The means of communication help us to send our messages and ideas from one place to another. In the modern world the means of communication have become very important. In old days it was very difficult to send our messages and receive messages from far off places. This sending and receiving of messages and ideas is known as commu-nication. In modern times we can communicate with far off places easily and quickly. The means of transportation and the means of communication are closely related. They are inter-dependant. The following are the main means of communication :
Posts and Telegraphs
The Government of India has a department of Posts and Telegraphs. It has thousands of post offices all over the country. The postal department carries our mail, money orders and parcels to all parts of India and the world and delivers it to our friends and relatives for whom they are meant. The mail is sent by road, rail or air. The Post and Telegraph Department is the second biggest department of the Central Government. The big cities have night post offices and mobile post offices. The mobile post offices move to different parts of the city at fixed hours. Letters are the cheapest means of communication.
In some of the larger cities, there are special letter boxes marked QMS, meaning Quick Mail Service. From here letters reach faster, but only if the address contains a PIN CODE NUMBER. This code number is different for different areas of a village, town or city.
Now-a-days, a special type of fast postal service has been introduced by the post office called SPEED POST. Another kind of service, called COURIER SERVICE, is used by people to send their letters and parcels.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
We send urgent messages in telegrams through the Telegraph Department. Our telegrams can reach various places within a few hours.
Telephone
Telephone is another quick means of communication. It is a great improvement over the telegraphs. The people who live far away can talk to one another as if they are sitting face to face.
Direct dialing system has been started in most of the cities and some villages in the country.- It is known as S.r.O. ( Subscribers Trunk Dialing ). You have to dial a Code No. allotted to a town and talk to a person on phone anywhere in India or in some other country of the world.
Telephones are connected by wires known as cables. Now we have telephones which are not connected by cables. They can work within a certain range from the telephone connection. These are called Cordless phones. This type of phone can be carried by a person in a car, or even if he / she goes for a walk,
Radio and Television
Radio, television and the newspaper are mass-communicating media. Through these means we can communicate with thousands of people. There is a number of radio stations in the country. These stations broadcast radio programmes. It broadcasts news, music, plays, stories, agriculture information, speeches, advertisement and other important announcements.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Another very important means of communication is the television which provides news, information, education, music and entertainment to people.
The difference in radio and television is that it uses moving pictures to convey the message. Almost every home has a radio and television set. They bring us useful information about the latest events in the country and the world.
Both radio and television give us weather reports, timings of arrival and departure of trains and flights and special urgent bulletins.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Recently, another system of communication has become very popular in cities. It is called the CABLE TV, In this the video films are shown for the entertainment of the viewers.
Different channels show different programmes. Some of the most popular channels are – Star, Zee, EL, SUN, BBC, Star Plus, Discovery, Zee Cinema, ATN and so on. Through these channels very interesting and’informative programmes from all over the world can be seen.
Through a SATELLITE, communication has become easier and faster all over the world. Thus a person in India can see cricket matches in Sharjah, tennis at Wimbledon and even the Olympics wherever they are held.
Telex
The Telephone Department also has a 7″e/ex service through which typed messages can be sent very quickly. This method is often used by offices, airlines, Government offices and newspaper offices.
Fax, Pagers, Email, Fax
Fox sends ‘Facsimile’ of a printed message or picture to another machine located anywhere in any part of the world. It makes use of the telephone lines. Pager is not connected by wires and it works on air signals which are received by a small hand-set called pager. The message is displayed on the screen. E-Mail uses computers connecting by ordinary telephone line. Electronic mo/7 card send messages to any part of the world through computers.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
‘Internet’ has also started in India.
Newspapers
Newspapers, magazines and books are a good means of mass-communication. This is a print medium which travels far and wide. The newspapers have a very wide circulation and every literate person tries to go through them. They bring us the latest news, rates of the commodities, advertisements, employment news, matrimonials and many other information.
In addition to the above there are some other means of communication. Hoardings and Billboards are used by the Government and the Advertisers to communicate the public.
Cinema
Cinema is also a means f mass communication. Almost every town has a cinema hall. Besides recreation, cinema is also of a great educational value. The Government has a number of mobile cinema vans. It arranges cinema shows in the rural areas and shows a number of documentary films regarding its policies and programmes. During the recent years television has gained more popularity over the cinema as means of mass-communication. In addition to the above there are some other means of communication. Hoardings and Bill-boards are sued by the Government and the Advertisers to communicate the public.