Date of Issue - 5 May 2011

International Year of Forest - Europa 2011

Shimla April 2011 Issue # 40 Vol. IV

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 Reader,

Here is the 40^th issue of Rainbow Stamp News and with this issue it completes 40 months of publication. I can’t imagine that forty months have passed and seems to me that it was started just recently few months back….I hope you are enjoying all the issues. I am highly thankful for your response and appreciation for this newsletter. Please send your feedback so that future issues could be improved. If you wish to read about particular philatelic field / topic, please write I shall try to publish articles on subjects of your choice.

The world stamp Exhibition INDIPEX 2011 is over and memories of the exhibition are fresh in the mind of visitors. It was the exhibition to see a lot, to learn a lot and to experience a lot….. and finally to think a lot….Newly introduced My Stamp and Khadi Stamp both have been the topic of discussion for the quality, quantity and price… In the Interview section I am giving interviews of the prominent philatelists who visited the show and they are giving their experiences about the exhibition. All the participants of INDIPEX 2011 are waiting for mark sheets which have not been sent to them so far from INDIPEX Secretariat. The mark sheets must be provided to the exhibitors. It will give them a guideline in order to improve their exhibits for future exhibition. This is all for this month…… Enjoy this issue with more news and articles from the world of stamps.

Till Next Month…Happy Collecting !!

…. Jeevan Jyoti

Contents

Recent Indian Issues

In The News

Interview

Beginners’ Section

Specialized Section

Something of interest, also for non-philatelists

New Issues from Other Countries

Reader’s Right

Philatelic Library

Philatelic Clubs and Societies

Blogs & Websites on Philately

The Lighter Side

Promotional Section

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters

Editor’s Mail Box

Recent Indian Issues

1 February : Chaudhary Ranbir Singh – Rs 5

2 February : Mary Ward-Loretto Institutions - Rs 5

4 February : Corps of Signals – Rs 5

7 February : Venkata Subbiah - Rs 5

8 February : Census of India - Rs 5

11 February : V.Venkatasaubba Reddiar – Rs 5

12 February Khadi MS – Rs 100

12 February 100 Years of aerial Post – 4 Stamps Rs 5 each + MS

13 February Legendary Heroines of India – 6 Stamps of Rs 5 each + MS

1 March La Martinere Schools – Rs 5

2011 Stamp Issue programme of India Post is available at following link.

http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Netscape/PhilatelyCalendar2011.htm

Special Cover – Postmark

16 February 2011: Jainism 2 covers New Delhi

19 February 2011: Rotary Club of Bombay Midcity Silver Jubilee

6 -12 March 2011 : Jainism 6 different covers, Kanpur

5 March 2011 Spring Festival, Dehradun

In The News

China 2011 - 27th Asian International Philatelic Exhibition

The 27th Asian International Stamp Exhibition China 2011 , co-sponsored by State Post Bureau, Jiangsu Government, China Post and All-China Philatelic Federation, will be held in Wuxi Taihu International Exposition Center from November 11 to November 15, 2011. This exhibition will be a large international stamp culture exchange activity. held in China after the 2009 World Stamp Exhibition.

Exhibition Date: November 11 – 15, 2011, will run for five days.
Exhibition aims: to promote the development of our culture; promote the cause of China's postal and philatelic career development; promote the holding of the economic, cultural, all-round coordinated development; to promote philately in Asia and Oceania-round development; to promote international cultural exchange of people.

Venue : Taihu International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Organizers: the State Post Bureau, Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, the China Post Group Corporation, China National Philatelic Federation.

Sponsor: Wuxi Municipal People's Government.

Website : China 2011

PHILANIPPON 2011: World Stamp Exhibition

Date : July 28 – August 2, 2011

National Commissioner : Anil Suri

Email : anilksuri@email.com

Venue : Pacifico Yokohama, Exhibition Hall.1-1-1.1 Minatomirai Nishi-ku,

Yokohama 220-0012, Japan

Patronage : Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP)

Auspices : Federation of Inter-Asian Philately (FIAP) http://www.philanippon.jp/english/

Canadian public has first-ever vote on postage stamp design

The puzzle, an original design by Terrebonne resident Miriane Majeau, has been chosen as Canada Post's 2011 Mental Health Stamp, the first time in the post office's history a stamp design was chosen by public vote. Ms. Majeau's design received the most points, to win the stamp design competition. Overall, more than 286,000 votes were recorded.

"I'm very proud that my design connected with people. Dealing with mental health issues can be like putting a puzzle together," Ms. Majeau noted. "But as the puzzle comes together, as you find the right pieces and connect them in the right way, something beautiful and whole is revealed."

Ms. Majeau will receive a framed commemorative enlargement of the final stamp featuring her design, and a $500 honorarium will be donated to La Fondation les petits tresors de l'Hopital Riviere-des-Prairies, a mental health charity chosen by Ms. Majeau.

Of the more than 300 stamp designs submitted last fall, 75 were chosen as semi-finalists by a panel of mental health consumers, advocates, philatelists and designers. The Stamp Advisory Committee (a national committee that guides Canada Post in selecting stamp subjects and designs) narrowed that selection down to the five designs that were voted on by the public.

Concepts and design elements from the four remaining designs will be used on the Official First Day Cover envelope, and the souvenir sheet, for the 2011 Mental Health Stamp issue. "Each of these designs does an excellent job of raising awareness of the mental health issue and breaking down the stigma attached to it," said Honourable Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transportation) and Minister responsible for Canada Post.

The other finalist designs are: BEAUTIFUL HOPE (designed by Richard Green of Toronto (ON)), FORECAST HOPE (designed by Marie Tomeoki of Toronto (ON)), NO NEED TO HIDE (designed by Brian Blatnicki of London (ON)) and THE FACE OF MENTAL ILLNESS (designed by Norbert Lisinski of Courtice (ON)).

The 2011 Mental Health stamp will be issued on September 6, as part of the kick-off for the company's annual fundraising campaign, which last year raised $2.2 million dollars. More than 4 million of the stamps will be printed with a dollar from every booklet of 10 stamps sold donated to the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health.

Swedish postal service plans to replace stamps with SMS

At least one country is making postage stamps a relic of the past. The Swedish postal service is ditching stamps in favor of a text message payment system.

After mobile users send a text, they will receive a reply that includes a code to be written on a piece of mail that will represent paid postage. It will work for packages weighing up to two kilograms.

"We're very interested and are just now looking into a solution," the postal service's head of marketing and development Anders Asberg told The Local, an English-language Swedish news site.

