Date of Issue – 10 Dec 2009

 

Shimla       January 2010       Issue # 25

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, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Director, Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, Distt. Kullu. PIN 175126. (H.P.) India

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 giving the name of your city/country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW

 

Dear Readers,

First of all this is to wish you a very Happy New Year. With the New Year this newsletter enters the third year of publication. The year 2009 ended with a big philatelic show Stampmania 2009 at Vadodara. The show was successfully organized by Baroda Philatelic Society. It was visited by a large number of philatelists from different parts of India. The show gave a big platform to the whole philatelic community to interact with each other. Being a visitor at the exhibition I am giving my personal report separately. Hearty Congratulations to Baroda Philatelic Society & The whole Stampmania team on organizing this grand event at national level. It is a daring effort by a Philatelic Society to organize this grand show without any big support from the postal department. Baroda Philatelic Society and the whole Stampmania Team headed by Mr Prashant Pandya needs a standing ovation for making this event highly successful. The event has encouraged other philatelic Societies to come forward and plan to organize such shows in future. During the philatelic exhibition the most benefited part of Philatelic Community is the Dealers Group. They get a chance to do a big business during the event. It is the responsibility of the whole philatelic dealer community to support the organizers in the way they can. Mr Pradip Jain & Mr AS Mittal are highly appreciated who donated special awards at stampmania 2009 to promote philately in their own noble way. I hope in future many stamp exhibitions will be organized at different levels to make philatelic community stronger and promote the hobby among young and old. This is all for this month….Till Next month …Happy Collecting !!

                                                                                                                                                      ….Jeevan Jyoti

 

Contents

Recent Indian Issues

In The News

Interview

Beginners’ Section

Specialized Section

New Issues from Other Countries

The Lighter Side

Blogs & Websites on Philately

Promotional Section

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

Editor’s Mail Box

Recent Indian Issues

         

1 Dec Greetings – 4 x Rs 5 + 1 MS

2 Dec – 2^nd Lancers – Rs 5

2 Dec 100 Years Convent of Jesus & Mary, Ambala Cantt – Rs 5

10 Dec Taditional Indian Textiles – 4 x Rs 5

15 Dec Henry Louis Vivian Derozio – Rs 5

17 Dec Lal Pratap Singh – Rs 5

19 Dec Preserve the Polar Regions and Glaciers – 2 x Rs 5

Dec 27 Indian Mathematical Society – Rs 5

Dec 27 Venkataramana Bhagavathar – Rs 5

Dec 29 Maharaja Surajmal – Rs 5

5 Jan 2010 20th Conference on Speakers and Presiding Officers of Commonwealth- Rs 5

Special Cover – Postmark

4 Dec 2009 Schoolpex 2009 ( Theme- India In Space ) Jaipur

7 Dec 2009 37th ISAAME Forum. Hyderabad

Dec 7: Jaipur, Mahatma Gandhi Coins, Schoolpex 2/2
Dec 11: New Delhi, International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage

Dec 17 : Frontier mail – Stampmania 2009 - Vadodara

Dec 18 : Balasinor – Stampmania 2009 – Vadodara

Dec 19 : Save Energy - Stampmania 2009 - Vadodara

Dec 20 : Jasu Patel, Cricket – Stampmania – 2009 – Vadodara

Stamp Booklet

Vadodara City

In The News

Get Away from the Post Exhibition Blues….

                                                                                                          - Jeevan Jyoti

Stampmania 2009 was one of the biggest philatelic events of the year 2009 organized by a philatelic Society in our country. No other philatelic Society has ever organized such big event which drew a large number of visitors from every corner of the country. The event was successfully managed by the whole Stampmania team headed by Mr Prashant Pandya. There were few shortcomings which were beyond the control of the organizers such as many faulty frames were provided by the Postal Department, delay in supply of glasses for the frames from vendor due to accidental and technical reasons some exhibits could not be displayed on first day which caused some resentment among the participants. The exhibition was organized under the auspices of India Post but without any big support from Postal Department which provided only frames to the society. The whole gigantic work of the exhibition was done by the volunteers of Baroda Philatelic Society, family members of the main organizers & office staff of Mr Prashant Pandya. It should be noted that the exhibition conducted by Postal Department has many official working hands as well as volunteer philatelists besides a big official fund to spend on exhibition. To take the responsibility of such a big task with limited resources was a daring decision taken by Mr Prashant Pandya which needs a great applause from one and all. It is not easy to take the responsibility of such a big show with a limited team of working hands.

The only shortcoming of the exhibition was non display of some exhibits and some unsatisfactory results which caused resentment among some affected participants.

Discussing exhibits with Mr Sekhar Chakraborty of Kolkata

As I personally attended the exhibition, I closely observed and analyzed. I found it was due to faulty existing system of judging which is being continued since a long time. The circumstances were more responsible for some wrong decisions rather than the organizers or members of Jury. The reasons were following –

The Jury team had developed system for evaluating One Frame Exhibits. Synopsis pages and photo copies of all exhibits were also thoroughly checked by Jury team.

1. The number of frames was 448 and judges were only 5 in number.

2. The general standard of the exhibits was very good so the decision to be made was quite difficult.

3. There were 256 exhibits in Thematic Philately which needed a special team of experts to judge the exhibits properly & thoroughly. It was quite difficult for one person to judge such a big number of frames.

4. The jury divided the exhibits in two categories one suitable for one frame exhibits & the other unsuitable for one frame exhibit. So some exhibits which had good philatelic items could not get higher award due to wrong choice of the subject, this was not understood by many participants and were unsatisfied with the result.

5. Also the rules of One Frame Exhibit were not followed by participants. It is necessary for all philatelists to study and observe the rules of One Frame Exhibits

Some of the observations by some noted philatelists have been given in this issue which I don’t want to repeat but I just want to express that if the pattern of judging is changed in future exhibitions, fairer results can be obtained and participants may be satisfied to the greater extent.

1. Entry should not be given on the basis of previous award only. Before giving final entry to the exhibitors they should be asked to submit photocopy of their collection. In this way low level collection can be easily avoided from display and only standard exhibit will get entry.
2. The number of frames in exhibition should be restricted so that the exhibition could be easily managed.
3. The number of judges should be in concordance with the number of frames. One judge should not be allowed to judge more than 20 frames that means 320 pages. To judge properly one frame one needs at least 20 min. at least about 60-70 seconds per page. It means a judge needs about 10 hrs which can be utilized in two days.
4. As the number of exhibits in Thematic Class is increasing every year and exhibits in traditional class are decreasing there should be 4 times extra expert members of Thematic Philately to judge these exhibits. New young philatelists who have won higher awards at National & International level should be invited to judge the modern collections. It is a fact that old senior members are experts of Traditional Philately and not of the Modern Philately.
5. The results should not be declared at last moment. It must be declared a day before the award day and the jury session should be organized the following day.
6. The higher award winning frames must be marked with ribbons so that the visitors could see the exhibits closely and critically and know why the particular exhibit got higher award.
7. Last but not the least point, Thematic Class needs special attention as this is the class where subject knowledge is also important  with philatelic knowledge. A special team with some expert of popular themes should be appointed to judge this class. A Thematic Philatelist puts lot of potential in subject & philatelic research. Most of the Thematic Philatelists are expert in their respective fields and try to show their intellectual capability through philatelic items. So the judging of their exhibits should be as far as possible faultless.

My personal discussion with Jury 

During discussion with one of the Jury members over the key method adopted to judge about 450 exhibits in the exhibition, he said the exhibits were divided into two categories A & B. In Category A, those exhibits were selected whose subjects were suitable for one Frame exhibits & in category B those exhibits were kept which were the reduced form of expanded collections and could be easily expanded in more than one frame. So some exhibits having good philatelic items were deprived of higher award because of wrong selection of the subject.

I had personally talked with one of the jury members regarding social philately. He said that none of the exhibits in the social philately class had fulfilled the actual norms for social Philately class. Jury has the right to transfer the exhibit to the suitable class and so the special award should have been transferred too to some other class. It was unjustified to award a higher medal with special award which does not fulfill the norms of social philately class.

It is the time to bring a reform in the existing system rather than to criticize what has already happened and try not to let repeat the previous shortcomings….. The circumstances are always responsible for the poor results & not the organizers & Jury Members…..We often overlook it…The Point to Ponder…..

