Shimla June 2008 Issue No.6
Monthly e-Stamp Bulletin Edited by Jeevan Jyoti for free circulation among philatelists
Readers are requested to send reports of philatelic activities in their area for publication. Short write ups by the readers about their journals, societies, publications and philatelic requirements can be sent for inclusion in this bulletin to j.jyoti9@gmail.com or rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com and by post to – Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti, D.F.O. Residence, Chopal, Distt. Shimla (H.P.) PIN 171211.
Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited group of philatelists without any commercial purpose. The bulletin will be sent to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive it regularly please reply with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW.
Dear Philatelist
The premature issues of India are arriving in philatelic market very frequently. It is not only disappointing on the part of Philately but India Post is also losing its creditability in international market. India Post needs to be very alert and vigilant in this regard. It is highly surprising that very confidential items are leaked out from the Philatelic Bureau before they are officially issued by the Deptt. Of Posts. These are sold at very high price by the philatelic dealers. It is time for all philatelists to avoid these items and ignore them. As the demand for these items falls this practice will certainly be checked automatically. I hope many of you must have visited Rainbow Stamp Club Blog. I am updating it regularly almost everyday and trying to give new information. This is your club and all of you are part of it. Please do send special news about philatelic activities in your area. This is holiday time in most parts of India. Have a nice time. Those who are not planning to go out have a philatelic holiday and enjoy this issue!
Contents
§ Recent Indian Issues
§ In The News
§ Roses for Mothers by Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal
§ Guest of the Month
§ Beginners’ Section
§ Specialized Section
§ Achievements
§ Reader’s Right
§ New Issues from Other Countries
§ The Lighter Side
§ Popular Websites on Philately
§ Editor’s Mail box
§ Promotional Section
§ Current Philatelic magazines & Newsletter
Recent Indian Issues
21 April 2008: Civil Service - 500 P
22 April 2008: Tata Steel
26 April 2008 Jasmine – 500P, 1500P
17 May 2008 Aga Khan Foundation- 500 P, 1500P &
20 May 2008 Shri Shirdi Sai Baba – 500 P
The Aga Khan Foundation is a non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. Its mission is to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. Created as a private, non-profit foundation under Swiss law, it has branches and independent affiliates in 15 countries namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mozambique, Pakistan, Portugal, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The Foundation focuses on a small number of specific development problems by forming intellectual and financial partnerships with organizations sharing its objectives. Most Foundation grants are made to grassroots organizations testing innovative approaches in the field. The Foundation looks for innovative approaches to generic problems. Projects are designed to be learning experiences that contribute to the understanding of complex issues and identify solutions that can be adapted to conditions in many different regions. The Foundation shares what it learns with the public, raising awareness of important issues facing disadvantaged sectors of the international community. Through endowments and capital investments, the Foundation helps to ensure the permanence of institutions that contribute to the well-being of the people they serve. The Foundation owns a large number of properties for social and cultural activities, including several hospitals and hundreds of schools and health centers in the developing world. The Aga Khan Foundation is the principal grant-making agency for social development within the Shia Ismaili Imamat. His Highness the Aga Khan is its founder and chairman. He provides the Foundation with regular funding for administration and new program initiatives as well as contributions to its endowment. The Ismaili community contributes invaluable volunteer time, professional services and substantial financial resources. Other funding sources include income from investments and grants from government, institutional and private sector partners - as well as donations from individuals around the world. 
Sai Baba’s early life was enshrouded in contradictions and mystery. It is stated that he was born of Brahmin parents in the Nizam’s State. In infancy he was supposed to have been deserted by his parents. Sai Baba first came to Shirdi, when he was a lad of 16, and lived there for four years. Then suddenly he disappeared and after many years returned to Shirdi in 1859. Sai Baba taught only through a medium of the spoken words in the pattern of our ancient sages. His teachings and life have captured the imagination of the people in India and abroad as well. On 15th Oct. 1918 he passed away breaking forever the barriers of existence and left behind a rich heritage of enlightened followers. India issued a commemorative stamp of Rs 5 on Sai Baba on 20 May 2008. ARMY POSTAL SERVICE ISSUES
1 April 2008 1 SQN Air Force- Platinum Jubilee
4 April 2008 2nd BN The J & K Light Infantry- Diamond Jubilee
4 April 2008 The J & K Light Infantry diamond Jubilee and Fourth Regimental Reunion-2008
6 April 2008 14th Battalion The Dogra Regiment- Diamond Jubilee
7 April 2008 Artillery Centre Nashik- Diamond Jubilee
14 April 2008 First Battalion The J & K Light Infantry Diamond Jubilee
26 April 2008 Garhwal Rifles Regimental centre, Lansdowne Thirteenth Reunion
29 April 2008 Army Welfare Education- Silver Jubilee
NEW POSTAL STATIONERY
New Meghdoot post cards Stop AIDS, TeluguEyes, Khasi Langauge (Megahlaya)
12 cards on Cataract & Eye Care, in various languages3 Cards on AIDS, in Telugu
In The News
World Stamp Championship 2008 Israel
The World's biggest philatelic show ‘World Stamp Championship 2008’ was held at Tel Aviv, Israel from May 12 - 22 May 2008. It was the Olympics of stamps. Once every four years the collectors with the world’s largest and most expensive stamp collections gather and display their wares. This year a beautiful solid silver trophy was donated by Shimon Pires, The President of The State of Israel for the winner. The World Stamp Championships is an exclusive club. With over $500million worth of rare stamps in the exhibition, the World Stamp Championship 2008 was a big attraction for all. Up to 60,000 people visited the city of Tel Aviv for this exhibition from all over the world which is quite a big figure as compared to the population of Tel Aviv which is about 390,400. Four years ago the World Stamp Championships were held in Singapore. The last Bangkok stamp exhibition attracted over 650,000 visitors. In forthcoming World Stamp Exhibition at China the organizers expect 700,000 visitors. Mr. Ajay Mittal of New Delhi was commissioner from India and Mr. A.R. Singhee was one of the jury members for Israel exhibition.
Commissioner for LONDON 2010
Shri Yogesh Kumar of Bareilly has been appointed National Commissioner for LONDON 2010.
Taj Mahal the pride of India will appear once again on a foreign issue on June 1 2008. After it has become one of the Seven Wonders of the World its beauty has attracted several postal administrations. Gibraltar is going to issue a set of seven stamps on recently selected Seven Wonders of the World by voting. These are The Christ redeemer in Brazil, The coliseum in Rome, Italy, Petra in Jordan, The great wall in China, The Machu Pichu in Peru, Chichén Itza in Mexico and the Taj Mahal in India.
Cine Media hits Philately by fake news
To give spicy news about film personalities by Cine Media is a common affair. We come to know sensational news about the personal life of film stars time to time by print and electronic media. But this time the media has given fake news about the issue of postage stamp on Manoj Tiwari. Recently this hot news was published in leading Indian Dalies and many Bollywood Websites including a Philatelic Website. I was surprised to know about this stamp on Manoj Tiwari. It was not surprising if it would have been on Big B or Shahurkh Khan. I gave the news on Rainbow stamp Club Blog after going through several websites. Thanks to Mr. Suraj Jaitly, Editor ITS Stamp News for forwarding the e-mail of Maxim from Netherlands which I am publishing here. This clarifies the rumor about the issue.
