Permanent Pictorial Cancellation inaugural day covers

Description: The first post office in India was established at Khejuri in East Midnapore W.B. In 1850, India was under British rule and Khejuri was a prosperous port town under Contai (Kanthi) sub-division. Due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Bay of Bengal and ease of navigability, the Khejuri Hijli region had attracted European traders including the Dutch, Portuguese and of course the English. They settled in the coastal areas. The British settlers further developed the port at Khejuri and soon trade began to flourish here. The British Trading Company deployed troops in Khejuri. In the 18th century, with the establishment of a temporary port at Khejuri, an agent house was established there and in 1772, the Company established a post office here for correspondence and information. 

This became the first post office in India. The first telegraph line of British India was also started in the country from Khejuri Post Office in 1907. The first official telegraph line connecting Calcutta Khejuri and Diamond Harbor was opened in October 1851. A few years later, on 5 October 1864, a terrible cyclone struck Khejuri. The cyclone destroyed the city, port and surrounding area up to Calcutta, the post office was razed to the ground. The port city never recovered from that devastation. As British Calcutta grew in importance as a port, Khejuri's importance declined. A century and a half later, it exists as a mere shadow of its lost grandeur and prosperity. Nature has invaded and the dilapidated post office building has been completely taken over by dense vegetation.