Ashok Ghosh used to be fascinated by the beaming lights on the old telegram machine at Gardanibagh post office but now he can only be nostalgic about it.

“In the 1960s, when I was in college, the telegram used to be the fastest mode of communication,” said the professor-in-charge of the department of environment and water management at AN College.

“One had to book a trunk call days in advance. Telegrams were cheaper. It was the shortest and fastest mode of communication back then. Also, watching the operator sending and receiving telegrams on a machine which had no keyboard was fascinating.”

From July 15, the 160-year-old telegram service will be the stuff of history books or old-fashioned science fiction shrouded in nostalgia following an order of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to discontinue it.

Accustomed to the short messaging service (SMS) and a veritable deluge of other means of communication, the future generations may not miss the telegram but for Lallu Chaudhury, a telecom office assistant at the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) in Patna, it is still a force to reckon with.

“A telegram is acknowledged as valid evidence of communication in court. Can other modes of communication compete with it?” said the 56-year-old, who has been working at the CTO at Buddha Marg for the past 35 years.

But it is not without reason that the difficult decision has been taken. The monthly revenue of CTO, Patna, is Rs 10,000 but expenses, which include salaries for a staff of 60, is around Rs 5 lakh.

Its popularity, too, has diminished over the years. “In the ’80s and ’90s, we used to deal everyday with thousands of telegrams. Now, we send around 20 to 200 and receive around 100 to 200 everyday,” said Chaudhury.

There is also a sense of anxiety among the CTO employees. “We would be shifted to other departments like cellphone customer service. I have spent all my life sending block-lettered telegrams. It will take us some time to adapt to modern communication technology,” said Mary Hor, telecom office assistant.