Denmark will unveil a similar system on April 1. There is no launch date for Sweden's SMS postage service, but Asberg said it "wouldn't be before the summer."

Postal services around the world have no doubt suffered as email, SMS, and social networking make communication faster and easier. Why send a letter when an email is fast, free, and paperless? But according to The Local, mail services in both Sweden and Denmark are counting on people continuing to use the dying communication form.

The U.S. Postal Service has continued to increase its rates over the past decade. It last increased stamp prices to $0.44 in May of 2009. The USPS sought to increase the price again in January of 2011 to $0.46, but it was denied the request. Asberg, however, said the new text message system will not affect postage prices in Sweden.

Highlights of Thematic Seminar & Jury Session during INDIPEX-2011

Title & Plan

You must first choose your title & make a plan before starting a search for an appropriate philatelic material.
Title must be simple not complex and should clearly state the purpose of the exhibit. After selecting title you may consult general public for opinion, they may be your neighbor, your friend or your wife. Remember as per Mr. Morroli – Exhibit is for general public not for the jurors.
Title can be written in light color. The color or style of the letters should be chosen to further explain the theme to the viewers. Like the title of the award winning exhibit, HEAT, was written in light yellow & red. The title of award winning rose collection was written in red, representing traditional color attached to roses and the font progressively increases to highlight the title – A rose is a rose is a rose.
Plan should further elaborate on the title. Maximum two point systems should be chosen for the plan. Number of chapters depends on your theme or how far you want to elaborate but it should not be too many.
You are free to put any material you like on the title page, even a non-philatelic item. Like the bicycle exhibit had a playing card on first page where a Joker is riding a bicycle.
Innovation gets important points for an exhibit. An old subject can be exhibited in an innovative manner. Innovation is hard to explain but is mainly how you use your philatelic material in a innovative manner. Example – Triangular stamps where used to explain Pythagoras theorem in a Mathematical Exhibit.

Rarity & Condition

This aspect of an exhibit is self explanatory but rarity is not restricted only to die proofs, color trials, specimen & artwork. Bicycle exhibit showed and envelope with cancellation of a cycle manufacturer’s factory outlet and that was considered a rare item.
Just putting few rare items is not sufficient. All your pages must have balanced rare and good conditioned items.
Check condition of your items again and again and replace it when you get a better conditioned same item.

Philatelic and Thematic Knowledge.

Unless you have right kind of philatelic items you won’t be able to illustrate your Philatelic as well as thematic knowledge. In other words choose materials which give you opportunity to show your philatelic knowledge.
There are 160 philatelic items which can be used in a thematic exhibit according to German Jury Mr. Hess. Many of them you already know but others had to be researched and added to your exhibit.
Where ever required you must mention important philatelic points below the items and same thing applies of thematic facts also.

Presentation

Although presentation has only 5 points in judging a thematic exhibit it is very important aspect of an exhibit when you are striving for higher medals and also otherwise.

Bottom line of your items should be put at the same height from the bottom edge of the page.
Materials should be arranged on a page in such a manner that it should look appealing from aesthetic point of view. If you like you can use borders inside a page if it makes the page look better.
Do not use many items of the same type on the same page, e.g., Avoid using only stamps, MS, stationery on the same page.

REQUEST FOR ISSUE OF COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

A request for issue of commemorative stamp could be sent to Philately Division of India Post . The detailed Performa is available at India Post Website.

Revised Proforma for issue of Commemorative Stamp...

Proposal to be received by Philately Division of Department of Posts at least 18 months ahead of the proposed date of release.

See complete details

ePost Office Of India Post Launched By Union Minister

Kapil Sibal, Communications Minister has launched the e-commerce portal called ePost Office of India Post. It will provide tracking facilities and various postal transactions on web, as per their statement.

One can also carry out postal business even if they are any place or at any time with the help of credit/debit cards.

Through this website, users can do instant money order, sale of philatelic stamps, money order, tracking of international and express shipments and more importantly postal information.

http://www.epostoffice.gov.in/

Gandhi Khadi MS @ePostOffice

India Post has started selling Gandhi Khadi Miniature Sheet Presentation pack for Rs 250 on its

epostoffice.gov.in site along with other stamps and miniature sheet.

Nordia 2011 – A big show

This year, Nordia 2011, the Nordic stamp exhibition, will be organized in Jyvaskyla, Finland, on April 1-3. The exceptionally large-scale exhibition has one of the greatest collections among all stamp exhibitions organized in Europe this year.

Itella Posti (Finland) will publish new stationeries and stamp the first day postmark on them at the exhibition. In addition to Posti, the event will be participated by all other Nordic postal services, as well as those from Estonia and Germany.

Stamp Festival in France

The French Post has issued a stamp dedicated to the Stamp Festival 2011.

In France, the Stamp Festival is held every year since 1938. Since December 1944 the French Post has been issuing a postage stamp on this occasion. Until 1999 this stamp was focused on the postal history, after on comic books or literature characters to attract the young audience.

In 2010-2011 the Stamp Festival supports artistic creation and is committed to sustainable development. In 2010, the theme chosen for the traditional Stamp Festival was water; the theme of this year is devoted to the Earth. The first stamp issued at this occasion is a stamp repeating the design of French definitive stamps, the very famous Marianne. On the left side of the stamp is written "Let's protect the Earth" and shows a hand planting a plant.

66 Years old letter arrives its destination…..

This letter, postmarked Aug 9, 1944 arrived at its destination on Fen 16. The hospital on the address has long since been torn down, so it was delivered to the Camp Roberts Historical Museum.

Recently , the U.S. Postal Service delivered a handwritten letter to its address in central California. The letter was postmarked in Montgomery, Ala. The date on the postmark is Aug. 9, 1944. Yes, 1944.

It's good for a laugh — the term "snail mail" takes on a whole new meaning — but the hope is there's a touching side to this story, and that its intended recipient, or her relatives, may still be found. The letter is addressed to :

"Miss R.T. Fletcher, American Red Cross Station Hospital, Camp Roberts, California."

As one might imagine, Miss Fletcher is no longer at Camp Roberts. The letter was delivered to Gary McMaster, the volunteer curator for the Camp Roberts Historical Museum.

The letter is still sealed, but unfortunately, the return address on the envelope has been torn off. All that remains are the address and the postmark.

McMaster thinks that, judging from the exposed corner, the letter is about three or four handwritten pages. Read More…

Stamp artist's tribute to William and Kate

British artist Peter Mason is hoping for the royal stamp of approval for his latest work - a portrait of Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton.

