Some old Post-Independence Indian stamps -II

 In my previous blog, I discussed about one of old Post-Independence Indian stamps issued in 1949 commemorating the Lingaraj Temple in Odisha,India. This blog shall be about one such stamp dedicated to the famous Sun Temple in Konark, located in the Eastern India province of Odisha.

 The stamp was issued on 1st July,1966 in grey color having value of 6 (Naya) paise. I tried hard to find its record in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue for India, but unfortunately I am still to find out at least in my edition of the catalogue. . Hence I haven't mentioned its SG No. in my blog. The stamp has "KONARK ELEPHANT" inscribed in English at the bottom and in Hindi at the top left corner. It carries the image of a ceremonial elephant decorated with ornaments and jewelry.

KONARK ELEPHANT ; 6p ; 1st July,1966

 The stamp says about a place called 'Konark' with an unmatched historical significance owing to brilliant and impeccable architectural splendor of ancient Kalinga (the modern day 'Odisha'). The Konark is well-known for the Sun Temple dedicated to the Sun God. Besides the temple it is also popular for its roaring sea waves and beautiful beaches world wide.

 For more information on this ancient temple, visitors may visit the following link :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark

  It may be interesting to know that the Sun Temple of Konark in Odisha is one of the major tourist attractions across the globe. Every year thousands of tourists, history and archaeological students and academicians from round the globe visit  the Sun Temple to appreciate, study or carry out extensive research on ancient Odia architecture ( also called as Kalingan architecture named after the ancient name of Odisha - 'Kalinga').

 The temple can be conveniently reached by means of local bus service, cabs or other local public transportation services available from the city airport or railway station.

 There are frequent air and rail connectivity to Bhubaneswar too, from all major cities in India. For detailed information one may click on the Official Odisha Tourism Dept. Website.

 For details on visit, stay and tourist package, you may contact at the above phone no.s or simply e-mail them :)

 In my next blog I shall start writing about pre Independence princely state stamps.

 Till then, happy collecting :))

Some old Post-Independence Indian stamps

   Post-Independence stamps of India underwent major changes in terms of design, commemoration and inscriptions.The stamps no longer carried faces of any of former colonial kings or queens.It was replaced by faces of great leaders and freedom fighters who led the Indian Freedom Struggle against the British rule. National monuments, architectural and cultural heritages of India and the socio-economical activities began to be appearing on commemorative and definitive stamps.


 The most paradigm makeover was in terms of currency system in India which changed to Naya Paise (presently 'paise') and Rupees (in decimal format like 100 Naya Paise = 1 Rupee) from Pies, Annas and old rupees, from 1st April,1957 till present. This evidently led to issue of stamps as per the new decimal currency system.


 Coming back to the topic of this blog, I shall be writing about two of the old Indian stamps that are part  of my collection. Both were issued within two decades of the Indian Independence on 15th August,1947.


 One such stamp commemorated the famous and ancient Hindu Temple of ' Lord Lingaraj' in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of an eastern province of India called as 'Odisha'. The Lingaraj Temple was built around 11th Century AD, by Kalinga (ancient name of modern day 'Odisha') King Jajati Keshari of Somavanshi Dyansty. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction (as per Hindu Mythology) and his Divine consort Goddess Bhuvaneswari (the other name of Goddess Parvati).


  As far as the stamp is concerned , it was issued way back on 15th August,1949, in bluish and brownish colors of value 4 annas. Capital city of Odisha, the Indian province where the temple is located, has been inscribed as 'BHUVANESVARA' on this stamp. Stanley Gibbons has put a price tag of 4.24 and 0.45 GBP respectively for mint and unused varieties of this stamp.

SG 316,4 Annas, 15th Aug,1949.

 For more information on this ancient temple, visitors may visit the following link :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingaraja_Temple. 


  It may also interest the visitors to know that the temple is one of the major tourist attractions in Eastern part of India. Every year thousands of tourists, history and archaeological students and academicians from round the globe visit Lingaraj Temple to simply appreciate, study or carry out extensive research on ancient Odia architecture ( also called as Kalingan architecture named after the ancient name of Odisha - 'Kalinga').