"I am sorry to tell you the Netherlands is not issuing a postage stamp for Tiwari. According to the Dutch website hindulife.nl the article in the Times of India is fake. The magazine "den Haag" that has put the stamp on its cover does not exist. Furthermore, the author of hindulife.nl reports that nine of ten Hindoestanen has never heard of Tiwari. Also Dutch stamps are not issued by the government, but by TNT post (the former PTT). It is possible that someone ordered a 'personal stamp'. These stamps can be ordered from TNT Post in sheets of ten stamps. You can send in your own photo or illustration to be printed on the stamp."
Maxim Van Ooeijen, Netherlands
For details just click on to following links -
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2948200.cms
http://www.hindulife.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1674&Itemid=52
Collector's Delight- First Beaded Stamp By Singapore
Here is good news for those who collect unusual stamps. Singapore becomes the first country to issue first beaded stamp of the world on April 8, 2008. It will become a fancy and novel item for stamp lovers all over the world. It’s a philatelic treat for collectors of unique stamps. Its beautiful souvenir sheet is in the shape of a purse where the stamp is beaded. The beads are stuck the stamp manually. The souvenir sheet is part of the set consisting of eight stamps which depict the items from the Peranakan Museum Collection. This is produced by the latest designing and printing technique with the use of special material. The word Peranakan means 'local born' in Malay. It refers to the Peranakan Chinese as well as other Peranakan communities which developed in South-east Asia. Peranakans are known for the beauty of their crafted furniture, jewellery, embroidery, beadwork, textiles, garments and porcelain. The Peranakan Museum houses the best collection of Peranakan artifacts in the world. The first four stamps of the set show embroidered items. The other four stamps depict details of porcelain work. Earlier in the year 2001 Switzerland had issued a stamp which when rubbed on released the rich smell of chocolate. Yep they had issued this to commemorate the chocolate industry. Last year they had a stamp which had letters in Braille language. Every year since 2000 they come out with a unique stamp. Scented, wood touch, metallic, plastic, Gramophone record Stamp, personalized stamps and stamps in unusual shapes have already been issued by some postal administrations. Now Singapore deserves the credit to issue this beautiful unusual beaded souvenir sheet.
World’s most expensive stamp ever made
Austrian postal operator Post.at, has released what is thought to be the most expensive stamp ever made - a revolutionary lenticular stamp to celebrate the UEFA EURO 2008. The new stamp went on sale on 5 May 2008 and the issue is with a matching special postmark. According to Post.at, 48 images of a TV recording are superimposed on the stamp. To the viewer, the optical effect is that of a film sequence of approx. 3 minutes. The stamp features the legendary goal scored by Andi Herzog, Austria's record-breaking international player. With this dream goal against Sweden scored in the 76th minute on 6 September 1997, Andi Herzog paved the way for the Austrian national team to enter the main draw of the World Championships 1998 in France. On the stamp, the goal and its setup from three different perspectives are shown. Austrian Post aimed to bring the legendary team spirit of the 90s back to the hearts and minds of today's players and to football enthusiasts in Austria. The Andi Herzog stamp is the technologically most sophisticated stamp of all time. It is also the largest one, measuring 6.5 by 4.7 cm. In addition to that, it is also the most expensive stamp ever made, its nominal value being 5.45 euro. An exclusive picture postcard produced with lenticular technology to match the special-issue stamp has also been issued.
Stamps mark traditional language
Guernsey's native language, Guernesiaise, has been commemorated in a new stamp release. The six Guernsey Post designs feature key words and phrases. Guernesiaise or Patois is derived from Norman French and is still spoken to some extent by about 1,400 islanders. The new stamps include phrases such as: "A la perchoine" (until the next time) and "L'affaire va-t-alle?" (How are things?) Guernsey Post Sales and Marketing Director Greg Yeoman said: "While Guernsey French is no longer the language of day to day communication, its link to our social history makes it of interest to international stamp collectors as well as islanders." The designer Chris Griffiths worked with Guernsey French expert Hazel Tomlinson to pick out phrases which "captured the essence" of the language.
Another Premature Issue
It is highly surprising that we come across premature issues of India one after another. Last month Indian Coast Guard issue appeared in the market before it was officially issued by India Post. Now stamp on Ustaad Bismillah Khan which has not yet been issued by Deptt. of Posts is available in the market. It has become at regular practice and these issues are sold by the dealers at very high pricesThe district level philatelic exhibition was held in Ludhiana from 26-27 April 2008. The exhibits on different themes were displayed by the philatelists of Ludhiana. Some collections were also exhibited on Special covers cancellations and postal stationery. Exhibits on Roses, Gastronomy, Diana, India is calling u all, children, and aviation attracted the visitors. Some awards were donated by Indian Thematic Society of Ludhiana. As Indian Thematic Society is Chapter of American Topical Association, in India. ATA's Special Award Ribbons were also awarded to following exhibitors, first time in India, although Medal not given and will be held for future exhibition. 1. First Award Ribbon to Mr. Vishal Bangia. 2. One Frame Award Ribbon to Mr. R. P. Oswal 3. Youth Award Ribbon to Mr. Bhuvan Mehta
Release of North Post during LUPEX 2008, Ludhiana
Mr. Suraj Jaitly Prof. T R Bhatia - Sr. Vice President, Mr. Raizada - S S P O's & Minister Shri Hira Singh Gaberia.
News from our Reader
Our distinguished Reader Col. Suresh Bagga writes from Panchkula.....
I have two frames displayed at Chandigarh Philatelic Bureau, and I keep changing the exhibit in one frame every month. At present one frames is for 'Vintage Collection' It has postcards and covers as old as over a hundred years; and the latest being well over 50 years old. Later ones are addressed to my father and some have my name on the address but all of them are unique for cancellation marks or postal stationery used. This frame will have new exhibit this month. The other frame 'Our Neighbors' has on row each from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Now I am preparing exhibits from Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar for the frame to complete the theme. Bhutan sheets will have CD-ROM stamps, Talking Stamps (Gramophone records), Steel Stamps and first 3-D stamps issued on Space Exploration. Myanmar collection has two stamps issued by Japan during occupation of Burma in 1942. Nepal will include 1935 issues of Shri Pashupati stamps.