The "first class" creation is made from more than 3,000 postage stamps - each of which features the head of his subject's grandmother.

Mr Mason, a 66-year-old retired art teacher from Hednesford, Staffordshire, has previously created stunning images of the Queen, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and Simon Cowell among many others.

The new 3ft by 4ft picture took two weeks to create, with the talented former teacher, of Greenheath Road, spending at least six hours a day working on the artwork. His works are created from thousands of used postage stamps, with the largest pieces using up to 20,000.

Postage Paid Greeting cards

Hallmark Cards and the U.S. Postal Service recently introduced Postage Paid Greetings - a line of greeting cards that already include postage. The cards have a postal service bar code on their envelopes that, when scanned at the post office, indicate that postage is paid.

The value of the postage, like the "forever" stamp, is equal to the price of a first-class stamp, whenever it's mailed. The postage bar codes are on more than 200 card varieties that will be sold in Hallmark Gold Crown stores, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, CVS and other Hallmark distribution locations. The postage-paid cards will be sold for prices ranging from $2.69 to $3.99.

Premature Release: National Mathematics Day Stamp

National Mathematics Day Stamp was in list of stamp issue programme of India Post for the year 2010, but it was not issued in the year 2010. Now could be found with some collectors and dealers at high price.

Patna Philatelic Exhibition

From Mar 21: duration 1 month

Timings: 10 am to 6 pm

Organizers: India Post

Venue: Patna GPO

National Stamp Fair

From Jun 10-12: New Delhi

Organizers: Philatelic Dealers Association

Contact: Ashish Talwar talwar2002@hotmail.com 0 9810186108

20th Annual Shukla Day Numismatic & Philatelic Fair

Apr 21-24: Mumbai, Timings: 2 pm to 7 pm

Organizers: Todywalla auctions

Venue: World Trade Center, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai

Website: www.shukladay.com Auction Schedule: Apr 22 - 3pm Philatelic, Apr 22 - 6pm Numismatic, Apr 23 - 6pm Numismatic

Stamps of India National Exhibition

Nov 3-6: New Delhi,

Venue: NSIC Exhibition Complex, Okhla Industrial Estate, Govindpuri Metro Station

Timings: 11am to 7 pm

Organizers: Stamps of India

Contact: sj@stampsofinida.com

Suspension of Postal Services to Libya

Due to the prevailing ~: ''political situation in Libya, Postal Services have been affected. It has therefore been decided by India Post to suspend the Postal Services from India to Libya till further orders. Any Postal Items destined to Libya, currently in the custody of the Department may be returned to the sender.

Delay in Delivery of Mails to Japan

India Post announced on March 14, 2011 that due to natural disaster in Japan, the mails sent to Japan may be delayed and delivery in certain parts may not be feasible.

India Post launched e-Post Office

Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and Information Technology launched “e-post office” at

http://www.epostoffice.gov.in/ on March 9, 2011. This, the e-Commerce portal of India Post, will enable the customers to transact postal business any time and from anywhere using either debit card or credit card through the medium of internet.

New Special Cover on Fisheries….

CIFA, the Freshwater Fisheries Institute located at Bhubaneswar, celebrating its Silver jubilee year from 1st April, 2011. To commemorate the beginning of the 25th year, it has been planned to release a Special cover with cachet cancellation on the same day. The cover depicts the pictorial view of CIFA and some of its major activities. Although 1000 numbers cover will be printed but only 250 numbers cover will be circulated among the philatelist and others will be for in house circulation. All the covers will be numbered.

Interested Philatelist friends may contact me for their collection well in advance.

- Dr Bibhudatta Mishra
Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture
Kausalyaganga, BHUBANESWAR, ORISSA-751 002
Ph.09437282638 (M); 0674-2465421(o)
E-mail: bhanubibhu@gmail.com; bhanubibhu@rediffmail.com

ITS Auction

ITS Postal Auction No.52 – Last Date: 16.04.2011

Indian Thematic Society is holding its 52nd postal auction sale of 140 lots that will close on April 16,2011. The entire listing is online at http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/itspostalauctions.htm

.the images of the auction lots are online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/its_offers.

INDIAN THEMATIC SOCIETY MIG # 3464, Phase Two, Dugri Road, LUDHIANA - 141 013. INDIA
ph. +91 987 285 1244 email indianthematicsociety@gmail.com

MAPPEX – 2011 to be held this year

Mr. S. Gauriyar, Chief Post Master General, M.P. Circle has announced that 11th M.P. State Philatelic Exhibition MAPPEX will be organized in the year 2011. He was addressing a meeting of Central India Philatelic Society held at Satna on 11th March 2011.

INTERVIEW

Mr Ilias Patel needs no introduction to the readers. He is a noted thematic philatelist from Ahmedabad and has been editing GPA News since a long time. Mr Patel has a wonderful thematic collection on Bridges “Building Bridges - An Index of Human civilization” which won Silver medal at INDIPEX 2011. A civil engineer by profession has a passion for the bridges and loves to search and read on this topic. Mr Patel displayed his Bridge exhibit at INPEX-2008 & won LS at Chennai. Prior to that he wrote a book on Indian Telegraphs (1851-1914) co-authored by Mr. Dhananjay Desai. This book won LV + Felicitation at Sanfrancisco International Exhibition held in 1997 "PACIFIC-97. He has been collecting stamps on bridges since 1980.It’s a great pleasure to share here his views on recent World Philatelic Exhibition held in India and some other interesting facts about his interests in different branches of philately. – Editor

Mr Ilias Patel may be contacted at email : iap_ip@yahoo.co.in

Interview with Ilias Patel

1. You have just visited INDIPEX 2011, what is your first reaction?

It was a very good exhibition worth to be visited by all the philatelists. All the exhibits displayed were of high standard and very high quality. It was a good experience to see and learn how to prepare as well as display your exhibit in finest manner. For me, it was a very good opportunity to learn and enhance my exhibit comparing with the other award winning thematic collection.

2. What was the best part of the exhibition?

To me the entire exhibition was very good. All the exhibits displayed in all the categories were of high standard which for the first time I have seen in India though I had seen INDIPEX-97 too. But it was much better than the 1997 exhibition. Being a thematic collector I have spent more time to see and study those collections but still I visited nearly all the exhibits displayed in different category and I enjoyed them too. Looking to the quality of exhibits, it is not possible to categorize which part was best. All were worth to be seen in their respective categories.