See Results  Picture Gallery & other items related with Stampmania 2009 at http://www.stampmania2009.com/

Stamp Mania 2009

- A detailed report by Naresh Agarwal, Bilaspur (C.G.)

The long awaited first ever One Frame National Exhibition Stampamania 2009 held at Vadodara from 17.12.2009 to 20.12.2009 attracted philatelists from all over India even from abroad too. Widely publicized through various philatelic websites which were regularly updated and through Mobile Philately Portal too; very highly rated this stamp show had been acknowledged world over prior to its actual inauguration. No doubt the pre-show events had indicated the philatelists that the show would be graceful and worth visiting. The immense usage of net services before and during the show opened various avenues/ways for future events. This show saw many new things other than those in usual shows such as Heritage Walk, Prizes and Awards in different manner and above all a ONE FRAME EXHIBITING. Following is the detailed report putting light on various aspects of the show:

THE HERITAGE WALK:  Never heard before, absolutely a new and admirable concept to honor and remember our old gone by days postal friends of India Post who carried mail for decades/centuries………(Bullock Tram Service, which was started by Maharaja Khanderao between Miyagam and Dabhoi).  ….was a marvelous beginning and a charm when replica of a bullock tram fitted with pneumatic tyres had been made carrying 500 special covers with mail guard on it from HPO Vadodara to Venue via Industrial Area P.O.

A good number of philatelists from all over India, philatelic dealers, postal workers, journalists, school children, local people and public in general participated in the walk. Every one appeared to be part of this historical act. Various dignitaries participated in the walk. A history made…..

INAUGURATION:  The show was inaugurated by Ms. Karuna Pillai, CPMG, Gujarat Circle, Vadodara by lighting inaugural candle in front of august gathering in upper hall on the eve of 17.12.2009 in presence of other dignitaries on the dais. A special cover on Frontier Mail Train and a Booklet on Vadodara City along with a Souvenir were released on the occasion. The special carried cover of Bullock Tram too had been delivered at this point and distributed/sold too during inauguration.

HOSPITALITY:   Though the show was good and organizers do took care of everything just as various hotels were made to offer subsidized accommodation which the visitors availed too also a caterer had been asked to serve at venue at cost. Though it was little costly yet affordable. Free treated water was available. A free draw had been arranged for the visitors for which necessary entry slips were to be put in box placed at reception counter. Participants were given free copy of souvenir and catalogue of exhibits along with badges.

THE ORGANIZING TEAM:     Undoubtedly the Stampamania2009 organizing team has been found to be very hardworking, dedicated and ready to deliver. Whole family of Mr. Timir Shah and Mr. Prashant Pandya could be seen involved in the activities right from the beginning to the close of the halls. A set of not less than 20 members/persons could be seen throughout working tirelessly. The team spirit at its peak, the unimaginable devotion and dedication & of course highly charged team did exemplary team work.

VISITORS:   The show was graced by the visitors from all over the country even a few from abroad. Various eminent philatelic personalities of India could be seen there. People from Vadodara and surrounding areas also visited in good numbers. Students from various schools too visited in groups. In all, a good number of visitors graced the show with there presence and shown keen interest in different exhibits and enjoyed the world of philately there. 

DEALERS:   The dealers are certainly the light of the show. People won’t enjoy, philately won’t develop and show won’t shine without the presence of the dealers. They are the movers and real server of the philately. As many as 45 on-stall and about 50 off-stall roaming stamp dealers were present in show on all the three days which served the philatelists with huge stock they had brought.

STREET SELLERS:  As usual, Gujarat has so much to offer on the road rather than on polished and furnished stalls inside the halls which reminded of the Festival of stamps early this year at Ahmedabad. About 12/13 such sellers were seated outside the main gate of the campus with stock of stamps, stationery, numismatic stuffs and antiques.

Mr Prashant Pandya & Mr. Kshitij (Radio Jockey,Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM)

MEDIA COVERAGE:  Excellent media coverage had been given to the show. Local news papers highlighted the events each day of the show. Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM also publicized the same. A talk was also arranged by Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM on 19.12.09 morning with two philatelists namely Naresh Agrawal of Bilaspur and Pratisad Neogaonkar of Pune which added to the importance and wide acceptance of the show.

SOUVENIR:   Wonderfully designed, nicely edited, well sized colorful souvenir was issued during the show. The souvenir possessed about 15 articles from renowned philatelic writers, judges and eminent philatelists. It contained messages from eminent personalities. Advertisements from different philatelists and industrialists too have been found to be of great use. The souvenir is an asset for the philatelists and a store house of philatelic knowledge too.

SPECIAL AND CARRIED COVERS:  In all, one carried cover, one booklet and four special covers were issued during the show.

Details of the individual covers released are as under   :  

                                           

Carried Cover carried in Bullock Tram from Raopura Head Post Office to Stampmania 2009.

1.  Carried cover: This cover was carried by a Guard on replica of Bullock Tram from Vadodara H.O to industrial Estate P. O and delivered at Stampmania 2009 Exhibition. A narrow gauge railway line was started by Maharaja Khanderao from Dabhoi to Miyagam in February 1862. Oxen were used to pull the tram, thus it is called bullock tram. Dabhoi - Miyagam railway line is the world’s oldest working narrow gauge line

2.  Frontier mail 17.12.2009: The Frontier Mail, flagged off on 1st September 1928, from Colaba Terminus, was the first luxurious and prestigious train in the Indian subcontinent. The radio facility was provided fro the first time in a running train and it was also the first fastest train of India. Today also it is running between Mumbai and Amritsar with a name as “Golden Temple Mail”.

3.  Balasinor 18.12.2009:  Balasinor Dinosaur Fossil Park at Raiyoli in Gujarat is one of the third largest Dinosaur sites in the world. This site may have been a major breeding ground for dinosaurs as many eggs are found here. The park has been home to seven different types of dinosaurs.

4.  Save Energy 19.12.2009: Thomas Alva Edison made the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb on December 31, 1879, in Menlo Park. He said “we will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles”. Today we are on the verge on extinction of energy fuels and only way to survive is to save energy

5.  Jasu Patel 20.12.2009:  Jasubhai Patel was an off-spinner who played test cricket for India. He will always be remembered as teh first player who bowled India to their first-ever victory over Australia in the second test at the Green Park, Kanpur in 1959 where he took 14 wickets. He  was honored with Padmashree in 1960.

GENERAL ATMOSPHERE:  The overall atmosphere was festive as the visitors were found chatting, busy on stalls, sitting leisurely, looking and peeping in to the boxes and stock books of the visiting philatelists came with their spare items. A few deeply engrossed in study of exhibits on frames, a few just passing by having bird eye view on the exhibits and a few in groups discussing on various aspects of the theme or the exhibit, a few with camera clicking photographs, a few having snacks/lunch on the back side of the hall, a few busy in cheerful bargaining with the dealers, a few standing outside the main entrance gate of the venue busy with street sellers sitting on the soil or bent or sitting on knees, and a few sitting on the pavements and chatting………………..all in all a lovely atmosphere throughout during the show. The sole purpose of the exhibitions looked like filled up.

        

OTHER ATTRACTIONS:

a)  RANGOLI:  Gujarat is the birth place of Rangoli which adds flavor to all festivals in India. Any beautiful event without Rangoli seems colorless, charmless and dry. Two beautiful Rangolies of big size were made on the first floor by local artist Shri Anant More of Vadodara on the Logo of Stampamania 2009 and other on Indian stamp on Sayaji Rao Gaekwad issued in 1989. So beautiful and wonderful that seen from distance they looked like photographic image. Really another attraction of the show which showed love for philately by the people.

b)  MEETINGS:  The show also deserves the honor to conduct first ever meeting of India Study Circle, a leading organization involved in study of Indian philately based at U.K.. The meeting was conducted on 18.12.2009 in the presence of Mr. Sandeep Jaiswal, Editor of India Post and Mr. Pratisad Neurgaonkar, General Secretary and various other members of the ISC and various renowned philatelists. Mini spot auction was also held which was highly appreciated. This meeting of ISC has certainly opened new chapters in the philately of India as this exhibition saw enrollment of various new members.

c)  AUCTION:   On 19.12.09 there was an auction conducted by Oswal Antiques. The big auction saw great interest by the visitors and the participants do got some priced possessions for them.

d)  THE OPINION POSTER / PANEL:    A blank white poster placed near the gate was also one thing commendable as it contained remarks / opinion of the visitors about the show. Renowned philatelists gave their valuable comments on it. The same had been presented to the society to preserve the same as a memento.

e)  MOBILE PHILATELY PORTAL:   Mr. Deepak Modi the promoter of Mobile philately was also honored during the function. His commendable services were highly acclaimed. He assured that the services would improve in future.