 The temple can be conveniently reached by means of local bus service, cabs or other local public transportation services available directly from the city airport or railway station.


 There are frequent air and rail connectivity to Bhubaneswar too, from all major cities in India. For detailed information one may click on the Official Odisha Tourism Dept. Website.

 Dear visitors, I should confess now that I have tried to promote tourism in my province through one of my above collected stamps.But truly it is one of the most culturally rich places in India.For details on visit, stay and tourist package, you may contact at the above phone no.s or simply e-mail them :)

 In my next blog I shall write about yet another post Independence stamp issued in 1966, dedicated to yet another architectural masterpiece of  ancient India.

 Till then, happy collecting :))

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingaraja_Temple
2. http://orissatourism.gov.in/new/
3. Stanley Gibbons Stamp catalogue on India, Pp.11

King George V 's silver jubilee reign on British India commemorated

  In the previous blog we came to know about the commemorative stamps issued in 1931 to celebrate the inauguration of Delhi as the capital city of British India, by King George V and Queen Mary.

 Besides above , another set of commemorative stamps were issued during King George 's reign, dedicated to His Majesty's Silver Jubilee rule as 'Emperor of British Indian Empire'.

 A set of 7 no.s stamps were issued for above carrying King George V' side face turned left , each dedicated to an architectural masterpiece of India except one located in present day Mandalay in Myanmar (erstwhile Burma).

 Stamps were dedicated to Gateway of India, Bombay (present day "Mumbai")(Black and Yellow green,1/2 anna), Victoria Memorial, Calcutta (black and grey-green,9 pies), Rameshwaram  Temple (black and brown,1 anna), Jain Temple, Calcutta (black and bright violet,1 1/4 annas), Taj Mahal, Agra (Orange and black,1 1/2 annas), Golden Temple, Amritsar (black and dull ultramarine,3 1/2 annas), and lastly, the Pagoda, Manadalay (black and purple,8 annas).

 Philatelists may be interested to note that there exists a flawed version of the above Golden Temple stamp which carries a "Bird" type flaw. Stanley Gibbons has set a price of 190 and 140 GBP for mint and used types of this flawed stamp.

 All these stamps were issued on 6th May,1935.

 Interested readers may visit the link at http://www.stamps-for-sale.com/ekmps/shops/stewcoin/images/india-1935-king-george-v-silver-jubilee-set-fine-mint-1033-p.jpg

 Among the set of 7 stamps, I have the following three as part of my collection.

SG 240, 1.50 GBP-mint*

SG 245,4.50 GBP-mint*

SG 242,3.50 GBP-mint*

* All prices were as per the Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catelogue on India.

 Do let me know how was this piece of information for all you philatelists, novice and experts alike.

 In upcoming blogs, I shall write on some post-Independence stamps which are truly historic and they  represent enthusiasm of a new free India.

 Till then, Happy Collecting :)

References

1.  Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue on India, Pp 9.

King George V 's Commemorative British Indian Stamps

  Before beginning with my blog, let me apologize for the delay in posting this time, owing to some unavoidable circumstances at my end. 


 Well getting back to my new blog, its about "King George V 's Commemorative British Indian Stamps."


  King George V was coronated as King of British Empire on 6th May, 1910. His reign continued till 20th January,1936, and His Majesty was the only British King who also attended the "Delhi Durbar" ('the Court of Delhi' in Hindi).


   His reign period as Emperor of British India was marked by a series of events that caused shifts in the political scenario in British India. As mentioned above, he along with his wife, Queen Mary were the only  Royal couple to have attended the proceedings at the court of Delhi on 12th December,1911, where the King wore for the first time the ceremonial Imperial Crown of India and declared the shifting of capital of India from Calcutta (present day Kolkata) to Delhi He laid the foundation stone for Delhi too along with Queen Mary on 15th December ,1911.


