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human
ELI5: How do postal addresses in India actually work?

I've just started doing international postcard exchanges and have sent two postcards to India. Both times the postal addresses seemed more like directions than a specific address i.e: opposite/behind X building, near X circle or similar. They also both had a pin code. This address format is very different from my own country and other countries I have done exchanges to. How does this system work? Genuinely curious as I really want my postcards to arrive :)
gpt
Unlike in other countries, most cities/towns in India don't have any particular layout (in terms of sectors/streets/blocks) as the development and expansion of cities was (and largely is) pretty haphazard and unplanned. So streets and houses have names (sometimes multiple names) instead of numbers. Also, there is no systematic or sequential numbering of streets, houses and buildings in most areas, and even if there is, it is often the case that these numbers are not displayed prominently anywhere. So all of this means that once a postcard reaches the post office corresponding to a particular pin code, the postman delivering it may be better off having directions to the place rather than a precise address. The landmarks that you see on Indian addresses are typically the most well known places in the area, and people around the landmark are likely to know the particular address the postman is looking for. Given a choice between two landmarks, Indians writing their addresses typically choose the landmark around which more people are likely to know their place. A typical Indian address may read like this:

*Name of the house/building*
*Some landmark related info*
*Name of the particular colony/area*
*Name of a bigger area whose pincode the address corresponds to*
*City*
*Pincode*


The most important thing about making sure your postcard reaches the right Indian address is to make sure you get the pin code right. All postcards addressed to a particular pin code reach that post office, from where the postcards are further divided among the postmen for delivery as per their respective sub-areas within that pincode. Most postmen know every nook and cranny of the areas assigned to them, and even if they don't, they can make the delivery by asking around.