It’s a very good idea to promote philately at small scale. As people visiting the bureau get a chance to see variety of philatelic items and guidelines to prepare their collection for an exhibition. Philatelists can get permission from their Philatelic Bureaus to display their exhibits in limited frames for a promotional purpose.-Editor
ROSES FOR MOTHERS
By Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal
Today Thematic Philately is the most favorite branch of philately among stamp lovers all over the world. The reason is obvious that it is more interesting than the other branches of philately and an exhibitor can present the exhibit for a desired topic in his/her own personal way by using various kinds of philatelic items available on different subjects and relating them to the chosen subject by study and skill. Rose as the name itself is full of fragrance can just be a beautiful flower for a common man and for a Botanist a flower of a Rosaceae family but for a skilled philatelist the subject of Rose can be presented in a variety of ways which could be a real delight for the viewer. Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal is credited with such high skill that he has presented the theme of rose in various forms by thorough and deep study on the subject and of course by collecting very scarce philatelic items on Roses. His article “Roses for Valentines” was published in this newsletter in the month of February as a celebration for all valentines. Now On Mother’s Day, his article “Roses for Mothers” is a great tribute for all mothers and a way of showing our affection to our Darling Mom through philately- Editor
There are many associations made between the flowers and the range of human emotions. The “Language of Flowers” is thought to have originated in Persia in the 15th century, and was brought to Europe in the 18th. In the 19th century, this “floral code “was in vogue, so that massages could be sent between people in bouquets. With each flower and color having a specific meaning, the Rose and its wide spectrum of colors made it an obvious and most powerful symbolic flower for various occasions.
Although traditions vary greatly and have changed over the years, Roses have always been considered the signature flower for telling Mom, “ I Love You “, “ Thanks for all you have done for me “‘ and “ You are the best “ on Mother’s Day celebrated every year in most part of the world on second Sunday in May. On this day it is common for mothers to be lavished with presents and special attention from their families, friends and loved ones.
It is also one of the most popular Rose holiday in the US. According to Rose Incorporation, the International Trade Association of greenhouse growers of fresh roses, USA, on Mother’s Day alone a sale of 140 million roses is expected during May, the majority of them will be given to 21 million Moms. Tradition of Mother’s Day celebration is centuries old and earliest can be traced back to the spring celebration of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of Gods.
The people of Phrygia held, every year, a joyous festival to honor Cybele, the daughter of Heaven and Earth and also the Mother of all Gods. A designated area of the town was decorated with beautiful arrangement of fresh roses. In Middle Ages also the Mother’s Day began not as a celebration for individual mother but rather for Christians. The Christian Church established the fourth Sunday in Lent as Mothering Sunday, a time to worship the Virgin Mary. On this day, gifts of roses, jewels and precious metals were taken to the “Mother Church” where the worshiper had been baptized. After church, the minister gave the children bunches of purple violets and red roses to present their mothers.
In the 1600's a clerical decree in England broadened the celebration to include real Mothers, earning the name Mothering Day or “Mother’s Day”. This Day became an especially compassionate holiday toward the working classes of England. During this Lenten Sunday, servants and trade workers were allowed to travel back to their towns of origin to visit their families. It also provided a one-day reprieve from the fasting and penance of Lent so that families across England could enjoy a sumptuous family feast—Mother was the guest of honor. Mothers were presented with cakes and flowers, as well as a visit from their beloved and distant children.
Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day is also known as “Rose Sunday”, as is witnessed by the purple robes of Lent being replaced in some churches by rose-colored ones. This name also refers to the tradition of posies of flowers being collected and distributed at the service originally to all the mothers, but latterly to all women in the congregation. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, however, asserts that "the Golden Rose, sent by the Popes to Catholic sovereigns, used to be blessed at this time, and for this reason the day was sometimes called 'Dominica de Rosa'.
In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day." Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.
“Mother’s Day” in the sense as we celebrate it today is all due to efforts of Anna Jarvis of USA, In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers."
She launched the nationwide campaign for a holiday specifically set aside to honor mothers. As a result of her efforts the first mother's day was observed on May 10, 1908, by a church service honoring Late Mrs. Jarvis, in the Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where she spent 20 years taking Sunday school classes. Grafton is the home to the International Mother's Day Shrine. Another service was also conducted on the same date in Philadelphia where Mrs. Jarvis died, leaving her two daughters Anna and Elsinore. So it was more of a homage service for Mrs. Jarvis than a general one conducted in honor of motherhood.
Nevertheless, this set the stage for the later Mother's Day observances held in the honor of motherhood. Following this, it gained a widespread popularity across the nation. The Mother's Day International Association came into being on December 12, 1912, to promote and encourage meaningful observances of the event. Anna's dream came true when on May 9, 1914, the Presidential proclamation declared the 2nd Sunday of May to be observed as Mother's Day to honor the mothers.
Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. The National Retail Foundation predicts Mother's Day is a $14 Billion industry . Florists see their highest sales in May. US restaurants claim that it is the busiest day of the year. Long distance telephone calls also peak on this day. The United States’ version of Mother’s Day has been exported to many other nations throughout the world. In certain countries there has been little significant cultural adaptation. It has secular humanist roots followed up by extensive commercialization.
Postal authorities around the globe are also celebrating this occasion in their own way issuing Stamps, Special Postmarks and other postal stationeries. In 1934 Postmaster General James A. Farley announced a stamp to commemorate Mother's Day. This has honor of being First Stamp on this topic. The stamp featured the famous painting "Arrangement in Grey and Black". The painting was a portrait of the mother of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an English artist. It was brought in to the United States as part of an exhibit in the year 1934 (USA 1934 Scott 737) A Fancy Cancel of “A Vase of Roses in Violet” was also issued by the local postmaster of “Rose”, Oklahoma in 1934.Syria(UAR) issued a set of two stamps in 1959 depicting Children offering Rose bouquet to their Mother on Mother’s Day (Scott 18-19).The same issue was overprinted “ Arab Mother’s Day 1960 “ as 1960’s Mother’s Day issue (Scott 41-42). Cuba issued most of its Rose issues during 1984-89 as Greeting Stamps commemorating Mother’s Day. These are Scott 2700, 2701, 2792, 2793, 2939, 2940, 2943, 3010, 3011, 3014, 3016 and 3130. It also issued many Greeting Postal Cards depicting Roses.
Many other postal administrations also commemorated this occasion issuing Stamps and other Postal Stationeries. One may also find Paintings, Sculptures, Flowers and a range of other interesting themes as the subjects of many other Mother’s Day issues but here I restricted to only Rose. Also I presented an overview of the subject and one can explore more philatelic items on Rose commemorating this Day.
In my view “Mother’s Day” is an ideal Topic for a ONE FRAME exhibit of International standard.
