Decoding the Pincode - Logic behind the Pincode and its significance

Decoding the Pin Code

The concept of letter, posts are declining as the day progresses. Those are the golden days where we write a letter to our grandma staying the other place and eagerly waiting for their reply. The post cards and the way we write a big letter within the space provided by the postal authority is still a big task than posting a tweet in the twitter. The creativity which we showcase in our 25paise post card can never be replaced with the ones which we share in FB / WhatsApp / any other medium. 

Hand painted customized greetings for Diwali, Pongal etc in the normal post card brings a lot more joy. We have to bring back those moments by reviving the post card tradition atleast during the festivals & occasions .

Ok, coming to the subject matter of this post.  While sending a letter,  it is customary to write the PIN CODES in the address field. All that we have learnt is the PIN is the acronym of POSTAL INDEX NUMBER. But quoting the PIN CODE has a lot more significance that what we think of.

The PIN CODE consists of 6 digits and there is logic behind these 6 digits. For all my examples below, I will be using the PIN CODE 600 017 (T.Nagar) since it is easier for us to remember.

The six digits of the pin code can be divided into 4 categories:

1

     1. FIRST DIGIT : Region

All the states have been categorized into 8 regions and a separate region for Army Postal Service. Given below the list of regions:

First Digit	Region	States Covered
1	Northern	Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir
2	Northern	Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
3	Western	Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
4	Western	Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh
5	Southern	Andhra Pradesh, Telungana and Karnataka
6	Southern	Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep
7	Eastern	Odisha, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Sikkim
8	Eastern	Bihar and Jharkand
9	APS	Army Postal Service

In our Example (600017), First digit 6 represent Southern Region.

     2. SECOND DIGIT(First Two Digits) : State / Circle

The first two digits together used to represent the State / Postal Circle.  We have 28 such categories which is given below:

First 2 / 3 Digits of PIN	Postal Circle
11	Delhi
12 and 13	Haryana
14 to 15	Punjab
16	Chandigarh
17	Himachal Pradesh
18 to 19	Jammu and Kashmir
20 to 28	Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
30 to 34	Rajasthan
36 to 39	Gujarat
40	Goa
40 to 44	Maharastra
45 to 48	Madhya Pradesh
49	Chhattisgarh
50 to 53	Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
56 to 59	Karnataka
60 to 64	Tamil Nadu
67 to 69	Kerala
682	Lakshadweep (Islands)
70 to 74	West Bengal
744	Andaman and Nicobar Islands
75 to 77	Odisha
78	Assam
79	Arunachal Pradesh
793, 794, 783123	Meghalaya
795	Manipur
796	Mizoram
799	Tripura
80 to 85	Bihar and Jharkhand

In our Example (600017), first two digits 60 represent Tamilnadu.

     3. THIRD DIGIT (First Three Digits) : District

The first three digits together used to represent the Sorting district.  Each and every state has different categorization. For Tamil Nadu, we have 30 such divisions.

Index No. (First Three Digits of PIN Code)	District Covered
600	Chennai
601,602	Tiruvallur
603,631	Kanchipuram
605,606	Villupuram  (including Pondicherry)
606	Tiruvannamalai
607,608	Cuddalore
609,610	Tiruvarur (including Karaikal)
611	Nagapattinam
612,613,614	Thanjavur
620,621	Tiruchirapalli
621	Perambalur
621	Ariyalur
622	Pudukkottai
623	Ramanathapuram
624	Dindigul
625	Madurai
625	Theni
626	Virudhunagar
627	Tirunelveli
628	Tuticorin
629	Nagercoil
630	Sivaganga
632	Vellore
635,636	Dharmapuri
636	Salem
637	Namakkal
638	Erode
639	Karur
641,642	Coimbatore
643	Nilgiris

In our Example (600017), first three digits 600 represent Chennai.

     4. LAST THREE DIGITS (4,5,&6): The Specific Post Office / Location in the District

The last 3 digits represents the specific location / post office in the particular district. Given below is the complete list of codes for post offices in Chennai.