3. Regarding the exhibits, which class of philately dominated the show and why?

Frankly speaking, to me, every class of philately has its own charm and there is nothing like dominance of any class of philately. It is the interest and philatelic background with which you see the exhibits and enjoy. Though I am not at all a postal stationary or postal history collector, I have seen some of the finest exhibits displayed from India and other countries in both these categories. Coming to the dominance, I personally believe that “Thematic” is a more challenging class and in the days to come it will dominate the exhibitions with variety of themes. Just to illustrate, there were five collections displayed on one theme “Railway” and all the five were displayed in a completely different manner. Even in those 25 frames of display there were very few common items and therefore it was worth to enjoy a same topic displayed in different manner. There was a collection on “Road Safety” – it was a finest collection in which lots were transferred through meter cancellations. On several pages the theme was displayed through five meters on one page – a clever use of meter cancellations. Being very challenging and difficult enough to reach up to “LG” in thematic compared to other classes as only two LG were awarded in thematic in this exhibition, I believe that this class will dominate the future exhibitions.

4. Now, coming to your own collecting interest what prompted you to collect on Bridges?

Being an engineer by profession and have worked for my project report on this topic during my post-graduation, I decided to go ahead with this topic having lots of reference literature available with me. This prompted me to develop my exhibit on theme “Bridges”. In fact I started with “Dams” and ended with “Bridges” being more challenging and imparting much wider scope of development. In fact what I learned from my experience in this area is that select a topic which imparts you a much wider scope of development. This gives liberty and better opportunity and wider scope of selection of material and display. Just to clarify: first I displayed with title “Bridges” – a title without a meaning restricting me to have very limited scope of development. I changed to “Building Bridges-An Index of Human Civilization” gave me wider scope of development. I am now advised to change it further to “Story of Building Bridges” and believe me; it has very wide scope of development. You wouldn’t believe but just by resorting to this title, I have to reorganize my at least three frame of exhibits from my present display. But this title will give me a scope to incorporate material like; survey and investigation, bridge building companies, equipments used for construction and much more. This is the way one can improve and enhance his exhibit and most importantly pleasure for himself.

5. What are your other favourite branches of philately?

In fact I love postal history, specifically the postal history of India. Unfortunately I am late in this field and now the material is out of my reach to do some fruitful research. Very recently I have seen one collection related to my theme titled “Bridges on River Loire” in which that collector displayed postmarks of all post offices along that river + stamps + all related philatelic material. In India, huge population growth has taken place along the river Ganga and India Post also began its journey along this route with the establishment of East India Company, I believe that one can certainly come out with an exhaustive collection + write up. This is philately + research + postal history of India. I still wish to do it but only time will tell how successful I am. Few years back I had seen a superb collection of Shri A. K. Bayanwala on “Postmarks of Calcutta”. Just to say it is a part of only an iceberg. Few years back, I explored the untouched area of Indian Telegraphs and came out with my research write up. Still there are few areas untouched and unexplored. Even one can dare to explore the area of postal history of Modern India after 1947. This is more challenging as searching postal records of post-independence India is a rarest of the rare event. Unfortunately, we have not even cared to write the postal history of divided India and aftermath.

6. You have seen both National & International stamp exhibitions, please comment on system of judging ? Do you find any difference in the judging system followed at National & International system ??

I do not wish to comment on national or international system of judging. Everywhere in every part of life, as well as in every field, judgment is always a subjective issue whether it is a court decision or an umpire decision on a cricket match or a philatelic exhibition. I always believe that there is a 10% bias and 10% favour involved due to human nature and it is a part of life. Just to say during the ongoing World Cup Cricket match, several decisions of the umpire have been reverted due to use of third umpire and use of latest technology. Unfortunately philatelists are not so lucky for the use “Decision Review System”.

7. Well, what is your opinion regarding new philatelic material issued by India Post ?? I mean the Khadi Stamp and Personalized stamp ??

In the world of fierce competition, India post is dying hard to survive. They believe that philatelic business is a mulching cow and they proved it by issuing Khadi stamp worth Rs 100 at Rs 250/-. How Rs 100 stamp can be sold for Rs 250/- without justification is a mystery. Can it be regarded as a new mode of official exploitation of philatelist by India Post is not known? The printing of value 100 is different than the traditional printing of 10000 and therefore it is not clear what the exact face value of this stamp is?

Regarding personalized stamp again India Post proved its inability and incapability to adopt the new technology and deliver the goods in time with quality. They were unable to affix photo at its exact location on the pre-printed sheet and photo images are blur images pasted without any editing spoiling the my-stamp sheet with very dirty and black image. All the sheets I received have same story. There is a second issue. These stamp sheets were made available only at the INDIPEX exhibition hall and till date it is not clear whether it will be considered as an official issue and therefore whether it will be listed as an official stamp? Because, except exhibition visitors, rest are not fortunate enough to avail this facility.

8. Besides an avid philatelist you have been editing GPA newsletter. What made you to enter in writing & editing ?

Being a research scholar, I am accustomed to write my technical articles and technical reports and have passion to do so. This prompted me to work as an Editor of GPA News Letter when need arised. With the passage of time, I felt that it is a very difficult task to go ahead without the support of fellow philatelists. Because to put just an editorial is ok but to write entire news letter every time single handedly is a Herculean task as I cannot manufacture articles month after month without an in-depth knowledge. I personally believe that it is a crime to manufacture articles and my soul does not permit me. Secondly, I cannot write an article on someone’s collection without having very thorough understanding of that topic. Thirdly, it is not an easy job for everyone to contribute an in-depth research article even though he may be a very senior philatelist with mastery in his subject. In view of these limitations and poor support, I have stopped editing GPA Newsletter since January 2010 and therefore there is no issue of the magazine. Through your news letter I express my sincere regret and inability to do so for it.