About The Author - Dr Satyendra Agrawal is a noted thematic philatelist and known for his magnificent philatelic collection on Roses. He is a resident of Varanasi and has won a number of national and international awards for his specialized Rose exhibit. Recently at Inpex 2008, held in Chennai he won a gold medal and SIPA Trophy. He also participated in 1st World Stamp Championship held at Singapore in 2004 and got Vermeil medal. His collection includes more than 50 highly philatelically rich items like rare V-mail Original Form, Ship Letter, Glider Flight Special mail Cover, France Color Trails and Progressive Proof, US Pen Cancel, DPO cancel, German Printed to Pvt Order Cards, Argentina’s early Letter sheet and early Postmarks. He has used latest Mounting Techniques (Partial Framing and Windowing) to house Bigger Philatelic items in his exhibit. The author can be contacted at: rosephila@hotmail.com
Guest of the Month
Prashant H. Pandya is a renowned philatelist. He hails from Vadodara and has prepared a specialized collection on British India Postal Stationery and also a one frame thematic exhibit on ‘The story of Milk’. He is President of Baroda Philatelic Society and Editor of Vadophil Newsletter. He is also a member of India study Circle for Philately (U.K.), Philatelic Congress of India and Gujarat Philatelists’ Association. He is doing an active work in the field of Philatelic journalism besides his close association with various philatelic activities. He has participated in various philatelic exhibitions and credited with many awards. Recently at INPEX 2008 held in Chennai he was awarded a vermeil medal for his collection on British India Postal Stationery and a silver medal in One Frame class for his exhibit ‘The story of Milk’. Besides this he was also awarded a silver medal in Literature class for ‘A Guide to Modern Postal History’. Mr. Pandya is a person of varied interests. Philately being his passion he has keen interest in Web Designing, Computer Graphics and Ghazals. Professionally he is a Microbiologist and presently he is Director, Moxy Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Vadodara. It’s a great pleasure to have Mr. Pandya as guest of the month for this issue. - Editor
Smart Money Order
By Prashant H. Pandya
It was a nationwide dilemma for ICICI Bank, how can it transfer money quickly to towns and remote rural areas where it doesn’t have branches?
With the advancement of technology and Internet banking now it has become reality. Sending money to a person without a bank account is no longer cumbersome for a person holding account with ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank in partnership with the India Post launched Smart Money Order, a revolutionary online service allowing a customer to send a money order to any destination in India. The main objective of Smart Money Order service is to allow customers to make an online request for sending money anytime anywhere in India upto the doorstep of receiver through Indian Postal Network. Under this facility, ICICI Bank acts as front end for the request of sending Money Order. ICICI Bank forwards all customers’ requests to India Post. Later, India Post delivers money in cash upto the doorstep of receiver.
The Smart Money Order service was launched on 14th December, 2005. ICICI Bank is the first Bank in India to introduce this service.
Sending a Smart Money Order is very simple. There is no need to handle physical cash, no need to visit the Post Office to send a money order and the service is available 24 hrs x 7 days a week x 365 days. Receiver is not required to hold a bank account with ICICI Bank and cash is delivered at the doorstep of the receiver. The only requirement is, sender must hold ICICI Bank account with Internet banking facility.
To use this facility to send money through this unique service, customer of ICICI Bank has to follow few simple steps:
Customer has to login to his or her www.icicibank.com account using login id and password and have to visit the bank section. A link to “Smart Money Order” has been provided in the menu at the left hand side of the webpage. On click to Smart Money Order tab, menu for entering information about name and address of sender, name and address of receiver, amount of M. O. etc appears on screen. On entering required details customer is taken to a Transaction confirmation page where details entered are shown in a non-editable mode and customer is asked to enter transaction password. If Transaction password is correct, the customer will be asked for 2nd level authentication of providing the randomly asked ATM / Debit card grid number for the selected Debit account. If both the details are correct, customers’ bank account is debited with the amount to be transferred plus applicable charges. The customer is shown a confirmation of request.
Charges for sending Smart Money Order are 5% of Transaction Amount. These charges are also applicable for Money Orders sent through Post Offices. These charges are remitted to India Post by ICICI Bank. In addition, ICICI Bank charges Rs. 25 per transaction plus service tax for Smart Money Order Service.
Money is delivered in the form of cash to the receiver's address as given by the sender at the time of making the Smart Money Order request. The amount is delivered by India Post within 15 working days from the date of Debit to Customer's account. In a Single transaction, you can request a Money Order for Rs 5,000/- with minimum of Rs 100/- and in the multiples thereof.
Customers view Past Requests and their status of Smart Money Order through the link ‘View Past Requests’, given in the Smart Money Order section.
Like traditional Money Order service offered by India Post, sender gets acknowledgement of Money Order. In case customer is not available at the address provided by the sender, the postman will put up a notice at the receiver’s address about arrival of the money order at the Post Office affiliated to Receiver’s address and receiver can collect the amount within 7 working days. In case receiver fails to collect the money order within the stipulated time, India Post will refund the amount to the sender’s address as mentioned by the sender at the time of making the Smart Money Order request. Charges incurred by the sender will however, not be refunded.
In case of non receipt of money by receiver, sender has to contact the ICICI Bank. ICICI Bank will resolve these complaints with the help of India Post. India Post will take 10 days to revert on complaints lodged by ICICI Bank on behalf of customer. In case of non-delivery, India Post will resend the Money Order manually to receiver. This may take maximum 15 days for delivery. Money Order number would be provided to customers for undelivered Money Orders.
Now the question is what process is involved in Smart Money Order Service? How money is delivered by ICICI Bank with help of India Post ? Let us have a look at process involved in this unique service and what are the role of ICICI Bank and India Post in delivering money.
ICICI Bank accepts M.O. request from the customer through Internet Banking facility and debits customers account for the amount of MO (including charges). On next working day a consolidated report of all successful requests for Smart Money Order, which have been placed during the previous day(s) will be generated by Internet Banking Operation and sent to India Post along with a Pay Order for the consolidated sum by ICICI Bank.
India Post accepts such Money Order requests from ICICI Bank. On receipt of the report from ICICI Bank, India Post processes the request and delivers the money to the beneficiary at the address as provided by the sender. 
Being a philatelist and Postal Historian I wanted to study the operation of Smart Money Order and I have already utilized this unique service of ICICI Bank partnered with India Post. Once such M. O. was sent prior to closure of Satellite Money Order facility of India Post and second was sent after closure of Satellite Money Order facility. I have noticed that in first attempt (24.02.2006) the M. O. form used by service provider was pre printed M.O. form with perforations, for computerized printing of M. O. form.
In second incidence the M. O. form used was traditional form which is being sold across the postal counter. In my observation, Infinity Center of ICICI Bank Ltd., located at Mumbai handles this work and Money Orders are manually booked at postal counters of Mumbai G.P.O. The M. O. form is being filled with sender’s details and receiver’s details with computerized printing. No information is available at which stage the M. O. form is being printed. Example of one such M.O. form is shown here where in you can see the rubber stamp of ICICI Bank Ltd. with signature at the place provided for sender’s signature. The online request for sending Smart Money Order was made from my savings account with ICICI bank at Vadodara and the request was made online from Vadodara on 29.09.2007 (Saturday). I had mentioned my office address of Vadodara as sender’s address and the Money Order was booked from Mumbai G.P.O. on 1.10.2007 (2.36 pm). Oblong Stamp of Mumbai G.P.O. dated 1.10.2007 appears on the M. O. form. Payment of all such Money Orders is being made by ICICI Bank in form of Pay Order/Bankers’ Cheque to the post office. MPCM slip affixed on the M.O. form shows the details of Cheque no., date of cheque and name of Bank. Amount of M. O. is printed on MPCM slip but amount of M. O. Commission is not mentioned on the slip. It is also to be noted that while purchasing M.O. form from Post Office, we have to pay the 25 paise towards the cost of M. O. form. Here in Smart Money Order service, ICICI Bank is not charging cost of M. O. form (or included in Service charge of Rs. 25 !!!)