Last 3 Digits	Post Office / Location	Pincode
001	Chennai G P O	600001
002	Anna Salai H O	600002
003	Park Town	600003
004	Mylapore	600004
005	Triplicane	600005
006	Greams Road	600006
007	Vepery	600007
008	Egmore	600008
009	Fort St. George	600009
010	Kilpauk	600010
011	Perambur	600011
012	Perambur Barracks	600012
013	Royapuram	600013
014	Royapettah	600014
015	Saidapet	600015
016	St. Thomas Mount H O	600016
017	T Nagar H O	600017
018	Teynampet	600018
019	Tiruvottiyur	600019
020	Adyar	600020
021	Washermanpet	600021
022	Raj Bhavan	600022
023	Ayanavaram	600023
024	Kodambakkam	600024
025	Engineering College	600025
026	Vadapalani	600026
027	Meenambakkam	600027
028	R A Puram	600028
029	Aminjikarai	600029
030	Sheynoynagar	600030
031	Chetpet H O	600031
032	Guindy	600032
033	West Mambalam	600033
034	Nungambakkam	600034
035	Nandanam	600035
036	I I T	600036
037	Officers Training Academy	600037
038	I C F Colony	600038
039	Vyasarpadi	600039
040	Anna Nagar	600040
041	Thiruvanmiyur	600041
042	Velachery	600042
043	Pallavaram	600043
044	Chromepet	600044
045	Tambaram H O	600045
046	Tambarm I A F	600046
047	Tambaram Sanatorium	600047
048	Vandalur	600048
049	Villivakkam	600049
050	Padi	600050
051	Madhavaram Milk Colony	600051
052	Red Hills	600052
053	Ambattur H O	600053
054	Avadi Camp H O	600054
055	Avadi I A F	600055
056	Poonamallee	600056
057	Ennore Thermal Station	600057
058	Ambattur Industrial Estate	600058
059	Tambaram East	600059
060	Madhavaram	600060
061	Nanganallur	600061
062	Sathyamurthi Nagar	600062
063	Srinivasa Nagar	600063
064	Chitlapakkam	600064
065	C R P Camp Avadi	600065
066	Puzhal	600066
067	Sholavaram	600067
068	Manali	600068
069	Kundrathur	600069
070	Anakaputhur	600070
071	Kamaraj Nagar	600071
072	Pattabiram	600072
073	Selaiyur	600073
074	Polichalur	600074
075	Pammal	600075
076	Korattur R S	600076
077	Thiruverkadu	600077
078	K K Nagar	600078
079	Sowcarpet	600079
080	Korattur	600080
081	Tondiarpet	600081
082	Jawahar Nagar	600082
083	Ashok Nagar	600083
084	Flowers Road	600084
085	Kotturpuram	600085
086	Gopalapuram	600086
087	Alwarthirunagar	600087
088	Adambakkam	600088
089	Nandambakkam	600089
090	Besant Nagar	600090
091	Madipakkam	600091
092	Virugambakkam	600092
093	Saligramam	600093
094	Choolaimedu	600094
095	Jaffarkhanpet	600095
096	Perungudi	600096
097	Ekattuthangal	600097
098	SIDCO Estate	600098
099	Kolathur	600099
100	Thirusoolam Village	600100
101	Anna Nagar West Extn	600101
102	Anna Nagar East	600102
103	Manali New Town	600103
104	High Court	600104
105	Ethiraj Salai	600105
106	Arumbakkam	600106
107	Koyambedu	600107
108	Broadway	600108
109	Railway Car Shed Complex, Avadi	600109
110	Ponniamman Medu	600110
111	Ayyappanagar	600111
112	Choolai	600112
113	Taramani	600113
114	Pazhavanthangal	600114
115	Injambakkam	600115
116	Porur	600116
117	Old Pallavaram	600117
118	Kodungaiyur	600118
119	Sholinganallur	600119
120	North Chennai Thermal PP	600120
122	Mangadu	600122
123	Nazarethpettai	600123
124	Thirumazhisai	600124

In our Example (600017), last three digits 017 represent T.Nagar.

Conclusion:

Until we know the importance of something, we will not take those things seriously. Same thing applies to the pin code as well. I didn’t know about the importance and significance of these pincodes and happened to see a poster explaining the importance of pincode,  in velachery post office while sending a speed post there. Mentioning the correct pin code makes the sorting officials task more easier and would lead to a speedy delivery of the posts. Same is applicable in case of Couriers as well.

Thanks for your patience in reading my post, hope it is helpful in some way or other. Do drop in your suggestions and feedback to innovativedeepak87@gmail.com . Meet you all in the next post very soon.

    - Deepak Raghuraman (www.facebook.com/nammaareablog)

Credits:
www.tamilnadupost.nic.in, wikipedia, www.indiapost.gov.in, www.mapsofindia.com

One Aspect I Want to Change in Chennai

One Aspect I Want to Change in Chennai

This is yet another CBC inspired post. CBC is the acronym of The Chennai Bloggers Club.CBC is the most happening group of Chennai Bloggers. For me personally, this is the group which showed me the right path and turned me as a blogger. In CBC we blog, we discuss, we motivate and last but not least, we initiate the social causes both online & off-line. And this post "One Aspect I Want to Change in Chennai" is a part of the exercise where we, the Chennai Bloggers, writes about a change which we want to bring in Chennai. This is to commemorate the Madras Day on 22nd August. Madras turns 375 this year and I am proud to be a part of MADRAS. 