9. Share your best experience at INDIPEX 2011 with the readers.

Every exhibition is a new opportunity and new way of learning. For me it was a great opportunity to see some of the finest thematic exhibits during this exhibition. Though I made extensive preparation, my friends and well wishers gave me very good suggestions to improve my work and better display and showed me how I committed small but silly mistakes. I also learnt how small mistakes and its negligence coasted me in such a highly competitive exhibition. Here judging starts from your very first page and very first line i.e. title followed by plan. Then plan and its elaboration to related philatelic material to related philatelic + thematic text to alignment of material with text and so on. The most important is the proper selection of title for your exhibit and a related plan and thereafter material to display. Here every item and every text must have a specific meaning to convey what you are displaying. One of the thematic jury members Dr. Vojtech suggested me just to change my title and he explained me how this new title gives very wide scope of material and development. This again signifies the importance of the selection of suitable title and related plan. At this juncture I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Lallan Singh of Patna who helped me a lot in reorganizing my exhibit. One of the first lessons he taught is the selection of suitable title and followed by a related plan. If one is able to do it, he has done 90% of work. Second lesson he taught me was read the FIP thematic guidelines very thoroughly and stick to it. Third lesson I learnt from Dr. Satyendra Agarwal’s article “Way to Gold” (published in your news letter) in which he advised not to display any single non-philatelic item in your exhibit. I strictly obeyed it. I am thankful to him too. In spite of these information and guidance, I committed a mistake and displayed maxim cards and FDC which in thematic have no philatelic value.

10. Use of Internet and mobile has almost stopped the habit of writing letters by hand ?? In today's world do you miss hand written letters ?? Don't you think that the use of Internet and mobile has hampered the hobby of stamp collecting ??

I agree partially with you. Uses of internet and mobiles have certainly overtaken our young generation who are now loosing the writing habits. The way of present day life style is also not favorable to letter writings. Still there are persons who like to write and have extensive correspondence with their pen-pals. I do not agree with you that use of internet and mobile has hampered the hobby of stamp collecting. I personally believe that it is the India Post itself who is spoiling the philately and the interest of philatelists. Let me inform you in last one year, I received letters worth Rs 3200/- philatelic stamps deliberately pen-cancelled by postal staff even though they were decently cancelled by the respective post offices. Even you wouldn’t believe, I have received several letters from overseas countries defaced again with delivery cancellation by our GPO. How the postal staff is authorized to deface the stamp already defaced by the country of origin is beyond my imagination. I brought this matter to the notice of our PM, GPO who in turn expresses his inability to take any action. That’s all. So when you receive a letter with decent philatelic stamps affixed and share with your children that will create interest in them. But how you can show a deliberately pen-cancelled cover to him?

Beginners’ Section

When not to remove stamps from envelopes?

There are special circumstances when you should not take off the postage stamps from the envelope. After all, philately is not just about stamps. Envelopes and other postal services products also count.

Here are the things to consider before getting your stamps off the envelopes:

• If your postage stamps have special postmarks and cancels ….

Stamp cancels or postmarks have incredible varieties. Some come in fancy designs from slogans to flags cancels. Most stamp postmarks extends to the paper so you might destroy its beauty if you take the stamps from the envelope.

• If the mail came from a famous sender …..

Letters from notable personalities like presidents and movie stars are worth keeping intact. Who would want to destroy an envelope signed by a famous person?

Envelope Signed by Albert Einstein

Image source :

Corbis

• If the postal stamp was applied on an exotic postcard or maximum card……

Maximum cards are postcards that have post stamps applied on their designs. A stamp on maximum card should have the same theme as the postcard picture. Thus, taking stamps off the postcards will defeat its purpose.

Philatelic Journalism

How to start writing on Philately….

For the development of Philately, it is necessary that philatelists share knowledge on a variety of subjects of their interest in current philatelic magazines and newsletters. It is not possible for everyone to write articles on a variety of subjects, but there is always a possibility to prepare an article related with one’s own interest. There are many philatelists wi

th good exhibits on very specialized subjects and good articles could be easily written based on these exhibits / themes. If the exhibitors elaborate / explain their exhibit plan and add few lines to make write up , it may take shape of a good article with inclusion of appropriate images. This way exhibitors can share their exhibits with many philatelists. It will give the exhibitor a proud feeling about the exhibit. Madan Middha, Editor & Publisher of the “ Year Book of Indian Philately” gives here some practical tips on how to start writing …. I am sure, by reading this article, many philatelists would be encouraged to write articles on philately and give a new prospect to the philatelic journalism in India . - Editor

Tips for Neo – Writers

- Madan Middha

What is foremost, necessary and mandatory for being a writer, is the excitement in you, your curiosity, your urge to know more about the subject you wish to write on, and the utmost is your willingness to share your knowledge with others. Readers always look forward to the authors for enrichment of their knowledge with that of the authors.

Being an avid reader is an important pre-qualification to become a good writer. The more you read, the more you are able to write rightly. Reading increases your acquaintance with the written words and this acquaintance helps a lot while taking a pen in your hands. This makes words flow out very easily from one's mind. Reading adds to your knowledge too, which in turn, makes you present your concepts in an acceptable manner & format. It also keeps you updated; so that you are not repetitive on the issues.

START is the most difficult part on the way to become a writer. But, on the other hand it is very easy than we imagine. The easier way to start is, by being "REACTIVE". When we read or see something of our interest, somewhere; we feel good or bad about that & some thoughts immediately pop-up in our minds. Pen down these thoughts, explain them, refine them, filter them and lo,....you have become an original writer. The more you react, the more easy you feel for writing.

Other questions which pop-up after one's thoughts are penned down, are some things like these :

- Who cares about what I think ? - Will it be possible for me to write articles ?

- Who will publish / print my texts and concepts ? - What will I get out of it ?

Like the earlier one, these questions are also baseless ! Every serious reader and the ones who matter, do care for everyone else’s thoughts like they do for their own. Ones, who do not care for others, do not matter in a macro environment. Forget them.

Secondly, if you can read and write simple, meaningful language and can express yourself through it , it is absolutely possible for you to write nice, meaningful and focused articles on the subjects of your interest. A good article does not need anything else but simple, understandable language. Just sit down think over your concept and write down an essay on it.... like you used to write in your school days; with your own conclusions on the issue expressed and explained in the text. Add images / illustrations at appropriate places using philatelic materials you have with you in support of your thoughts / concepts . Polish the texts in later sittings after some time and after a conscious revision of what you have written.

In the next sittings, add to the already written text, if you can; replace the words with the better alternates, turn good words into better sentences and refine sentences into perfect paragraphs . The more you do it, the better and easier it gets for you. Computers have made it very easy but still, this takes time and energy; but believe me this generates more energy in return to do more and better.

Thirdly, realize and be sure that every publication of any level, is always in need of good and focused write-ups on various aspects and issues of their specialized subjects........and yours can be one of them ! Some editors take them seriously and go even out-of-the-way to refine the texts from the neo-writers. Be sure, you will also find one, definitely!!