EXHIBITS:   In all, there were 448 exhibits on different classes of philately in all groups mainly in competitive class were on display. The details of participation is as under:

TRADITIONAL PHILATELY – 40; POSTAL HISTORY – 30; POSTAL STATIONERY – 29 ; THEMATICS- 256; AEROPHILATELY – 8 ; FISCAL PHILATELY – 13; MAXIMAPHILY PHILATELY – 17 ; SOCIAL PHILATELY - 6 ; CATEGORY NOT COVERED - 49

There were some very good exhibits in all above classes and worth seeing. Unfortunately half of the exhibits could not be displayed till the end of 2^nd day which refrained the visitors from viewing them. But certainly the quality and standard of exhibits in general was very good.

  

1. Mr Anil Dhir 2. Master Shikhar 3. Mr Abhay Mishra 4. Mr SL Bansal

PRIZES AND AWARDS :   Instead of usual LG, G, LV, V, LS, S, SB, B  the organizers gave away awards namely Diamond, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz and Participation Certificates along with as many as 30 special prizes sponsored by different societies and individuals. The prize distribution and closing ceremony was headed by the Mayor and MP of Vadodara Sri Balkrishna K. Shukla, Postmaster General, Vadodara Region Sri Arvind Kumar Joshi and Director Postal Services, Vadodara Region Dr. Alok Pande. Prizes/awards up to Ruby level and special prizes/awards were given away during the function. Such huge distribution of special awards really boosted and encouraged the philatelists.

Jury Members – 1 . Shri Dipok Dey ( Right) 2. Dr Punit S. Dixit (Right) 3. Ashok Kumar Bayanwala (left)

JURY:  The jury certainly comprised of highly reputed and experts of different fields of philately. Mr. Ashok Kumar Bayanwla - Head of the jury Sri H. C. Mehta, Sri Punit S. Dixit, Sri Dipok Dey with Sri P. G. Bhargave and Sri Ganesh Sawaleshwarker as apprentice jury graced the panel with their presence.   (Mr. Bayanwala - expert in Indian Postal History, Mr. H. C. Mehta - a senior philatelist, Sri Punit S. Dixit - Indian States and philatelic journalist, Sri Dipok Dey - needs no introduction- stamp designer and Indian classics)

STANDARD OF JUDGEMENT:  The only thing which can be considered as controversial was some unsatisfactory results declared by the jury. Some deserving exhibits which were totally ignored even the ones which were awarded highly surprised the participants.  Such judgment from the  the jury was not expected  who are experts in their field of philately such as Postal History of India, Indian Classics etc. and have served in various previous such  prestigious exhibitions of repute too. May be the impact of “one frame exhibiting” was tremendous as the jury had to judge within the set of 16 sheets that too with maximum (256) exhibits from THEMATIC PHILATELY. (The number of the members of jury was not enough to judge such large number of exhibits and there should be at least four extra expert members of thematic philately to judge the thematic exhibits in jury panel.)

FINAL REMARKS: 

However, leaving aside the controversy about results, the exhibition in general has won the hearts of philatelists all over.   

Thanks to Mr. Prashant Pandya and Mr. Timir Shah and their families & the entire team of the Stampmania2009………………………..

Naresh Agrawal Email - nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Feed Back - Stampmania-2009

Dr Bibhudatta Mishra, Bhubaneshwar

The STAMPMANIA-2009 in my view was one of its kind in India is a bright example, where philatelists and stamp collectors gathered in one frame and opportunity was given to display their materials. Baroda Philatelic Association along with other partners showed that “United We Can" and achieved the milestone that was planted before one year. Meticulous planning and devotion, dedication for hobby such as stamp collection showed new path way with organizational excellence. Being a beginner in this hobby, personal presence on the show enlightened me to organize my own collection in a better way.
Regarding various activities carried out including the first day heritage walk was a new concept to popularize the hobby among the newer generation. There are some lapses in the exhibition such as display of Exhibit till second day which prevent the viewer to see the entire exhibits. The dealer meet was an excellent gathering of people with lots of materials to choice with .In my personal opinion the show was great where exchange of views from East to West, North to South, Philatelists were gathered for the hobby shake only.

Natioanl Philatelic Integration – Mr MC Sharma,  Sagar-MP, Mr Ajay Srivastav (Kullu - HP) Mr SS Rath- Bhubaneshwar & Jeevan Jyoti (Kullu) discussing the exhibits

Dinesh Chandra Sharma, Lucknow

Stampmania 2009 was a well organized philatelic exhibition. The standard of the exhibition was quite high. Most importantly the communication through the stampmania 2009 web site has been outstandingly remarkable, which has really generated high interest among the philatelists throughout India.

There is always a possibility of improvement but improvement can only be possible when same event takes place again. In fact I have shown my desire to see another edition of stampmania in couple of year’s time. It is very easy to criticize or have high expectations, but in my opinion just holding a philatelic exhibition by a philatelic Society at national level itself is a very big achievement in India. I will give full marks to the organizing committee of Stampmania 2009 for their wonderful effort. I hope most of you would who have visited the exhibition would agree with me.

Overall standard of the exhibition was very much appreciable but unfortunately the unrealistic judging of some exhibits caused resentment in many. It was very difficult to believe, how the team comprising of talented, expert and renowned philatelists has given such poor result in certain cases. Particularly thematic exhibits in senior as well as in junior class have not been examined carefully at all. Since 1997 I have been examining the exhibits in philatelic exhibitions at all levels as a philatelist for my pleasure and knowledge. Whether it has been a national, international or world level exhibition my results have been quite near (with a deviation of 15% to 20%) to the actual result given by the jury. I always had fun doing this exercise.

But this time I failed almost completely as the exhibits which did not deserve more than the certificate of participation were awarded the second highest award. One of the exhibits awarded a Ruby seems to be most troublesome as this beautiful exhibit contained at least one enlarged colour copy of one of the stamps shown on that particular page. Almost every page had an enlarged colour copy but no other kind of philatelic item. Just beside to this exhibit two much better exhibits (elaborated with more kinds of philatelic material) on the same subject were there did not have luck on their side and they had to be satisfied with a Topaz. What kind of competition was there?

The jury’s job is a thankless job as the jury cannot satisfy each and every competitor, but I am very sure that ethical, rational and responsible approach of jury team would definitely generate confidence among most of the competitors.

On the other hand I would humbly request all the dissatisfied competitors not to use wrong language for jury. Show your strong resentment as strongly as you want in a graceful manner. After all the exhibitors expect their exhibits to be judged appropriately. Please be assured that one or two poor decisions against you cannot affect your success in future. Only thing you have to do is to prepare better than what you have done now. Spend more time on the frames of better exhibits. Unfortunately most of the philatelic exhibitors spend their time at the stands of stamp dealers in place of studying the exhibits of their interest. 

Hemant Kumar Jain, Mandla- Jabalpur (MP)

The result should have been declared a day before the award day and the frames of the higher award winners should have been marked so that the visitors could see the award winning exhibits with a close look. A Jury Critic Session could have been organized next day morning. The participants could not interact with Jury regarding their awards.

Sundar L. Bansal, New Delhi

Stampmania was overall good. We all had a good time. There were some difficulties but the organizers did their best to overcome. Probably they could not visualise the problem of availability of frames and hence could not mount all the exhibits on time. May be that the number of frames for the exhibit could be reduced so that more moving space was available. I give full credit to Mr. and Mrs. Prashant Pandya and their team for stampmania.