This is a tablog where we write about the common subject (Here the common subject is, One Aspect I Want to Change in Chennai) and tag each other posts as a chain-blog. The Baton has been passed to me by Ravi who has a good sense of humour and his posts are always thought provoking. He is good at photography and writes more about the films. He wants the messes/Restaurants in the city to be kept open beyond 11 pm. Have a look at his post here :  http://teashoptalks.blogspot.in/2014/08/one-aspect-i-want-to-change-in-chennai.html

Thanks to Kashik Govindaswamy for designing this wonderful logo.

And here comes the Change I want to bring in Chennai.

WALKABLE PLATFORM / PAVEMENT

There are so many roads / streets in Chennai which has the pavement just for the name sake. The main purpose of the pavement is to provide a pathway for the pedestrians to walk freely from the traffic on roads. But the purpose itself is defeated these days. Almost many of the platforms in the city were in unusable condition. 

As a pedestrian, we are instructed to be safe while walking on roads by not using mobile phones and not looking at the hoardings / advertisements put on road. I agree that we should be careful and we should follow these. But when the platform is not at all usable, we have no other go. There are so many things which makes the platforms unusable few of them are : 

* Unauthorized usage of platforms for shops, (Take for example, The platforms in Pycrofts Road, Triplicane were fully occupied by the shops.

* Road Dwellers)

* On many places, the size of the platform / pavements has been so narrow that we can't even walk. (One such example is the platform near LIFESTYLE / KAUVERY HOSPITAL in Alwarpet)

* Breakage in the pavements 

* Unauthorized Parking etc,.

It becomes too worse during the rainy season. When a normal people ourself is feeling trouble with this pavements, think of the physically challenged people. Something needs to be done on priority to ensure safe walk in the city. 

Apart from the above I would also like to have the Garbage Bin at the end of each street. Right now, we should wait for the Garbage collecting vehicle to come. If we miss that vehicle, then thats it. We are forced to dump these debris at our house. 

Thanks for reading and I am very much happy and proud to pass the baton to Shashi sir aka Virtual Citizen who blogs at http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.in/ . He is a versatile blogger and writes about all the genre. He is best in writing poems esp Haiku.. When I can only talk about the change, he is one who initiate and brings in the necessary change. Eagerly looking forward to his post. 

Be the Change & See the Change.

Meet you all in my next post.

With Cheers,
Deepak Raghuraman

UNGA AREA - Choolai

UNGA AREA - Choolai

Thank you all for the response and feedback for my initiative of “Unga Area”. I have got many constructive feedback and will try to implement it from this post itself.

After the first post about TARAMANI, here comes to Unga Area – CHOOLAI.

CHOOLAI has got its name because of the Brick kilns present in that area. There is still a road by the name “Brick Kiln Road” in Choolai, which proved its name reason. It was previously called as “Lakshmi Narasimhapuram”.

Lord Natarajar temple is there in Choolai which was built some 150 years back and I believe it to be one of the very few temples built for lord Nataraja and only one in the city.

As like every other place in Chennai, Choolai has also got its good heritage value and carries some good memories from the past. Thanks to Muthiah sir for the book “Madras Miscellany” by which he has taken us to the 18^th & 19^th century and made us know about the history and heritage of MADRAS. Here are the few information gathered from his book regarding Choolai.

Choolai is known for its “MADRAS UNITED SPINNING & WEAVING MILLS (CHOOLAI MILLS)”. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, there were two composite textile mills in Madras – B&C  in Perambur , owned by a British Company and Madras United Spinning & Weaving Mills in Choolai, fully owned and managed by an Indian. But due to the strikes and losses this was sold to Sardar Inderjit Singh & Sons of Delhi and later they sold it to M/s.Edward Textiles of Bombay. But due to the non-payment of tax arrears, government seized the mills and converted the buildings into godowns for the Food Corporation of India , which is still there in Choolai.       

Choolai is located 1km away from Vepery, Pulianthope and Park Town.

5 Kms from Chennai Central Railway Station
(Average Auto Fare as per meter: Rs.65 to 75)

3 Kms from Chennai Egmore Railway Station
(Average Auto Fare as per meter: Rs.40 to 50)

10 Kms from CMBT (Koyambedu) Bus Stand
(Average Auto Fare as per meter: Rs.130 to 150) and

21 Kms from the Chennai International Airport
(Average Auto Fare as per meter: Rs.260 to 280)

Choolai 24 Hours Hospital
New No 32 Old No 69/3, Near Aircel Showroom & Honda Bike Showroom, Hunters Road, Choolai, Chennai – 600112
Ph.: 044-26423510

Saraswathi Hospital
Address: Choolai High Road, #83,Choolai, Chennai – 600112
Phone No.: 044 – 26423510

Siva Eye Clinic & Research Centre
Address: #91, High Road, Choolai, Chennai – 600112
Phone No.: 044 – 25324767