Lastly, be true and tell......What is the most precious in the whole Universe? What the Millionaires and Billionaires get out of their wealth and Great Achievers from their achievements? Satisfaction, my dear, Satisfaction! It is only and only self actualization / self satisfaction which is derived from all the efforts by them. Yes, you will also be able to get and have this most precious element of the whole Universe, your own self satisfaction, from all this activity. Satisfaction of being heard by the concerned, of being expressive to your thoughts, & of being effectively communicative, is all yours, once you write and get published.

Moreover, when you write down something on paper, the things get off your mind and the precious mind-space is free to do other jobs. This keeps your mind free and fast. We wish to join hands with the Neo-writers and feel it necessary for the better future of Philately and the Philatelic Journalism in India and the World. COME experience this. All experts of their moments had to get started at some points.....MAKE IT YOURS !!!

Specialized Section

THE STORY OF PIGEON POST

By Naresh Agarwal

Contd. from the last issue…

INDIA WWII PIGEONGRAM – NUR JEHAN :

The Nazi Bombers,
Their Bombs They drop & bolt.
The Infant and the Aged,
They are out to kill.
Its up to you to do your bit,
And make them still.

This WWII Indian Pigeongram envelope issued by Indian Airmail Society to commemorate the contribution, bravery and outstanding role in saving thousands of lives and to send important mail and missives in record time under stringent and tough life warning conditions of the WWI and WWII. Though there are several pigeons belonging to different countries who had their commendable contribution but there are some prominent names such as Cher Ami, Paddy, G.I.Joe etc. and were awarded for their commendable services.

This pigeongram is a tribute to those carriers. A patriotic message is also written on the pigeongram. It was carried by the pigeon named NUR JEHAN.

Shown above is the front side of Pigeongram. The envelope was carried on 14th October from Burdhwan to Calcutta. The envelope carries a half anna stamp on it with Calcutta cancellation. It shows a possibly olive tree with Pigeons/Doves (a messenger of peace) flying. It also carries a patriotic message printed on it which urges everyone to be united and contribute as much possible to help win the war:

The reverse side carries signature of Stephen Smith, the secretary of Indian Airmail Society that time or rather father of Rocket Mail in India. The envelope also has a box shaped slogan cancellation on it which states "BUY DEFENCE SAVINGS CERTIFICATES".

Actual Message carried by pigeon in 1941 from Kalyan to Bombay

In 1949 The Airmail Society celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the World's first airmail stamps - the famous Great Barrier Island pigeon Post stamps

DIFFICULTIES IN PIGEON POST

Pigeon post had some serious drawbacks, of course. Generally, people used birds which were trained to return to a specific spot, so in order to send a message, someone had to have the right bird on hand. The birds were vulnerable to being blown off-course or attacked by predators, with some pigeon post authorities attaching bells to their birds to frighten off would-be snackers. Using birds of prey to carry mail sometimes addressed this issue, although some birds of prey took advantage of their freedom to disappear without delivering their messages

INTERCEPTION OF PIGEONS :

While pigeon fly over different territories, it is likely to be intercepted on the way and the messages being delivered or read by unknown. There are various instances when the pigeons carrying important messages were intercepted. For example :During the Crusades Richard the Lion Heart's men captured a pigeon that carried a message reporting that a Moslem army would arrive in three days to break the Christian siege of Ptolemais. A forged message was substituted, saying that no help would be coming. The besieged town surrendered. The Moslem relief army arrived to find the Christians solidly entrenched.

Messenger homing pigeon bakelite

( Japanese Homing Pigeon Container Captured )

Homing pigeons were also prone to getting lost or eaten by predators during particularly difficult journeys, which necessitated sending the same message with several pigeons, some or all of which could fall into the hands of a third party. Indeed, the Germans even trained falcons to do specifically this during the aforementioned siege.

LIMITED DELIVERY :

Though there are other advantages of this mail / missive delivery yet due to its volumetric and weight carriage limitations, the quantum of delivery is restricted. It is hence more of a message delivery and not a big mail delivery system. There are also norms set for what to be written and not written. Also how to write etc. Though Microfilming had helped in this regard but too to some extent.

CARE AND BREEDING :

Pigeon need proper care for their feed and breed. As the life span is less and they die and are lost too. Though pigeons are available everywhere yet quality and trained pigeons are not available everywhere. "Pigeon breeding is an art that goes back to Mughal days. Emperor Shah Jahan was one on the greatest breeders of pigeons. Proper lofts, specific feed and medical and other biological and physiological requirements are to be met carefully.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS :

Housing for pigeons : It is one of the essential requirements of all the pet pigeons. They require proper house to fly and relax. It should be large enough so that pigeons can relax, fly and eat properly.

Food for pigeon: Owner should provide healthy and regular food to their pigeon. Mostly pigeons love to feed on grains. One can also purchase commercial pigeon food for their pet pigeon. Fruits such as- berries, apple and pear are also good for pigeon. Whereas, Vegetables such as – lettuce, endive, chickweed, clover, watercress and spinach are highly nutritious and is essential for pigeons. One can complement their pigeon diet with food such as - Budgie, millet spray and canary mix. Make sure that these foods are served in small pieces so that your pigeon can digest easily. Seeds such as - barley, linseed, sunflower, safflower, corn, green peas and canary seeds can also be served to pet pigeons.

Supplements for pigeon: it is a good idea to add supplements in your pigeon’s diet. Supplements will help in keeping your pet healthy. Supplement such as - vitamins, calcium, grit and gravel are good for pigeons. At times, pigeon requires other supplements such as – game bird crumbles, water soaked dog biscuit and water and milk soaked bread.

Lofts for pigeon: Pigeons require proper loft in order to fly freely. Mostly pigeons love to fly freely in sky. One can use lofts for ornamental purpose as well.

Water for pigeons: Fresh and clean water is important for sustain the health of your pigeon. It is advisable to change the water of your pigeon regularly in order to avoid bacterial growth.

Pigeon feeders: pigeon feeders are used to store the food of pet pigeon so that they can have it any time. It is important for one to choose best feeder for their pigeon. It should be easy to use so that your pigeon can have food easily.

The above mentioned pigeon requirements are essential for people to fulfill in order to make their pet pigeon healthy and energetic. The main basic requirement of pet pigeon is cleanliness. It is essential for one to clean food, environment and water to their pet pigeon. Pet pigeon require regular bath to sustain their health.

DISEASES :

Pigeon regularly need medical care to avoid getting any disease as they are prone to various diseases such as canker, colds, pneumonia, roup, diarrhea etc.. Some of the diseases are contagious too. Hence, they require regular treatment and care because homing pigeons are kept under limited and specific controlled conditions.