After the booking of Money Order by ICICI Bank, it becomes the traditional service of India Post and Money Order is being delivered to receiver as per routine process of India Post. M. O. booked from Mumbai G.P.O. was delivered at my residential address on 9.10.2007 and I had received the acknowledgement of M. O. on 11.10.2007 at my office address. So the involvement of ICICI Bank is upto the booking of M.O. at post office and then after India Post comes into the picture for delivery of Smart Money Order.
Benefit of Smart Money Order service is, ICICI Bank customers can send Smart Money Order on the behalf of their friends and relatives who are non-ICICI Bank customers. Even Non-Resident Indian can also avail this facility. However, for Non- Resident Indian (NRI) customer, sender’s address has to be a local address in India. Even while on move one can book the Money Order using this unique facility of ICICI Bank.
Let us hope, India Post will tie up with other banks for such facilities and for many more services, provided by India Post.
Readers who have more information on the subject may contact author to share the knowledge.
Email: edesk@prashantpandya.com
Beginners’ section
Terms used in Philately
Europa
Issues made by certain European countries since 1956 (often with a common motif) to further the project of a United Europe. This year’s Europa theme is Letter Writing
Booklet Stamps
Stamps issued bound into small books frequently interleaved with advertisements. The first stamp Booklets appeared in Luxembourg in 1895; they were introduced in Great Britain in 1904. Stamp Booklets are often made up from sheets specially printed for this purpose, with a narrow selvedge at one side of each Booklet Pane for binding.
Mulready Covers
William Mulready, RA was the artist who designed the first envelopes and letter sheets issued in Great Britain in 1840 which prepaid postage. These items are always referred to by the designer’s name.
Patriotic Covers
During the American civil war large quantities of unofficial envelopes were printed and used, bearing patriotic pictures and slogans. These have come to be known as Patriotic covers.
First Flight Cover
A cover which has been carried on the first mail flight between two points and which can be identified as such by either the postmarks thereon or by some special catchet or marking.
Ship Letter
Name given to a letter which has been brought in from some comparatively inaccessible spot by sea to a port of entry in a country having a regular postal service. Generally marked ‘Ship Letter’, ‘Loose Ship Letter’ or ‘Posted at Sea’ and the name of the port of arrival, to facilitate charging the fee payable for the service, in addition to the ordinary postage.
Triangular Stamps
- Col. Suresh Bagga
Collecting stamps with only three sides can provide both interest and challenge for a topical collector. Triangles are found on some of the earliest postage stamps (Cape of Good Hope, 1853) as well as modern day stamps. They have been issued by countries from all over the world. As for the designs and subjects depicted on these stamps, they are as varied and interesting as a topical collector could hope to imagine.
Cape of Good Hope was the first country to have stamps triangular in shape. That design was by intent. It is reported that triangular stamps were produced so that illiterate postal workers could tell the difference between outgoing mail (triangular stamps) and mail coming into the colony (rectangular and square stamps, shapes common to most stamps).The Cape triangles were separated by scissors. The first perforated triangular stamps were issued by Ecuador in 1908. Not only do triangular stamps pose a production problem for the issuing authority, but the postal consumer also has the problem of trying to separate the stamps without causing damage to the perforations. Princely state of Bhopal issued a set of triangular stamps in 1935. Largest set of triangular stamps was issued by Monaco in 1956 and depict various types of transportation on 22 stamps. The United States first issued a triangular shaped stamp in 1956.
Specialized Section
As the time passes the trends change with the generation. Few years back philatelists were much interested in traditional philately and the number of Thematic Exhibit in the exhibitions was always less as compared to the number of exhibits of other classes. But a large number of exhibits on thematics in recent national exhibition show its popularity among philatelists. So the competition in this class has become quite tough. An exhibitor needs to be aware of the latest guidelines while preparing a Thematic exhibit. I am giving here a comprehensive article on preparing a Thematic exhibit by Ajit Kumar Dash, editor, Fila Capsule.- Editor
HOW TO BUILD A THEMATIC EXHIBIT
By Ajit Kumar Dash
The hobby of collecting stamps and study philatelic materials has become one of the important fascinating hobbies of several persons. The trend of collecting stamps haphazardly has become obsolete. Some people have the liking to collect stamps on a specific theme or topic. Though it seems to be very simple, practically it is not that easy to build up a thematic collection on a specific theme or topic. One has to follow certain guide lines for building up a thematic collection. A senior philatelist can guide properly how to start and build such an exhibit for display in a State, National or International level exhibition. Before starting collection of stamps on a theme the following guidelines will help a topical collector to build a beautiful Thematic Exhibit.
Selecting a Topic:
Selecting a topic for the purpose is very important. Before selecting a topic it should be kept in mind about its:
(a) Scope of Development,
(b) Availability of Sufficient Philatelic Material,
(c) Scope of appreciation by the Jury member.
The topic to be selected should not be very common. It should be selected in such a way that it can attract a common person whenever he/she goes through the Title.
Title:
This is as important as the ‘Topic’. Many Philatelists assign very common ‘Title’ which hardly can attract anybody. Suppose a person will collect stamps on pigeon and gives a title as ‘The Pigeons’, may hardly attract anybody. But if the title can be given as ‘The winged peace makers’ or ‘The symbol of Peace’ etc. immediately attracts a common person. The title itself influences the Jury member before going through the topic and can impress him, which is a plus point for the Exhibitor.
Introduction:
A brief introduction is necessary as to what the exhibitor wants to display. Unnecessary explanation and narration of a story is not advisable as the Jury and the visitors have little time to go through the elaborate introduction. The matters those are to be narrated in the introduction should be incorporated through stamps or philatelic materials in the exhibit. Hence it is to be kept in mind that, “Whatever you say- show in the exhibit or whatever you are showing, say only on those things”
Plan of the Exhibit:
This is nothing but indexing the exhibits chronologically shown in the exhibit pages. A balanced plan fetches good marks and also looks beautiful. A balanced plan creates an impression in the minds of a jury that the exhibitor has sufficient materials in his hand for each section or sub-section and awards good marks. Whereas an unbalanced plan has many draw backs and secures poor marks. The Topic should be properly divided in Sections and sub sections in the plan chronologically so that each succeeding section have continuity with its preceding section or sub section so that the whole exhibit will appear as an essay rather than a collection of stamps on a topic only.
Development of Exhibit:
The exhibits should be developed as per the plan. Besides stamps on related topics, other philatelic materials should be mounted in the pages. Neatly or finely cancelled or mint materials should be used. CTO materials should be avoided as far as practicable. Undesirable or black listed materials should not be mounted in the exhibit. But when suitable stamps or philatelic materials are not available to suit to a specific topic or event, such undesirable material/ Cinderella /levels (one or two) may be mounted with a noting that to be an undesirable issue/Cinderella /levels so that jury can know that you are aware of such issues and materials. There should not be too many writings in each page. Try to limit the writing as far as possible and explain the theme through philatelic materials only. Try to keep as many as variety of philatelic materials in a page. The materials should not be over crowded in a page. In a page where mint stamps are used, no used stamps should be given. The important, rare and valuable materials should be mounted in such a place that it can attract the attention of the Jury. Unused covers, decorated FDCs, should not be shown as it is. They should be shown using windows. Common commercial covers, Registered covers, Speed Post covers have important role in building an exhibit. Use of Maximum cards should be limited to few.
