In July, when IAS officer Supriya Sahu shared a photo of a postman walking through a forested area and congratulated him for his services the last three decades, netizens quickly took notice of him and showered him with virtual applause. D Sivan, a postman from the Hillgrove Post Office near Coonoor, would trek about 15km every day to deliver letters at inaccessible areas in the hill town, until he retired a few months ago. During his adventurous expedition every day, he would come across wild animals and would walk through slippery paths to reach areas like Vadugan Thottam, Marapalam and Kurumbadi.
Marking the occasion of World Post Day, on Friday, 65-year-old Sivan reminisced about his adventures and told us, “I joined the service in 1985. I was a stamp vendor till 2011 and then became a postman. Since then, I had been covering all these areas, walking through the forest. In March this year, I retired. Now, I am leading a happy retired life. I am happy now because I worked really hard. My duty was tough and I had to do it. I feel happy, thinking about all that. I still think about the forest that I would trek through every day. I think about the animals there. Actually, I miss seeing them (laughs).”

Recalling his bond with the people in those villages, he noted, “They would feel upset if I wouldn’t turn up even one day. I would spend time, talk to them and get things done for them. Many of them aren’t educated. So, somebody has to explain things to them. And I would do that. I would tell them about the functioning of the post office, and would even tell them to come over there once in a while. And whenever they came to the post office, they would call me, and I would go and help them out personally.”

Sivan added that if someone needed help from him, he was willing to walk the same distance as he would cover earlier, even today. “I don’t mind walking even 20km, if that will be able to help someone in any way. I have maintained my body well and I still have good strength to walk long distances. I still walk and practise meditation daily. I would say regular meditation helped me trek 15km daily.”

When asked about his encounters with wild animals during treks, he recalled, “What I would do was I would keep chanting a mantra. I believe that is what kept me safe all these years while trekking through forests. I would pay respect to the Sun, keep chanting this mantra and trek through the forest. I would also chant numbers from 1,000 in reverse. And that again would keep my mind occupied and keep away any worries. In fact, I would always feel energetic breathing in fresh air of the forest.” Source: https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/national-postal-week-retired-tn-postman-whos-a-social-media-sensation-opens-up/articleshow/78585521.cms&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGmM2M2RhZjlmZTVmZDZjMmU6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNEuczv30OZoYWs4YUR-LR0sgb5DWQ