Examination and treatment of Army pigeons at the Signal Pigeon Center Tidworth, England,UK (United State Pigeon Service)

UNSECURED CARRIAGE / DELIVERY :

Due interception reroute there is every chance of getting messages to go in unsecured hands. Birds may die or may be intercepted by birds of prey or might get injured or get ill due to weather conditions…..thereby missing out the message . Hence, too some extent once the pigeon is released he is likely to miss out. Though the experience says that more than 90% of the birds made successful delivery under toughest conditions.

ONE WAY AND ONE POINT MAIL TRANSMISSION :

The pigeons normally engage in one way transmission as they straight way fly back to their loft. That is they deliver mail to one point only. They need to be trained to recognize both way loft to return back with message or else they are brought back to the sending point so that they may fly back to the delivery end.

FEAR OF BIRDS OF PREY :

The ability to get home was vital for those who used them as messengers. A pigeon's great strength was not only its extraordinary homing instinct but also the speed at which it flew. Shooting one down would have been all but impossible. In many senses, a pigeon would always get through. The only natural way to counter them was to bring birds of prey to the front line and let one of nature's great battles occur. A falcon could bring down a pigeon - a marksman almost certainly could not.

DIFFICULT CARRIAGE AND FEED :

It is not that easy to carry pigeons. They need special care in terms of shape and size of loft. They also require special feed suiting to the climate and other environmental conditions.

NAVIGATION OF PIGEONS :

There are many theories about how pigeons manage to return ‘home’ when released 100s of miles from their loft. A champion racing pigeon can be released 600 -700 miles away from its home and still return within the day. This amazing feat does not just apply to ‘racing’ or ‘homing’ pigeons; all pigeons have the ability to return to their roost. A 10-year study carried out by Oxford University concluded that pigeons use roads and motorways to navigate, in some cases even changing direction at motorway junctions. Other theories include navigation by use of the earth’s magnetic field, visual clues such as landmarks, the sun and even infrasound (low frequency seismic waves). Whatever the truth, this unique ability makes the pigeon a very special bird. Pigeons can only go back to one "mentally marked" point that they have identified as their home.

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JAINISM

- Sudhir Jain

Contd. from the last issue…

24 TIRTHANKARS

Jains believe that in every Kal (Period / cycle of times), there are 24 Tirthankars. In the present Kal, Bhagwan Rishabhnath was the first Tirthankar and Bhagwan Mahaveer was the 24th. There is a particular sign on the right foot of every newly born Tirthankar which become identif

ication mark of that Tirthankar. This sign always engraved on the pedestal of each idol for identification.

SHREE RISHABHNATH

Shree Rishabhnath was the first Tirthankar of present KAL. He was born to King of Ayodhya Raja Nabhi Rai and Rani Maru Devi on Chaitra Shukla 9. According to Jain Mythology, at the turning point of BHOGBHUMI (the period in which every desire was fulfilled by KALPA BRIKSHA without making any effort) to KARMABHUMI (in which efforts had to be made to fulfill requirements), Shree Rishabhnath born. He is considered as the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu as per Bhagwat Puran (Hindu mythology). Belonging to the age of Karmabhumi Shree Rishabhnathjee taught people about different jobs (Shat Karma) for their livelihood. He also invented the scripts and numericals. He attained enlightenment on Vaishakh Shukla 3 at Prayag (Allahabad) and after preaching his doctrines for several years, attained Nirwan / Moksha (Salvation) on Magh Krishna 14 from Mount Kailash.

A se-tenet stamp of bronze idol of Bhagwan Rishabhnath was issued on 20th Dec. 1994 to commemorate centenary of Baroda Museum.

SHREE MAHAVIR SWAMI

24th Tirthankar Shree Mahavir Swami was born on Chaitra Shukla 13th, 599 B.C. at the oldest Republic of the World, Vaishali to King Siddhartha and Rani Trishala. He was a prince, but left his home at the age of 30 to become an ascetic (a religious person who practices self-denial). He plucked out his hair, discarded his clothes, and wandered for 12 1/2 years, fasting and practicing severe penances in his search for truth. At the age of 42 he attained enlightenment (a state of divine experience, or understanding ultimate truth).

EAST GERMANY issued a stamp on 23-8-1979 depicting a famous painting of Bhagwan Mahavir.

Shree Mahavir Swami rejected two Hindu notions of the social system of caste (divisions in the Hindu social system) and the rituals of sacrifice. After attaining enlightenment, for the next 30 years he traveled across northern India, teaching an austerely ascetic path to purity and peace. He attained NIRWAN at the age of 72 on Kartik Amavashya day 527 B.C. from PAWAPURI (Bihar). Jains celebrate Kartik Amavashya every year as Deepawali.

To commemorate 2500th Nirwan Celebration of Bhagwan Mahavir, a stamp was issued on 13th Nov. 1974. This stamp depicts Jal Mandir of PAWAPURI where Mahavir attained Nirwan.

After enlightenment, Bhagwan Mahavir gave his first sermon (PRATHAM DESHNA) from the hill top of VIPULACHAL at Rajgir.

His first preaching described five ethics of Jainism, which were -

1. SATYA - pursuit of truth

2. AHIMSA - non-violence

3. ACHAURYA - non-stealing and honesty

4. APARIGRAH - non-attachment and non-accumulation of wealth

5. BRAHMACHARYA - celibacy or ascetic character

LORD BAHUBALI

BAHUBALI was the younger son of first Tirthankar Rishabh Nath. He is the symbol of sacrifice as in spite of his victory over his brother Bharat, he left his kingdom to him and renounced the world for penance and meditation. He attained enlightenment and Nirvan before his father Rishabhnath.

Chamundaraya, a royal minister of Gang banshi King Rajmalla, erected a 57 ft statue of Lord Bahubali, who is also called Gommateshwara, on the top of a 300 ft high hill Vindhyagiri hill at Shravanabelgola in Hasan district of Karnataka and consecrated on 13th March, 983 A.D.. The statue is a center of attraction for visitors from all over the world. The figure carved from the granite stone is imbued with Human Warmth and Devine Grace. MAHAMASTAKABHISHEKA (the great head anointing) is held here once every twelve years.

A one-rupee stamp on the millennium of the statue of Gommateshwara was issued on 9^th Feb. 1981. This statue is also depicted in number of special covers and cancellations.