Mounting:
The materials should be mounted using transparent mounts/hawids. Each page should be kept in good quality protecting covers. The cheap quality mounts and protecting covers adversely affects the colors of the stamps and other materials. All pages should be numbered at the left bottom corner at the front side and the name and address of the exhibitor should be given at the left bottom corner at the back side.
Judging Criteria
In a competitive exhibition, entries, consisting of text and philatelic material on sheets of paper roughly A4 in size or 23cm x 29 cm, are examined by a team of judges and given a points score on a number of criteria. These points are totaled to give score out of 100. Awards of various levels are awarded, depending on the total points received by an entry. Exhibitors work to improve their exhibits so that they will get higher and higher awards.
The criteria that are used:
· Plan and development of the exhibit
· Knowledge (Philatelic and thematic)
· Material (Condition and rarity)
· Presentation
The first criteria comprise about 35-50% of the points, and the second three criteria comprise the other 65-50%. This means that the thematic elements and the philatelic elements each make up about half of the points. The exhibitor, therefore, has to balance their effort to ensure that they maximize their scores in each element.
Let's have a quick look at each of the criteria:
Plan of the exhibit - At the beginning of the exhibit, there must be a suitable and innovative title along with a balanced plan of the exhibit. It is not an index of the pages or table of contents. It is more like a story or essay of the exhibit in point form, with chapters and sub-chapters to show how the story of the exhibit develops. This enables the judges and other viewers to read their way through the exhibit and understand what the exhibitor wants to tell and show them.
Development of the theme - This criterion looks at how the exhibitor develops the story through the text and philatelic material from the plan. It also examines how the material and story develop on each page. A logical, well-sequenced storyline that flows through each page and from page to page chronologically will be awarded higher points than one that does not flow smoothly and is badly sequenced. At any stage the visitor or the jury should not feel any discontinuity of the flow between the pages any where.
Philatelic knowledge - This is a measure of the exhibitor's knowledge of the range or types of philatelic material available for the theme and the most appropriate ways of using it to build the story of the exhibit.
Thematic knowledge – This is a measure of the exhibitor’s depth of knowledge on the theme and his research work on the subject.
Condition and rarity - The physical condition of the material, and the availability of such materials is judged by a jury. Old envelopes from tropical countries may not be available in perfect condition, whereas modern stamps should be in pristine condition. Rarity refers to the level of presence in the exhibit of material that is difficult to acquire, either because of small numbers produced or because of high demand for the item. Exhibits that receive higher awards should contain such more "rare" material as far as practicable.
Presentation -This is the appearance of the exhibit as it is displayed for viewing, including such aspects as balance of the layout, the neatness of the pages, and the readability of the exhibit. This criteria has very small contribution say 5-10 marks in computing the total, but the over all impression of the jury is from the less important criteria becomes very important. As a result, the judges' impressions of the presentation may affect their judgment in other criteria.
These are some of the important guidelines for a beginner for building a thematic exhibit. It is always advisable to consult a senior philatelist before submitting an exhibit to an Exhibition. The local Philatelic Club/ Association play an important role to help such Philatelists in this regard. The Philatelists are also advised to follow the FIP and the rules of the India Post while building an exhibit.
So in a nut shell the Building of a Thematic Exhibit is as follows which are prescribed by the pioneers with some additions and renovation.
Decide to put an exhibit together - get the rules and guidelines, try to visit an exhibition, look at the exhibits, and interact with exhibitors or senior philatelists.
Find a theme that you like and that you are prepared to read about, learn more about, and stick with patiently. There are several sources to gather information on all subjects. It also needs to be one that is suitable and the further scope of development of the exhibit you are doing. If you choose a limited theme, such as a single species of bird or flower, it may be difficult to expand it into a larger exhibit. On the other hand, you may not justify the story of the Dog and its service to mankind in a small exhibit.
Write the outline of your story. This will help you to know the nature and size of your exhibit. This will also help you to trace out your poorly available materials on some sections.
Gather philatelic material of all types, not just stamps but postal stationery, booklets, postal cards, aerogrammes, pre-stamped envelopes, registered or otherwise interesting envelopes, meter-franking, and so on. This will be the most time-consuming part of the exercise, and it will continue forever - your exhibit will never be finished completely. During this stage, you may have to rewrite parts of your story to accommodate good material or to cover some gaps in the material.
Gather your working tools, including new papers for your exhibit, tweezers, scissors, pencils, ruler, cutters, clean rubber, hawids, mounting corners & protecting covers for envelopes and cards, paper for rough write-ups and layout planning, storage container.
Begin planning - ensure that your title, material, and storyline all match and are complete in relation to the title.
Do a story board layout for the exhibit. Make up a practice sheet for each point that you want to make in your story and put the relevant material with it.
Now do a rough layout for each page. Check for layout balance, variety of philatelic elements (try to have three different types of material on each page), and the proportion of material to text on the page. The material is the highlight; the text must not ever overwhelm the material.
Survey the philatelic strength of each page. How can you improve it? This can be achieved by spreading your exhibit on any floor or mounting on a wall frame-by-frame.
Check the balance of material, text, and layout across the whole exhibit. Are all your postal cards in one section of the exhibit? Strive for a balanced distribution.
Start work on the pages for exhibiting. Check the consistency of layout. Keep the text to the minimum needed to tell the story. Make sure that you show what you say and say what you show - in other words, make sure that the material and the text on each page are tied closely together. Recheck the rules. Recheck your facts and material. Show your work to other knowledgeable people for their comments and suggestions.
Enter the exhibit in a show.
Achievements
Honour for young philatelist
Pragya Kothari is the youngest participant from India who has won 2 Vermeil medals for his exhibits on ‘ Man measures his Environment’ and ‘Grey Goose Wings’ at World stamp championship-2008 recently concluded at Tel Aviv, Israel. Pragya is son of Mr. Pradip Jain, a noted philatelist of India who also won a vermeil medal at the exhibition for his collection on Gandhi. Pragya is a student of 3rd year Economics Honors at Delhi University. Besides Philately he loves to read fictions and listen to music. Earlier Pragya had received Silver Medal for man measures his environment at World stamp exhibition , Singapore. Besides this he has won many National and Statel level awards. His philatelic interests are Great Britain, Archery, Gandhi, and pre independence India.
