DARE - Because Entrepreneurs Do

This year, some where close to six million paid visitors will visit that monument of love, the Taj Mahal. About a kilometer away from the entrance to the Taj, they will queue up for their entry tickets. Entry to the Taj costs Rs. 20 for Indians and Rs. 750 for foreigners and you get a fairly good entry ticket, one of the best for a monument in India.

Now, the entry fee is not a single item. Out of the twenty rupees, 10 goes to the Archeological Survey of India  (ASI) and 10 is toll by the Agra municipality. Similarly, out of the 750 paid by foreigners, 250 goes to the ASI and 500 goes to the municipality (which gives them a bottle of mineral water and a pair of shoe covers for free). And the beautifully printed is very much like a picture post card ( and that is what gave me this idea).

The idea is like this. Convert that entry ticket into a picture post card and set up a special Taj Mahal post office with its own stamp and cancellation seal that is not available elsewhere.

The reverse of the ticket becomes the place to write the address and a message. It will also carry the special Taj Mahal stamp which is available no where else.

Once you enter the Taj and the stub from the ticket has been torn off, the rest of it becomes the post card, a memento that is posted from within the Taj complex to a near one - an incredible reminder of a visit to the monument of love!

The post office could place letter boxes colour coded by destination just inside the entrance gates of the Taj where visitors could deposit these postcards. Think of it, a special letter posted from within the Taj complex  itself to tell someone about your visit to the monument!

Now, the Postal department should do a deal similar to what the Agra Municipality has done and add a charge of Rs 10 per domestic ticket and Rs 100 per international ticket for collecting and delivering this mail.

So, for 6 million paying visitors, out of which 20 % are foreigners, the postal department could net a cool Rs 168 million (Rs. 16.8 crores) every year! And for all you know, people may end up buying extra post cards (at Rs 10 and Rs 100 respectively) as they may want to send more post cards from within the Taj!

Of course the postal department would have to treat these as priority mail and ensure that they are delivered. After all, they will be charging better than premium rates for this service.