Dr. Ravishankar Eye Clinic & Nursing Home
Address: No 11, Near Doveton Clock Tower , Hunters Road, Choolai , Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600112
Phone No.: 9444222360

Bus No	From	To	Route
34	Ambattur I.E	Thiruvottiyur	Thirumangalam, Rountana, Chinthamani, Kellys, Purasaiwakkam, Choolai P.O., Regal, V.Nagar, Tondiarpet, Tollgate, Therady
35	Ayanavaram	Broadway	Sayani, Kellys, Purasaiwakkam, Choolai P.O, Central R.S
37	V Nagar	Vadapalani	Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasaivakkam,KMC, Chetpet,Sterling road, Valluvarkottam, Liberty
159	Thiruverkadu	Thiruvottiyur	Tollgate, Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Koyambedu, Nerkundram, Maduravoyal, Velappanchavadi
159A	CMBT	Thiruvotriyur	Tollgate, Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
159B	CMBT	Tollgate	Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
159C	Koyambedu Market	Thiruvottiyur	Tollgate, Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
159D	CMBT	I.O.C	Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
159E	CMBT	Ennore	Ashok Leyland, Ernavoor Gate, Thiruvottriyur, Therady, Tollgate, Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
159K	CMBT	Kargil Nagar	Thiruvottriyur, Therady, Tollgate, Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasawakkam High Road, Kellys, Aminjikarai, Arumbakkam
34xt	Pattabiram	Thiruvottiyur	Ambattur I.E, Thirumangalam, Rountana, Chinthamani, Kellys, Purasaiwakkam, Choolai P.O., Regal, V.Nagar, Tondiarpet, Tollgate, Therady
37D	KK Nagar	V Nagar	Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasaivakkam,KMC, Chetpet,Sterling road, Valluvarkottam, Liberty, Samiarmadam, Udhayam, Nesapakkam, MGR Nagar
37E	M.K.B Nagar	Vadapalani	Vysarpadi, V Nagar,Regal,Choolai P.O.,Purasaiwakkam, Egmore,DPI, Sterling Road, Valluvarkottam, Liberty
37E xt	Iyyapanthangal	Kaviarasu Kannadasan Nagar	M.K.B Nagar, Vysarpadi, V Nagar,Regal,Choolai P.O.,Purasaiwakkam, Egmore,DPI, Sterling Road, Valluvarkottam, Liberty, Vadapalani, Porur, SRMC
37G	Iyyapanthangal	V Nagar	Regal, Choolai P.O., Purasaivakkam,KMC, Chetpet,Sterling road, Valluvarkottam, Liberty, Vadapalani, Porur, SRMC
38C	TVK Nagar	V House	Venus, Perambur, Pattalam, Bhuvaneswari, Doveton, Choolai P.O, Central R.S, Simpson, Adam market, Triplicane P.O
7E	Ambattur I.E	Broadway	Central R.S, Choolai P.O, Doveton, Purasaiwakkam, Kellys, Kilpauk Gardens, Chinthamani, Thirumangalam, Wavin
8A	Tollgate	Periyar Nagar	Tondiarpet, V.Nagar, Regal, Choolai P.O, Otteri,Jamalaya, Venus
M42B	Broadway	Poombuhar	Central R.S, Periamet, Choolaipostoffice, Doveton, Bhuvaneswari, Pattalam, Otteri, Perambur, Venus, Peravallur,Nehrusilai

There is no specific railway station for Choolai but Basin Bridge, Central & Egmore railway stations were nearby.

EB Office

Ph: 044-26670678

Post Office

No. 69 & 70, Kalathiappa Mudali Street, Choolai, Chennai – 600112

Ph: 044 - 2665 0050 / 2669 2665

Chennai Metro Water Office

No 46 2nd Floor, Kuravankulam Lane, Choolai, Chennai – 600112

Ph: 044-26693976, 45674567

Commercial Tax Office

Phone No.: 044-26670878

Thasildar Office

St Thomas Road, Choolai, Chennai – 600 112

Regional Transport Office

Power Mills Road,Pulianthope, Choolai, Chennai – 600 112

Ph.: 044 – 2667 0663

Chidhambareshwarar Temple
Sundararaja Perumal Temple
Erstwhile Nataraja Theatre (which is now turned to a flat)
Angalamman Temple
Tamilnadu Haj Services Society
Murudis Hotel
Salt Cotaurs
St Andrew’s Church
Red Tape Etc

Pictures Source: Choolai FB Page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Choolai/143001152539933)

References: Indian Columbus, The Hindu, Madras Miscellany. 

Those who want to write about your area, you are welcome to make a guest post here.

Please mail your interest & suggestions to innovativedeepak87@gmail.com.

Meet you all in my next post in UNGA AREA.

With Cheers,

Deepak Raghuraman