ISRAEL 2008 AWARDS
The exhibits from India won the following awards at the recently concluded World Stamp Championship at Tel Aviv, Israel:
Dhananjay Desai's Soruth
Pradip Jain's My Life is My Message - Mahatma Gandhi
Suketu Jhaveri's Indian Telegraphs 1851-1914
Pragya Kothari's Grey Goose Wings
Ravi Bhansali's Modifications
Surendra Kotadia's India Inland Post Cards with Ads & Slogans
Reader’s Right
Editor’s note- The aim of this stamp newsletter is to provide instant information and facts on philately to the readers and not to hurt anyone’s feelings. A new column Reader’s Right has been started from April issue. Readers may express their views, anguish and resentment through this column on philately. The platform is not used for any vested interest to cause derogatory to philately. When writing your views be sure that it should be related to philately only. It should not be used to express personal feelings between persons or groups in any manner. Please send your postal address and Ph. No. and if possible a photo too when writing on any controversial issue.
S.P. Bansal, 20 Hanuman Road Firozabad-283203 (U.P.)
I was an exhibitor at UPHILEX-2007. In this exhibition when I demanded list of exhibits with exhibitor’s names, award list and mark sheet of my exhibit from secretary general of UPHILEX-2007, he did not send these lists to me. I wrote regd. Letter to CPMG Lucknow and two registered letters to the Director General, India posts, but I did not receive any response in this regard while each exhibitor is entitled to receive these lists free of charge. Finally I issued a letter to the information officer O/o CPMG under RTI 2005 with fee, then officer sent me these lists when I paid Rs. 46 for 23 pages. Mark sheet of UPHILEX marking system of exhibits is very doubtful.
Prakash Mody, Canada
Dear Friends (individuals as well as representatives of the organizations),
I introduce myself as a philatelist and recently I studied the commemorative stamps issued by the Royal Mail (UK).
I notice that within last 37 years, about 750 new stamps are issued covering about 150 topics under 25 broad subjects! I find that very few, rather it is rare that a stamp is issued for diversity, greetings, multiculturalism or multifaith, even though the British public include a substantial number of people of mixed cultural backgrounds. I find that annually, since 1971, six or even more, Christmas stamps of the Christian religion is issued every year. Surprisingly, not a single stamp is issued in last 37 years of any other religion though it is not a restricted subject!
Let us request to the Royal Mail for a series of stamps for the important occasions like Diwali (Hindus, Jains, Sikhs), Id, (Islam - Muslims), Hanukkah (Jewish), and Kwanzaa (Aboriginals - Natives) and others. It may be mentioned that emphasis here is not of religion but it is of culture. Remaining within the 'British Way of Life', one would like to continue to maintain our cultural heritage that includes religion, food and dress.
Keeping this in mind, I am giving a DRAFT of a letter that I suggest you to send to the Royal Mail (they want in writing, mailed no emails) with your or organization belonging to you, name and address (on a letterhead). Please modify the text, as you may find suitable or treat this draft as a sample only and you may write in your own.
In case, if you do not like this idea, you may forward this message to any other person who may be interested or who may represent your organization. It will be more effective, if many more letters are sent. You may even publish in your publication, put on notice board, put on your website or may issue a media release of such suggestion having been made.
Please feel free, if you have any question or concern or you may send a copy of your letter to this writer.
With best wishes for seeing such stamp being issued in the near future.
Sincerely with kind regards,
Prakash Mody
On the letterhead of the organization sending
Please note to fit on a single page
May 30, 2008
Stamp Programme Manager,
Royal Mail House, 48 Old Street
LONDON, EC1V 9HQ.
Subject: Stamp for Diwali Festival by the Royal Mail
We, the persons of an Indian origin, who have come from the diverse parts of the globe and have adopted Britain as our mother land. We are part of the British way of life. Cultural Freedom is a hallmark of England. The Royal Mail can befittingly honor various communities by issuing commemorative stamps depicting their festivals.
Since long we celebrate Deepawali or Diwali. This ancient and joyous Festival of Lights that is celebrated by people of several cultures, reflecting the unity and multi-cultural rich diversity of the people of United Kingdom. Deepawali constitutes a medium to express gratitude and appreciation for the extraordinary diversity that is our nation’s greatest strength. Diwali is considered a time for communal gatherings and spiritual upliftment. The rich culture and spirit of Diwali has survived political, economic and social vicissitudes throughout history, while always carrying the universal symbolism of the triumph of light, goodness, knowledge and truth. Deepawali symbolizes our incessant prayers and endeavor to be led from darkness - ignorance to light - knowledge. It is celebrated to signify the victory of truth and righteousness over evil.
Deepawali presents all of us with an opportunity to reflect on the many ways, the talent, the history and the traditions of the people who have contributed to the national life and cultural heritage. Her Majesty the Queen even joins in celebrations of the Deepawali in the Parliament and even sends her personal greetings and felicitations to the community.
We have noted your guidelines and criteria for an issue of a new stamp. Our request squarely falls in the celebrations of an event of a single big group of national importance. It takes two years for an issue of a new stamp, so, your decision now can make possible for the Diwali stamp to be issued on November 6, 2010, the Diwali Day.
We are requesting you for an issue a postal stamp commemorating the festival of lights known as Deepawali. This request for Diwali stamp has come from the widespread support of British communities. This surely will be very much appreciated by the British public at large - people of several cultural backgrounds in general and Indo-British group in particular. As the Stamp Advisory Committee continues its plan for issuing new stamps, we hope that it will also consider issuing a Diwali stamp to honor this culturally important holiday of the significant population of Britain.
We hope and wish that your early favorable action would be highly encouraging to everyone.
Sincerely thanking you in advance.
(Name & Designation of the Signatory)
New Issues from other countries
Australia
6 May 2008 Up Up and Away
10 June 2008 Working Dogs
24 June 2008 Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
8 July Living Green
15 July 2008 Quarantine matters
Canada
19 May 2008 400th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Quebec.- 52c10 June 2008 50 years as an Australian Territory
Estonia
22 May 2008 Narva Herman Castle – 9.00 EEK
France
5 May 2008 Europa (Letter Writing)-.55 Euro
19 May 2008 joint issue with Canada post to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Quebec.-.55 Euro
29 May 2008 Noddy happy Birthday stamp S/S of 5 stamps
31 May 2008 belfry of Evreux. (Evreux is a French Town) -.55 Euro
Gibraltar
1 June 2008 Europa Letter Writing – 8p,40p, 42 p & P 1
1 June 2008 The New Seven Wonders of the World- seven stamps
Papua New Guinea
21 March 2008 marine Biodiversity 4v- 85t, K3, K 3.35, K5.35
16 April 2008 Beijing Olympics 2008- K 1.40
Pitcairn Island
24April 2008 Pitcairn’s Longboat History- 50c, $1.00, $1.50, $3.50
8 April 2008 Perankan Museum Collection
Turkey
25 April 2008 Airplanes - 65Ykr, 80Ykr & 85Ykr
9 May 2008 Post-Euro (Letter) – 65 Ykr & 80 Ykr
12 May 2008 50th Year of Turkey- Thailand Diplomatic Relations- 65Ykr & 80Ykr
The Lighter Side
Brain Twisters
Find out Philatelic terms from following jumbled letters-
1. UCARSGEHR
2. LIOANB
3. INTEVTEG
4. TEEHTCEBE
5. MROTEIFRAEP
6. ARTVIEY
7. ETATSENN
8. VRROITPEN
9. EENPISR
10. YGOFERE
Answers to Brain Twisters
1. SURCHARGE- Any inscription applied on the face of a stamp which alters or restates its denomination.
2. ALBINO- A stamp in which color has been limited by chance.
3. VIGNETTE- Main design of the stamp.
4. TETE BECHE- A stamp inverted in relation to its adjoining stamp.
5. IMPERFORATE- A stamp without perforation.
6. VARIETY- Any variation from the normal stamp caused by a fault in the printing press.
7. SE-TENANT – Different stamps joined together stamps forming a part of the design of the issue and each part joined with the other part to form one composite design.