Singapore issues Diwali Aerogramme

Hindus worldwide have applauded Singapore for issuing a special Airmail Aerogramme marking Deepavali (Diwali), the most popular Hindu festival also known as “festival of lights”. This Aerogramme shows a girl and a boy with folded hands and some lighted lamps, etc.

2010 Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Awards 

Smithsonian National Postal Museum Now Soliciting Nominations  

The National Postal Museum is currently soliciting nominations for philatelists who will be recognized with the 2010 Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Awards. The award honors Americans and individuals from around the world for outstanding lifetime accomplishments in the field of philately. The achievements can include original research that significantly advances our understanding of philately and postal history; exceptional service to the philatelic community; and the overall promotion of philately for the benefit of current and future collectors. Awards will be presented at the museum in October of 2010.
Nominations can be submitted by any individual or organization. Self-nominations will not be accepted. The nomination must be a stand-alone justification of why the candidate is being proposed and the candidate should not be aware of the nomination. The individual's lifetime philatelic achievements must be delineated in the nomination. The justifications must be between 500 - 1,000 words in length. Nominations must be received by the Nominating Committee by March 1, 2010.

The nomination must be sent in writing to the: Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award Nominating Committee, National Postal Museum, PO Box 37012, MRC-570, Washington, DC 20013-7012.

25^th Asian International Stamp Exhibition

National Commissioner for Bangkok-2010 - Ajay Kumar Mittal E-Mail -ajay@kshitiz.com

ORGANIZATION, VENUE AND DATE

2.1 BANGKOK 2010 is organized by Thailand Post Company Limited in joint collaboration with the Philatelists Association of Thailand.

2.2 BANGKOK 2010 will be held at Plenary Hall, Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand.

2.3 BANGKOK 2010 will open on August 4, 2010 and close on August 12, 2010.

ADDRESSES - The address of BANGKOK 2010 is:

The Organizing Committee of BANGKOK 2010

P.O. BOX 2010, Thailand Post Company Limited,

Bangkok 10002, Thailand

TEL & FAX: (662) 831-3850

Email: stamp@thailandpost.com

15.2 The address of the Commissioner General of BANGKOK 2010 is:

MR. CHARNCHAI. KARNASUTA

P.O. BOX 2010, Thailand Post Company Limited,

Bangkok 10002, Thailand

Email: stamp@thailandpost.com; eddy104th@gmail.com

15.3 The address of the FIAP Co-ordinator is:

MR. MICHAEL HO

P.O. Box 5-74 Kaohsiung

Chinese Taipei

Email: m350822@yahoo.com.tw

See more details of the exhibition at : http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2009/12/bangkok-2010.html

JOBURG 2010 INTERNATIONAL STAMP SHOW

The 26th Asian International Stamp Exhibition, 'JOBURG 2010 International Stamp Show' will be held on October 27 to 31, 2010 at Johannesburg, South Africa.Mr. Madhukar Jhingan mj@stampsofindia.com is the National Commissioner for India. The regulations for JOBURG 2010 and the Exhibit Application

form are available online at  http://www.stampsofindia.com/other/Joburg%202010%20Individual%20Regulations%20March%202010%20Close.doc and  http://www.stampsofindia.com/other/Joburg%202010%20Exhibit%20Application%20Form%20March%202010%20close.xls respectively.

There is no participation fee for Youth Philately Class. The participation fee for other Competitive Classes (except Literature, and One-Frame Exhibit Classes) will be US$35 per frame. The fee for participation in Literature is US$35 per exhibit. The fee for participation in One-Frame Exhibit is US$70 per exhibit.
Those desirous of participating in JOBURG 2010 please go through the Regulations for JOBURG 2010 and send the duly filled Exhibit Application Form along with a copy of the introductory page describing the exhibit to the National Commissioner for India, Mr. Madhukar Jhingan, 49-D, BG-5, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi 110063 by February 28, 2009. For any assistance in this regard please email or call 0 9350537037.

INDIPEX - 2011

India Post is organizing a World Philatelic exhibition from 12 Feb to 18 Feb 2011 at Pragat Maidan, New Delhi . It is expected that approximately 70 countries would be participating in this Mega show. For more details visit the website of  INDIA POST      

Collecting Se-tenants in a different way

Mr Shrikant Parikh, a noted philatelist from Ahmedabad has collected several possible combinations of se-tenant stamps. He is known to be the pioneer to introduce Se-tenant collecting in India, which has become very popular these days among stamp collectors.

Mr Parikh at his exhibit frame on Se-tenants at Stampmania –2009, Vadodara

So far there were 2 ways for collecting, one was simplified aiming at collecting only one se-tenant of each type and while the other aims at more comprehensive collecting of all possible combinations of stamps. Mr Parikh has now added another dimension to collecting se-tenants by inventing new formats and combinations making it more attractive and challenging. His all se –tenant collection with Super Se-tenants can be viewed at his blog : http://www.setenantsofindia.blogspot.com

 

Personalized Stamp on Gandhi

A Personalized stamp on Mahatma Gandhi was prepared  on 2nd October 2009. This issue was with the collaboration of Nikhil Mundra, Gandhi philatelist based in Chennai, who also runs a website on Mahatma Gandhi Philately: www.gandhistamps.com

Please view the details of the Gandhi NL stamp at the following website: www.gandhinl09.blogspot.com

Netherlands has the facility to prepare Personalized stamps based on designs sent by collectors. This Gandhi stamp was prepared for 2nd October 2009 (140th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi). Certain special items like FDCs, Maxim Cards and Commercially Used Covers were also prepared with the 2nd October 2009 FDC cancellation.

- Arentius from Netherlands

Feat in philately takes Bhilwara professor to Guinness

JAIPUR: A two-time Limca book record holder, Prof Arvind Jain of Bhilwara has now achieved a unique feat in the world of philately. His name will figure in the next edition of Guinness Book of World Records for the largest collection of stamps and other philatelic items issued in honour of Sir Rowland Hill, creator of the first postage stamp. He has got the confirmation letter for the same via email from Kaoru Ishikawa of Guinness World Records, London. He is the first-ever Indian philatelist to get this honour from the world's most authentic and prestigious record book.

-Times of India 24 Dec 2009

India Post releases Calender on Jaidev & Geet Govinda Theme

India Post has released a calendar of 2010 on the theme of Jaideva & Geet Govinda. The calendar will be available in the Philatelic Bureau at the Circle headquarters at the Price of rs 200 per Calendar.

Hobby Festival 2009

A hobby festival was organized from 26 to 27th December 2009 in New Delhi. It was a great success - stamps, coins, banknotes and autographs were displayed together in one exhibition.some of the best collections on banknotes and coins were on display. India post, Army Postal Service and the Reserve Bank of India supported this exhibition. A souvenir was also issued on this occasion,. Shri Vijay Kumar Malhotra leader of the opposition, Delhi Vidhan Sabha gave certificates to all the 30 participants of the Hobby Festival on 27th Dec 2009.

Auction

ITS Postal Auction No.47 - Last Date: 16.1.2010

INDIAN THEMATIC SOCIETY
MIG # 3464, PHASE TWO, DUGRI ROAD, LUDHIANA – 141 013. INDIA
Mobile: +91 98728 51244 Telfax: + 91 - 161 - 2521244
Email: indianthematicsociety@gmail.com OR surajjaitly@hotmail.com
See scans of some lots at http://www.flickr.com/photos/its_offers/

Interview

Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma is a noted philatelist of India who has specialized in Olympic Philately. Mr Sharma has participated in a number of National & International Philatelic Exhibitions and was appointed National Commissioner for OLYMPEX 2008, Beijing. His collection on Summer Olympic Games was awarded Vermeil in ISRAEL 2008 & OLYMPEX 2008, Beijing. He was awarded a Silver Medal in Literature Class for his book on History of Olympic Games Through Philately in Olympex 2008 & also in ISRAEL 2008. Apart from these awards he has many International awards to his credit in previous years. I am pleased to publish an Interview with Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma who is not only a renowned philatelist but also old friend of mine. It gives me immense pleasure to share here with Readers that we both started participating in philatelic exhibition since 1984 from UPHILEX – 84, Lucknow in the junior category. Being his friend I am very proud that he has reached the height of success and earned an International repute in philatelic field at a very young age & now regarded as an expert in Olympic Philately. My best wishes to him that he may touch the sky of success in the years to come. I am sure his interview will be a guideline to many collectors in improving their exhibits. - Editor

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Dinesh Chandra Sharma

Q.1 Thematic Philately is the most popular class of Philately these days.  The number of exhibits in any exhibition is always greater than the number of exhibits in other classes. What is the reason that the class has gained so much popularity these days leaving behind other classes of philately?