  Shifting of British Indian capital was commemorated through issue of a set of 6 British Indian stamps carrying King George V' head with "INAUGURATION OF NEW DELHI" inscribed at the bottom of each of these stamps.The stamps carried sketches of different landmarks of Delhi like the Purana Qila (a famous fort in Delhi) (olive-red/orange-brown, 1/4 anna), the War Memorial Arch (the present day 'Amar Jawan Jyoti at Rajpath in Delhi) (violet & green,1/2 anna), the Council House (the present day 'Indian Parliament') (mauve and chocolate, 1 anna), the Viceroy's House (present day's Indian President's official residence) (green and blue, 2 annals), the Government of India Secretariat (chocolate and carmine, 3 annas), and the Dominion Columns and the Secretariat (violet and green, 1  Rupees).


  All these stamps were issued on 9th Feb,1931, using Lithography printing technique.


  Out of 6 such stamps , I have the following 3 of them as part of my collection, all in mint, never hinged condition superb centering.

(SG 226 SG 227 SG 228 respectively- Inauguration of New Delhi)

  Stanley Gibbons has put price tags of 2.75, 2.0 and 1.25 GBP for mint types (without watermark) of the above 3 stamps respectively. 

  
 My next blog shall be about King George V's British Indian stamps again, but dedicated to his Silver Jubilee of coronation to British throne. Watch out for it !!!

 Till then, happy collecting :))

 References

1.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_V
2.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:British_Indian_Empire_Inauguration_of_New_Delhi_Stamps,_1931.jpg
3.  Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue on India, Pp 8.

Queen Victoria 's stamps as Empress of India.

    Though Her Majesty Queen Victoria assumed the government of the territories of India (which were earlier under the rule of East India Company) on 1st Nov. 1858, the title of "Empress of India" was conferred on her formally in 1877. With this as stated earlier, the "EAST INDIA" was changed to only "INDIA" on all British Indian stamps.

   Among many of the Queen Victoria stamps issued post 1877, I am going to write about three such important ones which are part of my collection.

   To begin with, one of such stamps (SG No. 84) was issued first time in1883 and was continued to be used till 1890. Some of these stamps were issued with an inverted star like watermark and carried a value of 1/2 Anna. It was of either deep blue green or simply blue green. Stanley Gibbons puts a price tag of 5 GBP for unused type and 0.10 GBP for used type of this stamp (simplest one with no watermarks or double impression).

SG 84 (1883, 1/2 Anna) ; SG 90 (1883, 1Anna 6 pies)

   One more such stamp of Queen Victoria (SG 90) issued also in 1883 was in sepia color and carried a value of 1 Anna 6 pies.  Stanley Gibbons puts a price tag of 1 GBP and 1.25 GBP of unused and used types respectively.

   Now coming to the third type of Queen Victoria Stamp, it was issued in 1899 (SG 40) and it carried the image of Queen Victoria in an isometric style. It was issued in carmine and grey colors. It was valued at 3 pies. The one which is part of my collection is as follows :-

SG 40, 1899, 3 pies

Stanley Gibbons put a price tag of 40 and 10 cents respectively for unused and used types of this stamp.

See you soon with some more blogs on my pre-Independence Indian stamps.

Till then, Happy Collecting :)

Reference 

Stanley Gibbons Catalogue on Indian stamps, Pp.6.

King George VI Indian stamp on Word War II "Victory"

   
     King George VI's coronation as Emperor of India took place in 1936 and His Majesty remained King till India's independence from British rule in 1947.

     Many definitive and commemorative British Indian stamps were issued during his reign as the constitutional monarch till 1947 of British Indian empire.Some of them have become quite popular and are in demand among philatelists specializing in Pre-Independence Indian stamps and Commonwealth stamps.

    One such stamp is the King George VI stamp issued in 1946 to commemorate British Indian victory in  World War II in 1945.It carried the word "VICTORY" inscribed over a vertical sword over the map of British India.It was issued in different colors like yellow-green,dull violet, bright blue and claret red, across values of 9 paisa, 1 1/2 annas, 3 1/2 annas and 12 annas* .