8. OVERPRINT- Any additional inscription applied on the face of the stamp in addition to its original design.
9. PERFINS – Stamps punched with the initials of a government deptt. or a business house with the purpose of preventing their theft or other illegitimate use.
10. FORGERY – An imitation of a stamp, produced to deceive postal authorities and collectors.
Do you know?
·Italy has issued special postage stamps for pneumatic mail service.
· The earliest form of gum used on postage stamps was produced from Potato starch.
· In the stamp trade the abbreviation CV stands for catalogue value.
· In 1898 Canada issued the ‘World’s first Christmas stamp featuring a map of the British Empire and a famous quotation “We hold a vaster Empire than has been”- Sir Lewis Morris.
RAINBOW STAMP CLUB
I have introduced a new blog http://www.rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/ . The idea of this blog is to extend philatelic fraternity in all corners of the world. Readers may write about themselves with their collecting interests and share new ideas with other philatelists. Those who are interested may send brief write up with their photo in compressed format. It will be published on the blog with their e-mail id. Readers may also express their views on any philatelic matter which will be published time to time in “Open Platform” at Rainbow Stamp Cub Blog. Philatelic Clubs and Societies may also send brief write ups. News about new issues of India and abroad and other information related with Philately are regularly posted on the blog. - Editor
Popular Websites on Philately
www.memberstripod.com/~bicylcestamps – This site is related with stamps issued on bicycles.
http://www.biophilately.org/ - The site is related with stamps issued on animal and plant life of present and prehistoric period.
http://www.mapsonstamps.com/ - The site related with stamps issued on globes and maps.
http://www.catsonstamps.org/ - The specialized site for stamps issued exclusively on cats.
http://www.shipsonstamps.org/ - The complete site on stamps issued on ships.
http://www.sportstamps.org/ - It is a complete site for stamps issued on Olympics, recreation and sports.
http://www.stampsofindia.com/ – To know the latest in Indian Philately just log on to this website.
http://www.rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/ – This is the newly introduced Blog to bring philatelists together on e- stamp club and share views with each other on different philatelic activities.
http://www.princelystates.com/ – it is the site of Journal of Indian stated History, philately and numismatics. Philatelists of Postal History will find it very informative and useful.
Editor’s Mail Box
Vijay Seth, Editor Stamps Today, New Delhi
Nice to see your colourful e- newsletter every month, its contents are making it more attractive. Wish you all the best in your noble and sincere cause, keep the personal vendetta of philatelists out of this magazine. There are very few philatelists who have the desire to promote philately in this vast and big country, let those flowers bloom, thorns are and have shall always follow the roses, but they can never hurt them. With passions running high, let us all get together and take Indian philately to great and new heights. Let us fight the battle with the enemy within us, try and improve the services and stamp policy of India Post.
Dr Avinash B. Jagtap, Switzerland
I am very glad to see that your "Rainbow Magazine" has been making a good progress and the philatelists in India now have a common platform to express their ideas about Indian Philately and the ways and means to foster it. One can see that you have been personally devoting your own time for and attention to this noble cause.
Promotional section
Maxim Cards on Butterflies
A set of four maxim cards on 'Endemic Butterflies of Andaman and Nicobar Islands' Stamps released on 2nd January 2008 is available at Ernakulam Philatelic Bureau. The cost of one set is Rs.70/-. Order can be placed online also.
NEW STAMP PACKS
· India Post issued a pack containing a miniature sheet and a first day cover for the Jasmine issue of Apr 26, 2008. The pack was priced at Rs 75.
· India Post issued a pack containing a miniature sheet for the Aga Khan Foundation issue of May 17, 2008. The pack is priced at Rs 50.
STAMP QUIZZES by Anil Dhir: 224 pages, 2007 edition, contains over 1500 questions and answers. Comprehensive & detailed with quizzes on General Philately, India, Indian States, USA, Britain, Australia & New Zealand Must for all Philatelists & stamp clubs, Rs 300 post free in India. US$20+ actual postage elsewhere, for more details contact Anil Kumar Dhir 112, Vaishno Villa, Satyanagar, Bhubaneswar - 751007 anildhir2k5@hotmail.com
The Last Post CD by Anil Dhir: For this CD Contact at above address.
ITS COLLECTORS DIRECTORY :, 3rd edition 2008 Edited by Suraj Jaitly, 80 pages listing contact details of stamp collectors, dealers, clubs, magazines, websites, from India & overseas. Plus lots of relevant information. Price Rs.250 or US $8 or Euro 6 OR £4 [Post paid] Contact Suraj Jaitly at above address.
LIST OF STAMPS: Maharashtra Circle of India Post recently published a 'List of Stamps' for years 1852 to 2007 during recently held MAHAFILMPEX 2008. The 80 page A5 size publication is priced Rs 20 and is available from the Philatelic Bureau at Mumbai GPO 400 001.
Current Philatelic Magazines and Newsletters
Stamps of India Collectors’ Companion India’s first and most updated weekly e-newsletter edited by Madhukar and Savita Jhingan from Stamps of India, New Delhi. E-mail: mjhingan@yahoo.com Website: http://www.stampsofindia.com/
Fila Capsule March - April 2008 issued edited by Ajit Kumar Dash and published by Eastern India Philatelists’ Association, Bhubaneswar.
E-Mail: eipaorissa@yahoo.co.in & akdash2000@yahoo.com
THE NORTH POST April 2008, Chief Editor: T R Bhatia Published by: Ludhiana Philatelic Club, Ludhiana E-Mail : trbhatia251@yahoo.com
Courtesy- News and Image Resource to this issue - Stamps of India, Suraj Jaitly-Ludhiana, Vinod Sabharwal, New Delhi
Attention Readers-
· For PDF Version of Rainbow Stamp News reply with the subject Subscribe Rainbow PDF
· Address for communication: Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti, D.F.O. Residence, Chopal-171211 Distt. Shimla (Himachal Pradesh). E-mail – rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com & j.jyoti9@gmail.com
· Last date for receiving write ups - Till 25th of every month. Kindly send images in compressed jpg format and text in MS Word only.
· If you liked this issue please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.
Seven Continents make the world & Seven letters make the term Topical in Philately
Be a Topical Collector to enjoy the best of Stamp collecting.
Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Chopal, Distt- Shimla-171211 (H.P.) India.