Ans – Thematic philately provides an opportunity to elaborate a subject through stamps and philatelic materials in an exciting & adventurous manner. By involving in thematic philately, one gets satisfaction in developing a collection on the subject he/she is interested and has deep knowledge. If you are developing just a story with the help of stamps, you are doing a good job. But if you want to achieve a high class thematic philately exhibit then this is something else. In fact in my opinion thematic philately is the most difficult branch of philately as one has to deal with all kinds of philatelic materials from each part of the world. Finding the most appropriate philatelic material to describe an aspect of your subject may take many years. It takes long time to develop an outstanding exhibit of thematic philately. 

We are fascinated by what is attractive and beautiful. A lot of stamps and miniature sheets are being issued by the postal authorities with beautiful designs on various subjects, which attract the attention of almost everyone. This seems to be the main reason that more and more philatelists are opting for thematic philately. 

Q.2 You have specialized in Olympic Philately, any special reason to take up this subject? Why were you attracted to Olympic Philately only? Why didn't you try any other theme?

Ans – I was always interested in sports since my childhood. My particular interest was in cricket. I always liked big things & having come to know that Olympic Games are the biggest sporting events, I became interested to know more about Olympics. Until 1979 my stamp collection comprised of stamps on various subjects including Birds, Animals, Aeroplanes, Cars, Football, & Olympics etc.

It was November, 1979, while I was selecting stamps to buy from Stampex, a stamp dealer in Meerut, an old man sitting there advised me to select stamps on one or two subjects only in place of so many. I liked the idea and after great thought I could be convinced to select my main theme as Olympic Games (although I continued to collect stamps on other topics as well as used Indian and Australian stamps for many years).

In 1984 I participated with my two exhibits titled “OLYMPIC GAMES” and “AUSTRALIA” in ‘UPHILEX-84’, UP state Level Philatelic Exhibition held at Lucknow. I won a Silver Bronze medal for my Olympics exhibit while the Australian exhibit was awarded a Bronze Medal. After the results were declared I met Mr. V.S.Dastur the Jury Member of ‘UPHILEX-84’ to seek his advice. He suggested me to concentrate on my thematic exhibit. In the same year I came to know that International Olympic Committee is organizing a World Exhibition of Olympic Philately at its headquarter in Switzerland in March 1985. I applied for it and got entry. It was a great moment of my life to have debut at international level before participating in a national exhibition & to my surprise I was the only participant from Asia in the youth class. My interest for Olympic Philately got further strong.  

In 1986 my exhibit was invited to “COURT OF HONOUR” by the organizing committee of “SPORTASIANA-86”, International Sports Philatelic Exhibition held during the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. After this I firmly decided to build up the best Olympic Philatelic Exhibit at least in India if not at world level. It took almost 22 years to achieve my dream true when finally my exhibit titled “SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES” was awarded a Gold Medal with the highest marks in the show at “INPEX-2008”. To develop a good thematic exhibit it requires a lot of time to do ‘thematic’ as well as ‘philatelic’ research. It is not possible to concentrate on many subjects; therefore I am sticking to ‘Olympic and Sport Philately’ only. 

Q3 What are the important elements that one should keep in mind while preparing a thematic exhibit?

Ans – The most important aspect of thematic exhibiting is ‘say what you show’ and ‘show what you say’. The exhibitors must have the updated guidelines as they keep on changing time to time. Few years back Title Page and Plan Page were prepared on separate pages. As per new guidelines one combined page is acceptable. A lot of exhibitors still follow the old pattern of separate pages. Even authors writing about thematic exhibiting are also ignorant about this new change and they still talk about the separate pages. Following are the important elements one must take care to prepare a good thematic exhibit:

Title and Plan Page

Title of exhibit is very important and it must be chosen very carefully. Title of your exhibit also sets the scope of your exhibit.  On this page a brief description to clarify the exhibit as best as possible should be there. A good philatelic item should be placed on this page.

Plan must be put on lower part of the Title page itself. The plan is the back bone of any exhibit. The plan has to be Logical, Correct, Must be consistent with the Title of the exhibit.

Second Page is the next most important page as the jury will definitely look at this page after examining the Title and Plan Page. This page must have very good philatelic materials as it will set the impression of your exhibit at first glance. Essays, proofs, errors & varieties can be used to give an impressive start to the exhibit.

Text should always be as short and to the point as possible. Thematic text should be placed first and then the philatelic text.

Exhibit Page should be full but not overcrowded. Try to use at least 3 kinds of philatelic items on each page.

Philatelic Sequence is very important – The philatelic sequence should be as follows: The essay first, then the proof and then stamps.

Thematic Sequence – The philatelic material must be in correct thematic sequence. For example ‘birth before death’. There are many things yet to be covered but the exhibitors must follow the above points for preparing exhibit at any level.

Q4 What tips would you give to the collectors to get higher award in Philatelic Exhibitions?

Ans – Everyone wants to seek higher award. I will say that Hard Work, Patience and Knowledge are the desired traits a thematic exhibitor must possess to achieve higher awards.

The exhibitor should follow these points:

• Good quality pages should be used. Never use two kinds of pages.
• Prepare rough layouts before preparing final pages.
• Always try to use the high quality philatelic materials.
• Try to use non-routine material such as a missing colour, a receipt form with a commemorative postmark. This kind of materials needs not to be expensive one. The plus point is that these materials will not be there in another exhibit of the same theme. 
• Use computer for preparing pages.
• Use different kind of display methods to highlight the special, scarce or rare philatelic material. For this different colour paper matting can be done.
• Never use forgeries or reprints without stating in your exhibit. One such item without being marked may lose the exhibitor a full medal level. If there are several such items shown in the exhibit unmarked, the exhibit may be disqualified all together.

Q5 What difference do you find in the way of judging at National & International level of exhibitions?

Ans – There is not much difference for judging at National or International level. The judges follow the same criteria at both levels. The biggest difference can only be that at international level your exhibit competes against high quality exhibits in comparison to the national level. Therefore the standard of judging automatically goes up. 

Q6 There is always controversy about judging in all philatelic exhibitions. Participants always complain that the exhibits were judged with a flying view...What you have to say,” Is judging fair in National level exhibitions? If not what way of judging would you suggest to implement, so that the exhibits get fair decisions at competition?

Ans – Judging of philatelic exhibits is subjective and there will always be dissatisfied participants when they don’t get award up to their expectations. I don’t agree that the judges judge the exhibit with flying view. If there is nothing much to examine in the exhibit, it will not take much time to the judging (Of course exceptions exist everywhere). I would definitely say that the judges must try to examine the exhibits keenly and carefully.  

The most difficult task is to comment on the fairness of judging system. I would always say that the judging at all levels is fair in general, but there exists an element of biasness. Even the Olympics are not away from this disease. In 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles, even the mediocre performance of US gymnasts was fetching them perfect 10 marks. The members of jury must be ethical, rational and responsible while judging the exhibits. 

Since the jury’s decision is final the exhibitors cannot do anything. Unfortunately the exhibitors have no right to comment on jury’s decision. I would suggest that regular ‘Seminars on Judging’ must be organized by the national federation as well as by the philatelic societies. The philatelic judging must have 3 elements- Integrity, Expertise and Care In Preparation For and in Performing the Judging. 

Q7 Now "Stamp Collecting" hobby is not being taken up by youngsters these days. What can be done that may be effective efforts in promoting this hobby to attract new generation to this hobby by India Post & Philatelic Clubs?