   As far as my collection is concerned, I am having the following 12 annas worth claret red type King George VI "VICTORY" stamp (SG No. 281).

Happy collecting :)

King George VI "Victory" Stamp,1946; SG No. 281.

* Indian currency system in Pre-Independence era : 1 Rupee = 16 Annas; 1 Anna = 4 Paise; 1 Paise = 3 Pies

Reference 

Stanley Gibbons Catalogue on Indian stamps, Pp. 10, SG no. 278- 281.

             

Indian National Army Stamps

      Indian National Army ('Azad Hind Fauz' in Hindi) was founded by Netaji ("Leader" in English) Subhash Chandra Bose,  in October 1943 upon re-organizing the previously existing Indian Independence League in Japan and taking the charge from Ras Bihari Bose, under the patronage of Imperial Kingdom of Japan. 

      Indian National Army formed the Provisional Govt. of Free India and almost immediately declared war against the United Kingdom and USA.The primary objective of Indian National Army was to politically free India from British rule with military and moral support from Imperial Kingdom of Japan and the Nazi Germany.Although Indian National Army gained hugh recognition from Axis powers,  head of other states like Croatia,Thailand, Burma, Philippines and Ireland also sent their congratulatory notes to the INA and the Provisional Govt. of Free India. 

Indian National Armyand Provisional Govt. of Free India issued a set of 10 stamps with "AZAD HIND" inscribed on it along with a Rangoon (former capital of Myanmar) type issued stamp with "CHALO DELHI" ('Let march to Delhi' in Hindi) inscribed.

The set of ten stamps with Azad Hind inscribed were produced in Germany during Second World War.

Its worthwhile to note that these 10 stamps sharing six different designs could never do any postal duty.

I have six of these Azad Hind stamps (imperforated) as part of my collection, which are as follows :-

Azad Hind Fauz Stamps (My collection)-6 out of 10 original produced

Happy Collecting :)

References

1. Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue on India, Pp. 142 under head "INDIAN NATIONAL ARMY'.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azad_Hind

British Indian Stamps-II

  Coming to Victorian regime on India, post withdrawal of East Indian control brought series of British Indian stamps bearing heads of Queen Victoria (although the previous stamps used to carry Queen Victoria head), followed by King Edward VII, George V and George VI 's heads on various denominations of British Indian stamps ( in order of their crowning).

Queen Victoria (Post 1857)

King Edward VII

King George V

King George VI

Interested readers may refer to the Wikipedia link on British Raj in India ('Raj' for Rule in Hindi).

In my next post, I shall be writing about few of my important personal collection of British Indian stamps.

Till then...Happy collecting :)

British Indian Stamps-I

     After withdrawal of Scinde Dawk stamps in October,1854, the East Indian company continued its issues carrying head of Queen Victoria till 1864, until its stamps were finally withdrawn from British territories to be replaced by stamps issued by Govt. of British India, reporting directly to Her Majesty Queen Victoria (assumed power from 1st Nov.1858).

Following were some East India issued stamps, minus the Scinde Dawk :-

East India Stamps (1852-64)

These stamps have become quite rare, especially the mint (unused) types. Stanley Gibbons puts a price between 4.50 to 1000 GBP. Its one of the most prized collections for serious philatelists.

I shall write more about other types of British Indian stamps which are part of my collection, in my upcoming blogs.

Till then...Happy collecting :)

Scinde Dawk - Asia 's first stamp

     Now something exciting !!!  Heard of the first Asian postage stamp issued way back in 1852 ?? (nearly a decade after the world's first stamp being issued in Great Britain, the "Penny Black".)

Penny Black (Mint -1840)

Returning to Scinde Dawk (Scinde = English corruption of Sindh word, and Dawk = Hindi for postal service), its issue started on 1st July, 1852, for meeting the postal requirements of British East Indian Company's military forces, stationed in the Sindh area, presently a Pakistani province along the Indus Valley.

