But it's the most interesting object at this post office.

A green-and-gold Victorian-style pillar postbox (anchal box) on a covered porch, with potted plants and a metal railing beside it.Ranjithsiji, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
From the story of the Anchal mail runners at the Head Post Office, Kochi — mail handled here since Portuguese times.

This is an Anchal post box. The word "Anchal" comes from the Greek "Angelos," meaning messenger.

Before India Post existed, the princely states of Travancore and Cochin ran their own postal system called the Anchal post. It started in Travancore in 1729 under Marthanda Varma, and later spread to Cochin in the 1770s.

The post boxes themselves are worth studying up close. Hexagonal, about a metre tall, made of cast iron in Madras (Now Chennai). Each one could hold up to 3,000 letters. Most Anchal boxes have the Shankha (conch shell) emblem of the Travancore state is on the box, with two smaller conch shells flanking the mail slot.

The Fort Kochi box also has a British royal cipher with a lion, unicorn, and the intertwined letters V and R - Victoria Regina. It's Victorian-era, from the period when British and princely postal systems overlapped in this part of Kerala.

In 1951, the Anchal system merged with India Post. The boxes stopped being used. But a few still stand at post offices across Kerala - Muvattupuzha, Krishnapuram Palace, and here in Fort Kochi.

The Anchal Ottakkars (Runners)

The mailmen of the old system were called "Anchal Pillai." They ran with postal bags balanced on their heads and carried a two-foot staff with bells attached. Khaki shorts, khaki shirt, khaki hat with a red lining. When people heard the bells coming down the road, they made way.

This photograph is missing while the site moves.

Eight miles a day, on foot, with bells ringing. That was the postal service in Kerala before stamps and sorting machines.

A Postcard from 682001

A weathered 1922 postal card advertising Amruta Sirojani hair oil, with a handwritten address and postmark stamp.Photographer not known
From the story of the Anchal mail runners at the Head Post Office, Kochi — mail handled here since Portuguese times.

Most heritage spots in Fort Kochi have entrance fees and guided tours and Instagram queues. This one has none of that. It's a government post office that happens to sit on a spot where mail has been handled since Portuguese ships sailed into the harbour.

You can spend 10 minutes here. Look at the Anchal box. Walk through the bungalow. Buy some stamps. Send a postcard to someone you like or to yourself so that you can see it when you reach home after your travel. And then continue your walk through Fort Kochi knowing you've seen something that 90% of tourists skip.

The post office doesn't ask you to be impressed. It just keeps doing its job. It's been doing it for a while now.

If you're following our 32 Things to Do in Fort Kochi guide, add this as a quick stop between St. Francis Church and the Parade Ground.

Did you know

  • Anchal, the name of Kerala’s old postal service, comes from the Greek angelos — messenger.
  • Kerala’s mail runners had legal right of way. By law, everyone else had to step aside.
  • The sealed green box outside the post office is cast iron, made in Madras, and held up to 3,000 letters. Nothing has gone into it since the Anchal service merged with India Post in 1951.
  • Mail has been handled on this one spot since the 1500s — Portuguese, then Dutch, then British, same address. The building itself is only from 1928.