Ans – Stamp Collecting is not attracting the youngsters is a big question today. The Philatelic clubs as well as Department of Posts of India are not doing enough. And if something is being done that is being done in tasteless and traditional manner. We are in the age of computers and electronics; therefore we need to do something which is more attractive than electronic gadgets. Have you seen any philatelist who has been given any cash prize for winning a medal at world level? Does our Department of Posts pay due respect to the winners. The exhibitions are organized in an old fashioned way and the Department of Posts remains more worried about entertaining the dignitaries rather than the exhibitors. The philatelic clubs are becoming the place for doing business and politics. In club meetings hardly anything of philatelic importance is discussed. What is so attractive happening that the youth would get involved in stamp collecting? A lot of things can be done to attract the young people for Stamp Collecting. A few points towards the promotion may be as follows:

• Every philatelic club should have a wing for young philatelists.
• Department of Posts should form a group of Principals of reputed schools in every city. They should be educated for Stamp Collecting and philately and quarterly meetings should be held. The Principals must be rewarded for the development of philately in their schools every year.
• Regular small philatelic fairs should be organized in schools and community centers.

Q8 Last but not the least...What pleasure do you find in this hobby ??? Is it for Investment or just for fun and self pleasure?

Ans –The hobby of philately has given me almost everything whatever I would have dreamed of in my life. In addition to giving me immense pleasure it has given me the following:

• Social Respect and friends all around the world.
• Chance to participate in 6 Olympic Games.
• Highly reputed overseas philatelic Job for over 7 years.
• Opportunity to see various parts of the world without spending any money from my pocket. 

Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma may be contacted at olymp_sharma@rediffmail.com

Beginners’ Section

Do You Know ?

- Naresh Agarwal, Bilaspur

AIRGRAPH SERVICE

The process of photographing and reducing to negatives i.e. making microfilms of letters and documents with special cameras capable of automatically moving film in synchronization with documents fed over a revolving drum is the basis of this service. The use of this 'small format film' system for carrying mail was proposed to the Post Office in 1932 but was not accepted.

In January 1941,Great Britain partnered with the Eastman Kodak Co. to launch the Airgraph Service. The Airgraph was created to provide a faster air mail service to British forces in the Middle East and Africa. Before the Airgraph was inaugurated, ordinary letters had to be transported by ship. For a letter to travel from Cairo, Egypt to the United Kingdom took an estimated time of 24 to 30 days. The Airgraph reduced that traveling time in half because the microfilmed letters could travel by air instead of by sea. Approximately 4,500 negatives of microfilmed letters weighed just one pound and so could be mailed quite easily and efficiently.

Specialized Section

DASHAVATAR: Clue to Evolution Theory

© Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agrawal

In religious prospect, the ten most famous incarnations of Vishnu are collectively known as the 'Dasavatara' ('dasa' in Sanskrit means ten) and are said to demonstrate that divinity re-establishes Dharma or righteousness and destroys injustice from time to time, by appearing on earth in various incarnations. But if we keep apart the religion, we are left with science or facts of an extraordinary recording of the evolution of life on earth and advances in human civilization as recorded by Hindu sages thousands of years before Christ. There has also been some comparison between the avatars of Vishnu and Darwin's Theory of Evolution, as the incarnations generally mirror increasing phylogenetic sophistication in keeping with the theory's proposal of terrestrial reptiles and mammals evolving from aquatic and amphibian life.

The ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are 1. Mats avatar (fish), 2. Koorma (tortoise), 3. Varah (boar), 4. Narsimha (lion-man), 5. Parasurama (forest dweller), 7. Rama (the perfect man), 8. Balram, 9. Krishna and 10. Kalki .

The list of incarnations sometimes includes Buddha instead of Krishna or Balaram as ninth incarnation due to various reasons.

Though Krishnavatar is the most popular incarnation of Vishnu, being an absolute incarnation, is not referred to as an incarnation but as Lord Vishnu Himself who has assumed an avatar. Also since the seventh and eight centuries to depict the connection between Hinduism and Buddhism according to the principle of “not opposing anyone”, Gautama Buddha came to be known as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He is also supposed to be an avatar to purify Hinduism of excessive ritualism.

MATSYAVATAR

It is an established scientific fact that life evolved on earth under water and Mats avatar as fish incarnation symbolizes the forming of protoplasm and vertebrates.

The mythical story behind Mats avatar is also like Hindu variety of Biblical Noah or vice versa. This incarnation was taken by lord Vishnu during a deluge that submerged the earth. Vishnu commanded Manu (the progenitor of mankind) to gather samples of all species and wait in a boat. The gigantic golden fish then dragged the boat through the deluge and then enabled Brahma to start the act of creation all over again.

KOORMAVATAR

In this incarnation, lord Vishnu took the form of a tortoise, which is an amphibious creature capable of living both on land and in water. It indicates the moving of life form from underwater to surface of the Earth.

Again the mythical version of this incarnation is in true sense the story of evolution of different species and inhabitance of flora and fauna on earth. Lord Vishnu took the form of a gigantic tortoise to offer his back as a pivot on which to rest the Mount Mandara, used as a churning stick by gods and demons during Churning of the Ocean.

This churning yielded many things like wishing tree, nymphs, a divine horse, cow, the mount of god Indra and Laxmi ,Dhanvantari who revealed Ayurveda to the world and nectar.

VARAHAVATAR

This is the third incarnation of lord Vishnu and indicates life form has moved out of water and has adapted to land. Varah means boar and is a complete animal.

The mythical version of this incarnation state that in Varah avatar, lord Vishnu lifted the earth out of the flood water after deluge which it had been submerged. It was next step in the theory of evolution i.e. commencement of the development of animal kingdom on earth.

NARSIMHAVATAR

In this fourth incarnation, lord Vishnu appeared on earth as half man-half lion which symbolizes the development of fingers and toes on animal forms like apes. The sub human form has been created.

VAMANAVATAR

This is the first full human form of an avatar (incarnation) as a dwarf symbolizing the transition from the beastly form to human form and development of intelligence. His idols found are short, with a paunch and facial expression of a child adorning the sacred thread. In one hand holding an umbrella and a baton with the other.

The next four incarnations in this list of Dash avatar record advances in human civilization.

PARASURAM

Parasuram was a forest dwelling hermit armed with an axe, connotes completion of the basic development of human kind and also the first settlement of humans in forest. The axe also symbolizes the Stone Age and start of the use of metal.

This incarnation is unique in many sense. This is the only one of the traditional ten avatars that is not a direct descent of lord Vishnu. Also there is no separate mythological text about him unlike the incarnations preceding him. Only one come across stories about Parasuram in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and in some Purans. He is also one of the seven immortal ones as stated in Hindu mythology

RAMA.

Ram avatar is one of the two most popular incarnations of lord Vishnu. Rama symbolizes society. The ability to live in cities, have laws, and many other things. He developed more superior weapons also like bow and arrows.

BALARAMA

He is portrayed with plough symbolizing the beginning of full-fledged cultivation and beginning of agrarian economy. He is some time included as eighth incarnation in the list of Dash avatar and some school of thought replaces him by Krishna as eighth incarnation and instead adds Buddha in this list as ninth incarnation.

KRISHNA

He is the most popular incarnation of lord Vishnu and is the “one who knows sixty four arts” indicative of man’s advancement in science, culture and civilization. His association with cow is symbolic of beginning of domestication of animals and development of economy.

KALKI

So far Lord Vishnu appeared nine times on earth and tenth, Kalki as a destroyer is expected at the end of the Kaliyug when people will be cruel, lose faith in religion, have diseases, law and order situation will be bad.

For this incarnation, famous 12^th century poet Jayadeva writes in his epic work “The Gita Govind”, “Oh Lord, in the form of the Kalki, for the destruction of the wicked, you carry meteor like sword in your hand, trailing a train of disaster to them…”. The “Bhavishaya Kalki Puran” predicts that after this the Krutyug (Satayug) will commence. Various other Hindu holy texts such as the Vishnu Puran, the Shrimadbhagawat, the Matsya puran, the Mahabharata etc also predict the future exactly like the Kalki Puran.

The numerous natural calamities created by human beings and the increasing storage of nuclear weapons etc. all indicate a dark future of life on earth, may lead to an end or in religious term a Pralay (deluge) after which Lord Vishnu will descent again on earth as fish and life will begin in water.

Our philatelic friends may wish to congratulate India post for bringing out its longest 11 se-tenant set of commemorative stamps based on Orissa School of paintings personifying first chapter of Jaydev’s “Gita Govindam” singing the “Ten Incarnations of Lord Vishnu”.

