Image Of Old Newspaper Ad Congratulating Indian On Travelling Abroad Viral

While the newspaper industry in the West has been hit hard by the internet, it seems like a completely different story in India, especially when it comes to the circulation and readership of newspapers which remains intact. The history of the newspaper dates back to 1780 when the first printed newspaper was launched in India by Irishman James Augustus Hickey. Since then, newspapers have been an integral part of Indian households. While newspapers serve their key purpose of informing and educating readers about events from around the world, advertisements also now cover a major portion of the newspapers.

In the present time, advertisements are mostly focused on promotional events, brand campaigns, or obituaries. However, there was also a time when advertisements were made to merely congratulate people on travelling abroad.

A recent social media post shows how Indian newspapers used to congratulate citizens on having the opportunity to go abroad. Shared by an X user, the picture shows a cut-out of an English-language newspaper that includes an Indian resident’s image and details, along with a congratulatory message.

The ad congratulates Prahllada Shetty, Director of Kohinoor Rolling Shutters & Engineering Works Pvt Ltd., for travelling to the UK, West Germany, Switzerland and European countries for a business trip.

“In the 70s ads were put in newspapers congratulating Indians who would be travelling abroad,” the user wrote along with the picture.

Meanwhile, the social media post garnered a lot of reactions, leaving users divided. While many highlighted how Indian newspapers have come a long way in the past century, some even went nostalgic.

A user dropped a hilarious comment and wrote, “Who knows, maybe like they need all sorts of stuff for a visa now, back then they needed a newspaper ad to prove intent,’ while another one commented, “We have indeed come a long way in the last half a century.”

“You have no idea how tough it was to get a telephone, let alone a passport. Getting a ticket and visa to go abroad was like winning the Olympics,” a user shared his thoughts on the struggles that Indians faced when travelling abroad.

Another user shared, “Bon voyage post was a thing even in the 90s’. Remember seeing a bunch of them in newspapers.”

The tweet has so far gained over 150K views followed by more than 2,000 likes and several retweets.