The restoration of the General Post Office (GPO) building has thrown up some secrets. Hidden wooden panelling in a dome, a monitoring deck built by the British to keep an eye on the workforce, and a geometrical stone staircase leading to the postmaster general’s quarters are some of them unearthed during the first phase of the restoration that was recently completed. This is for the first time that the iconic over-century-old building is seeing such massive restoration. A year after the restoration began, the GPO wings are getting restored one by one. Phase 1 saw the restoration of the West Wing of the building.

The hanging retro wooden lamps in Postmaster General Swati Pandey’s cabin. Pics/Atul Kamble