In this way not only literary intelligence of 12^th century poet, Jayadev is highlighted but also an effort is made to spread a part of our rich Vedic culture and knowledge in every corner of the world through these tiny ambassadors. We must be proud that our ancient Veda and Purans are not only collection of holy Hindu rituals but have wealth of knowledge about science and technology too.

New Issues from other countries

Canada

8 Jan 2010 Year of Tiger

France

16 December 2009 Aavtar – 9.90 € ( Stamps with metallic effect)

AVATAR the new action film and fantastic adventure of James Cameron, takes us on a spectacular world that pushes the limits of our imagination. On the distant planet of Pandora, Jake Sully, a reluctant hero, embarks on a quest for redemption, discovery, and unexpected love, whose outcome will be a heroic struggle to save an entire civilization … This film marks a breakthrough extraordinary in a new visual world, and offers the viewer an immersive cinematic experience supported by a history rich in emotions.

16 December 2009

Israel

- Light Houses in Israel -60, 6.70, 8.80 NIS

Israel post had issued a series of stamps which depict three of the lighthouses built along Israel’s southern Mediterranean coastline.

27 January 2010 - "Past and Future in our Hands".

The stamp and stamp sheet designs are based on a photo by Karen Gillerman-Harel – "Past and Future in our Hands". This photo won the "My Flag" photo contest marking Israel's 60th anniversary.

The stamp sheet features a quote from Holocaust Survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof. Eli Wiesel: "Remember the past for the sake of the future and may the past of the old not become the future of the young".

The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked each year on 27 January. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 on 1 November 2005.

New Zealand

6 Jan 2010 – 2010 Year of the Tiger - 50c, $1.00, $1.80, $2.30

The Year of the Tiger will begin on 14 February 2010 and finish on 2 February 2011. It’s a year that honours a symbol of courage – a fearless and fiery fighter that was revered by the ancient Chinese as warding off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts.

Portugal

21 october 2009 Christmas – 3 stamps + M/s

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. 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.

SOCIAL PHILATELY EXHIBIT…………some thing needs to be done???

It seems that the concept of social philately is not yet clear to the Indian philatelists as there were only five entries in this section as against as many as more than 250 entries in all in thematic sections at recently concluded One Frame National Exhibition Stampmania2009 at Vadodara.

According to me, as I have read at many places and seen several exhibits, Social Philately is selected but liberalized form of thematic philately where topics of social and historical importance are taken and the display of some of the non - postal items having postal link or even if not but of high importance to the storyline of the exhibit such as letters bearing no postal mark or covers ,vignettes or the printed matter on the postal covers, documents which passed through the mail system etc.; are gladly accepted and appreciated. Even the postal bags used, postal seals, letter boxes, badges, dresses, cycles etc. may become part of the exhibit if so required by the storyline. It also allows a good percentage of material not passed through mail system or have no postal link but has high importance for completion of the story such as news paper cuttings, non postal notices, cards etc.. Of course, the social philately exhibits must relate to the topic of social history and importance.

This was for the first time that social philately class was introduced in any “National Level Stamp Exhibition” in India that too in a “One Frame Exhibition” which welcomed “New and Innovative Topics” not only is Social philately Class but in other classes too. This is, in fact a pre-requisite for one frame exhibition too.

Encouraged by this, being senior philatelist and an exhibitor of repute, I decided to participate in this class. Being an old insurance professional and very well knowing the history, development and recent practices of insurance in India & knowing well the impact and importance of insurance to the Indian society and history; I decided to make a one frame exhibit in this class which for me was the most suitable, new and innovative topic for this class.

One must appreciate that, philatelic material on insurance in India is very limited. Only a few stamps on Postal life insurance and LIC have so far been issued by India post. But being a 24 years old insurance professional, I have been collecting Insurance related philatelic, semi – philatelic and non – philatelic material for years together which helped me a lot in making and completing the exhibit.

Knowing the fact that the exhibit and the topic are new, it is a social philately exhibit, very limited material is available, sufficiently good insurance knowledge for this purpose available with me and a vast experience of philatelic exhibiting; I was sure of quite high appreciation and liberal attitude by the jury for this exhibit for the above reasons and also being a new class of philately jury would certainly give importance. But to my surprise, I did not get any considerable appreciation from the jury who allocated me the lowest award i.e. TOPAZ which means probably my concept of social philately was totally wrong, I lacked suitable material

and also I had considerably failed to exhibit the material I possessed and further the storyline too was not up to the mark.

Further, I was quite unfortunate to get any on-frame or off-frame interaction with any of the members of jury as the time left after declaration of result and the prize distribution function was quite less. Also there was no jury critic session. However, organizers declared that a mark sheets will be sent to participants later with the certificate of awards, which I feel will not be of any help.

Friends, under these circumstances, I feel like sharing my exhibit with you all and request you all to give your valued opinions for betterment of my exhibit. And so I have sent the publisher, the images of my exhibit for display to welcome your comments to help me, to help yourselves and to the philatelic fraternity in general. The sole motto of the above comments and the display is to learn and help development of social philately in India. I hope, if the jury who are expert and authority on the subject, are reading this article/comments; considering my apprehension / intention for the development of this class of philately; they must revert back in general or to me personally in total confidentiality. I earnestly look forward for your and their elaborative valued comments and suggestions in this respect.

Once again, I re-iterate that my sole motto is to develop social philately, to encourage philatelists in this field, to develop new fields of philately…………………………….

Wishing all the philatelists a good luck …………………………

-Naresh Agrawal,Bilaspur(C.G.) nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in  Mob. 09425530514

View exhibit : http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/2010/01/social-philately.html

 

Blogs & Websites on Philately

http://www.stampmania2009.com/ - The website of forthcoming one frame National Philatelic Exhibition

www.stampsofindia.com – This is the website of India with complete information on Indian stamps.

http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com – This is a new blog on se-tenants stamps of India by Mr. Shrikant Parikh of Ahmedabad.

http://www.vadophil.org/ - Website of Baroda Philatelic Society.

http://prashantpandya.blogspot.com - A new Blog in Hindi by Mr. Prashant Pandya of Vadodara. It is the only blog for philately in Hindi and created to have awareness about philately amongst philatelists as well as non philatelists.

http://letstalkstamps.blogspot.com – A new Blog created by our member Commodore Vijay Kapre of New Delhi.

www.gandhistamps.com – A site on Gandhi Stamps

http://www.indianstampghar.com/ - A very popular Blog by Nr Vinod Sabharwal of New Delhi.

www.rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com – This is the e – Stamp Club Blog to bring philatelists together on blogosphere and share views with each other.

http://www.myfavouritestamps.blogspot.com - A blog on my favorite stamps.

http://mbstamps.blogspot.com/ - A Blog by Mr Mansoor B of Mangalore.

The Lighter Side

Naval Philately

It was on this day, thirty years ago, that the first ever philatelic exhibition on naval theme in India, perhaps in Asia, was held as part of the “Navy Day” mela on the grounds of INS Satavahana, Visakhapatnam. The three day exhibition titled Naval Philatelic Exhibition (NAVPHILEX) 79 was initiated by the Naval Philatelic Society (NPS), formed a few days earlier by Cdr. S Shekhar (now retired Commodore), and Lcdr. U.N Acharya (now retired Commander) to popularize Naval philately among naval personnel in particular and the public in general. Three special covers were issued on this occasion with the Department of Posts, approving three different special cancellations.

Issued on 30-11-1979, it was the first special cover issued to commemorate the first ever philatelic exhibition held at Vizag exclusively on Naval theme in India.

The exhibition was a great success and the multitude of crowds at the mela was treated to a fascinating display of ships on stamps belonging to the collection of Cdr. A K Dhir (now Commodore retired). This exhibition was a precursor to three more Naval Philatelic exhibitions held in 1980 and 1985 in Visakhapatnam and in 1986 in Mumbai, then Bombay.

At the inception of the society, in 1979, there were only two stamps on the Indian Navy. During the 30 years of the society’s existence more than 20 postage stamps on Indian Navy, depicting its ships, have been released by the Department of Posts. The society has also been instrumental in either issuing or helping other maritime organizations, more than 50 special covers commemorating naval and maritime events. These adorn the collections of many naval philatelists, the world over, and have been praised for its beautiful designs.