It was issued with "1/2 Anna"(1 Rupee = 16 Anna, 1 Anna = 4 Pice,1 Pice =3 Pies) denomination. The first set of issues were made out of red was sealing, but due to frequent breaking of was impressions, the stamp was printed on a white background which because of prolonged usage became difficult to view.So finally an improved design emerged wherein the stamp had a distinct blue color impression in white background.

The Scinde Dawk served postal needs for a brief period of little more than two years, before being withdrawn on 30th Sept.,1854.

Scinde Dawk (1st Issue)

Mint form of Scinde Dawk stamps, according to Stanley Gibbons, have become extinct in the market, and if available, they are counterfeit. Used forms are also available among passionate collectors who can afford thousands of bucks.

Conclusively, Scinde Dawk is one of the most rarest stamps, and is a collector's pride.

The Second type Issue                                                    The Third type Issue

      There are many free online articles on Scinde Dawk stamp like in Wikipedia and also some paid articles, one of them being Scinde Dawk-An Introductory Paper, an e-paper available at Lulu.com.


Happy collecting :)

Something about Philately !

As God of Free & Open Knowledge, the Wikipedia, puts, Philately is as follows :

"Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps.For instance, the stamps being studied may be very rare, or exist only in museums."

Courtesy: Wikipedia & Carlton, R. Scott. The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Philately, Iola WI: Krause Publications, 1997, p.196.

In the world of Philately, there are two well-known corporate giants, i,e Stanley Gibbons Ltd., UK (Estd. 1856) and Scott Publishing Co.,USA (Estd.1868) who deal with several related activities like updating and printing stamp catalogues, online & offline selling and buying of rare and latest stamps from across the world, and supplying   philatelic accessories like magnifiers,albums, lightings,color strip,perforation strip,special tweezers etc. 

There are other known players too who specialize in certain region of stamps like Michelle catalogue for German stamps. 


Philately is not about only collecting postage stamps, but also a wide range of postal collectibles, some of which are as follows:-

• First Day Covers (FDCs)
• Miniature Sheets
• Stamp blocks
• Special Issue Postcards
• Wide

Interested visitors may refer the Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Glossary for more details about different terminologies used in philately.


Coming back to my collection, I am in the process of narrowing down my philatelic interest to Indian Pre-Independence and Princely States Stamps.


I shall be giving an introduction on the above in the upcoming blogs.Mean while , interested visitors may refer the following rough map of India before independence during which there were British Indian territory and the hundreds of princely states, each of which behaved more like military protectorates rather than independent political entities. 

For more detailed map, please click on Pre-Independence Political Map of India (Region wise). 


Happy collecting :)

Philately & Me !

Welcome to my Philatelic Collection !

I developed deep interest into this exciting world of philately or stamp collection, as known to many around us, from childhood days.It all started with collection of severely cancelled (fine to poor cancelled) used(un-mint) Indian stamps, mostly issued between 1970s to 1980s, from the collections abandoned by my teenage cousins who were more eager to get into adulthood than pursue (as called by them) a childish hobby of Philately.

My fascination grew as I collected stamps from across the globe , ranging from North America, Latin American nations, European and Asian nations , down to Australian continent. Substantial part of my pocket money was spent in buying the old gum type stamp albums, then came the clean and easy to handle albums with transparent strips,where the collector has to only push the stamp without applying any gum.

To begin with, the collection was quite haphazard but gradually I zeroed on to specific styles of stamps, mostly mint types depicting some historical fact of a nation and also collected some odd sized stamps like those issued by Sierra Leone, Bhutan,Congo etc.

Finally I came across the pre-independence stamps issued by British Indian Govt. and the rulers in Princely States of India before independence.And these were the most fascinating stamps for me, since they represented a long history of both unparalled glory and downfall of autocratic rule in Indian Princely States.Over a period of time, I collected rare Indian Princely stamps dating back to 1870s and some issued lately till 1949-50 like those of Travancore State in modern South Indian province of Kerala.Even I could manage to buy a revenue stamp paper used in Jaipur (modern day Rajasthan province) court during 17th century AD.

This blog is aimed to showcase my collection and share my ever growing experience in philately.

Again, welcome to my blog !

Happy collecting :)