The society is headed by Mr. D Hemchandra Rao residing in Chennai, our chairman, who has, arguably, the finest and the largest collection of ships on stamps in the country.

The Naval Philatelic Society, in these thirty years has fulfilled its aim of popularizing Naval philately by associating itself vigorously with the Department of Posts in the release of stamps and special covers on Naval themes and, in future, will strive to further popularize the theme among the public at large, the youth in particular. Membership of the society is open to all philatelists who wish to specialize in naval themes. For Membership details contact the secretary NPS at nanasha@rediffmail.com.

- Cdr. U.N.Acharya, IN (Retd) & Sekhar Chakraborty, Kolkata

Promotional section

Madan Middha – Gwalior

You will be pleased to know that after an unfortunate lapse of about 10 years , I have made-up my mind to republish the Year Book of Indian Philately from this year . The next edition of the year book will be for 2009.    I have started to gather the required information / materials for the purpose.    I request the Editors / Publishers of the various philatelic publications in India or about India, to please send their 2009 volumes for the inclusion of the printed materials there-in in the Bibliography section of the year book. Their publications may be sent back to them after the job ; if required so.  Other informations / news / listings / activity details are also solicited ,    Some good / serious essays / articles on Indian Philately are also needed .    Please respond at my following T-mail ( i.e. Traditional Mail ) address :  Saket Vihar , Phalka Bazar , Gwalior 474 001 ( India )   

or my e-mail address : madan_middha@yahoo.co.in

-The ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP is inviting all zeppelin and airmail collectors to join our 2010 meetings. These are the ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP meetings scheduled for the first six months of 2010:
- January 17, 2010: Briefmarkenmesse Friedrichshafen, Germany
The local organizing committee has not yet confirmed the venue and exact time of our meeting at the stamp fair Friedrichshafen on January 17, 2010. Further details to follow.
- April 2010, Antverpia 2010 at Antwerp, Belgium
Meeting details about the international stamp exhibition Antverpia 2010 are not yet published.
- May 14, 2010. London 2010 at London, England
The ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP meeting at the international stamp show London 2010 takes place at Phoenix Centre on Friday morning (May 14, 2010). We will be in touch with you with further details nearer the time.
- June 5, 2010 at PIPEX 2010 at Spokane, Washington (USA)
The ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP is meeting at the PIPEX 2010 stamp show on June 5, 2010. The meeting takes place at Lincoln Center.
- June 6, 2010 at NAPEX 2010 at Washington, DC (USA)
The ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP is meeting at the NAPEX 2010 stamp show on June 6, 2010. The meeting takes place at Hilton McLean Tyson Corner Hotel.
Looking forward to seeing you at the 2010 meetings of the ZEPPELIN STUDY GROUP!
All information and any updates are also available on http://www.ezep.de/meet.html ,

-ITS Stamp News edited by Suraj Jaitly – The stamp journal dedicated to Thematic Philately

For more details Contact: surajjaitly@hotmail.com or indianthematicsociety@gmail.com

INDIAN THEMATIC SOCIETY
MIG # 3464, PHASE TWO, DUGRI ROAD, LUDHIANA - 141 013. INDIA
Mobile: +91 98728 51244 Telfax: + 91 - 161 - 2521244

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

-Stamp 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: www.stampsofindia.com

ITS Stamp News, Oct Dec 2009, Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society

e ZEP Newsletter Editor : Dieter Leder email zpj@arcor.de website www.eZEP.de

Editor’s Mail Box

Prakash Modi, Canada

It is good to give reference with Scott Nos. in the articles , I suggest that the date of issue be also mentioned, as not all have Scott Catalogue!

Akshay Barod, Bangalore

Thanks for The Rainbow news, I think the Rainbow News has made a niche for it self in Indian philatelic scene, I like it's comprehensiveness and distancing itself from sensationalism.

Prof.V.S.Yalvigi, Bangalore

Just now I went through Dec. Rainbow Stamp Bulletin, It is amazing, Keep it up.

Dr Avinash B. Jagtap, Switzerland

Thank you for sending me the Dec. issue of your "Rainbow Stamp News" Every month one realizes that your monthly news e-magazine is getting mature. I was delighted to see and read the picturesque article on Ragas by Dr. Satyendra Kumar Agarwal. I did not know about these stamps issued by countries which have not much to do with India or its culture! Hats off to your devotion and dedication for Philately.

Naresh Agarwal, Bilaspur (C.G.)

This time my reaction is quick. In fact, I was very eager to grasp each and every word of the bulletin. Again, rainbow has spread is color as usual touching the latest happenings in the field. Information about 3D FDC and First ever Digital Multimedia stamp was good to know. Interview of Dr. Avinash.B.Jagtap regarding one frame exhibiting is excellent. His opinions are worth noticing and adopting. His command on different fields of thematic philately has benefited us a lot. Thanks to Dr. Jagtap for his exhaustive and informative comments. I am looking forward for the next personality to be interviewed and the topic on which it rotates.

Well, I suggest, as most of the upcoming philatelists adopt thematic philately and more than 50% of the frames in any philatelic exhibition are dedicated to thematic philately. Please publish interviews with masters of the thematic philately such as Gold Medal Winners, Members of the Jury at National and International Level and veteran philatelists.

Thanks to Mr. Dash for continuing with his information of different guidelines set by Deptt. of post for issuing special covers. Different individuals and societies must go through these rules carefully as we see issuing special covers has become a trend now a days

What to say about Dr. Satyendra Agrawal…………I would say he is a library and store house of thematic philately with lots of information stored covering huge field of thematic and philatelic aspects separately. His selection of topics has been very very good which attracts every one.

Once again, I would admit that I have become FAN of Mr. Dhir. His “The Last Post” has really touched my heart and I like to see more from him. My humble request to him to come up with some more such philatelic literary gems with different topics………..like old post offices, old postman , old postal means of transport, old philatelic possessions by old persons, old mil boxes in front of houses……………… His skill to find ,observe and write has been marvelous.

Its my honest duty to thank the editor every time for such nice work. She, as I know, every time tries to put her blood to bring out the bulletin in time, in better way with more information, new attractions. Now I can say boldly that Rainbow has reached the hearts of philatelists.

Naresh Agrawal,Bilaspur Ph 09425530514 email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

This is a blog of e-stamp Club 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 following details for publication on blog. If they wish they may also send their photo for publication. New Post on recent issues, news on stamp activities and Contribution by members are published everyday on this blog.

Name…………………………………………

City/Country………………………………..

E-Mail………………………………………..

Postal Address…………………………….

Collecting Interests……………………….

Brief write up about yourself……………

Readers may also express their views on any philatelic matter which will be published under Club News 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 this blog. Readers may send reports on new issues, special covers, cancellations & philatelic activities of their area for inclusion in this Blog. - Editor

Courtesy- News and Image Resource to this issue - Stamps of India, International Stamp News ; Philately News ( Shrikant Modh); Shrikant Parikh- Ahmadabad, Prashant Pandya-Vadodara, Mobile Philately – Deepak Modi,; Rajesh Paharia – Jaipur, Vijay Seth - New Delhi; Dieter Leader- Germany; Dr Eli Moallem- Israel; Dr Bibhudatta Mishra – Bhubaneshwar; Naresh Agarwal – Bilaspur (C.G.)

All the images of this issue have not been included here. For detailed images related to this issue Please Visit: http://www.rainbowstampnews.blogspot.com/

Address for communication:

Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Director, Great Himalayan National Park, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India

E-mail – j.jyoti9@gmail.com or rainbowstamp2008@gmail.com

Last date for receiving write ups – 25th of every month. Kindly send images in jpg compressed format & text in MS Word only.

If you liked this issue please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.

A Request to Readers & Contributors-

Please do not send the text in scan form. Send your write ups in MS Word only.

Please do not send forwarded messages for promotional section if you want to give any information for promotion please write personally with brief write up. As this newsletter is not used for any commercial purpose in any manner.

Attention -
Please send limited number of images in compressed jpg format only with your article. Please send text and images separately. Please do not send text or image for publication in PDF.

Till Next Month …..Happy Collecting…………………………………………………………………

Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) India.