JAIN PERSONALITIES

Number of commemorative stamps have been issued to honour Jain personalities like Samrat Chandragupta Maurya, Raja Bhamashah, Acharya Tulsi, Acharya Bhikshu, Acharya Anand Rishi, Acharya VIjay Vallabh Suri, Muni Mishrimal Ji, Atomic Scientist VIkram Ambalal Sarabhai, Educationists Dr. BHaurao Patil & Dr. Jagdeesh Chandra Jain, Film Producers V. Shantaram & Harakhchand Nahta, Eminent Scholars Dr. Inderchandra Shashtri & Dr. L. M. Singhvi, Industrialist Walchand Hirachand, Journalist Jawaharlal Darda etc.

JAIN ARCHITECTURE

We can also see famous Jain architectures like Shatrunjay Palitana Temple, Sheetalnath Kolkata Temple, Ranakpur Temple, Dilwara Temple etc. in the beautiful stamps issued time to time in India.

MESSAGE TO THE WORLD

JIYO AUR JINE DO (LIVE & LET LIVE) and AHIMHA PARMO DHARMAH (NON-VIOLENCE IS THE SUPREME RELIGION) are the chief slogans of Jain religion.

JAINISM always advocates for PEACE, LOVE, Friendship & SERVICE for happiness of all living creatures.

Mr Sudhir Jain may be contacted at email : mrsudhirjain@yahoo.com

Something of interest, also for non-philatelists….

By Dr Avinash B. Jagtap

As if an advertisement for P & O Line!

A letter contained in the envelope (s. Fig.) was addressed to Mrs. W. Graydon Carter. It isrubber-stamps. Mrs. Carter was one of the passengers on a ship of P & O Line ( Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) sailed from Port Said, either eastwards or westwards. The letter which had originated from Bangalore in India on 19^th February 1903 (confirmed by the obliterator “BANGALORE/19 FEB 03/19.20 PM” reached Port Said on 2^nd March 1903. The Agent of P & O Line in Port Said had tried his level best to find out the addressee Mrs. Carter, which is obvious as has been documented by a number of manuscript entries such as “ not Persia”, “not Caledonia” and the hand-stamps like “NOT ORIENTAL” , “NOT EGYPT” on the front of the envelope.

Most certainly these ships of the P & O Line were traversing the Suez Canal during this time from Port Said westwards. After the futile efforts to trace Mrs. Carter, this letter was sent back to the place of origin, i.e. to Bangalore in India, as indicated by the stamp “T” in circle on the front and the due-stamp of 4 m of Egypt. On the reverse of the cover is a very tiny oval shaped stamp in green colour with the wording “BANGALORE/ 12 AP 03/UNPAID”, which indicates that the postal authority in Bangalore had examined the case and found the amount to be paid by the sender as correct, according to which the sender of the letter Major W.G.Carter in Bangalore had to pay 1 Anna, as indicated by the round stamp in black colour “OVERLAND POSTAGE/DUE/ A 1”

Dr Avinsah B. Jagtap may be contacted at email : abjagtap@hotmail.com

New Issues from other countries

Australia

8 March 2011 : Centenary of Int. Woman’s Day

Barbados

On February 7th, 2011 the Barbados Post issued a new series of definitive stamps featuring "Local Fruits". This definitive issue showcases a variety of local fruits grown in Barbados.

The stamps were issued in sets of sixteen (16) and depict Golden Apple, Coconut, Cashew, Mammy Apple, Barbados Cherry, Sugar Apple, Sea Grapes, Tamarind, Carambola, Mango, Banana, Guava, Avocado, Gooseberries, Soursop and Pomegranate.

Belarus

14 March 2011 - Bird of the Year - Eurasian Curlew – 1 val.

The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is the one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. The largest wader in its range, at 50-57 cm length, and a 1 m wingspan. It is mainly grayish brown, with a white back, and a very long curved bill. Males and females look identical, but the bill is longest in the adult female. The familiar call, from which this bird gets its name, is a loud curloo-oo.

14 April Europa 2011 - 2 val.

Canada

On 21 February, 2011 Canada Post issued three new stamps featuring the artwork of Canadian aboriginal artist Daphne Odjig. The stamps feature three of Odjig's acrylic pieces. Each painting, Spiritual Renewal (1984), Pow-wow Dancer (1978), and Pow-wow (1969), is a representation of Odjig's passion for the arts and love of her native heritage.

France

On 19 February, 2011, the French Post issued a stamp in honor of Henri Pequet, who transported 100 years ago the first airmail. On the stamp behind the portrait of Pequet, evocations of India (the tomb of Prince Khusrau and window) are transforming into folds and letters.

Germany

3 March 2011 Four elements of the earth – 4 val

Iceland

17 March 2011 Lighthouse – 2 val

Ireland

On 3rd March, 2011, An Post issued 2 stamps commemorating Women's Rights. One stamp marks the centenary of International Women's Day. The other celebrates the founding of the Irish Women's Suffrage Federation.

Iran

On 12 February 2011, Iran Post issued a new stamp dedicated to Nowruz - Iranian New Year Feast.

Nowruz is celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and has spread in many other parts of the world, including parts of Central Asia, South Asia, Northwestern China, the Crimea and some groups in the Balkans.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the year in Iranian calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed.

New Zealand

23 March 2011 Kiwi Stamp 2011 – 5 val.

Poland

5 May Europa 2011- Year of Forests

Slovakia

On 4 March 2011, the Slovak Post issued a new stamp to commemorate Easter, the most important Christian festival. Just like the blood of the Lamb of God saved the old Israelites in ancient Egypt from ten plagues of God, the death of Jesus Christ saved all Christians from eternal damnation. Therefore, the lamb became a symbol not only of Jesus Christ, but also of the Easter.

UNPA

On 3 March 2011, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) will continue its Coin and Flag series by releasing 24 new stamps in the denominations of US$ 0.44, CHF 0.85 and ˆ 0.65. Three mini-sheets of eight stamps each will be released.

USA

25 March : Celebrate Neon Forever Stamp

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.

Khadi Stamp a novelty by India Post ????

- Naresh Agarwal. Bilaspur (CG)

“Marketing of Gandhi in Philately” is the topic which I once long back thought to write upon but refrained. Here in Indipex , I was pleased to see the sales tactics / strategy of India Post to market Gandhi Ji. As I know, it was Gandhi Ji who promoted and wore khadi but here in stamp it was Khadi who promoted Gandhi Ji and also covered him. Rs 250/- for a hand cut small piece of Khadi with sketch of Gandhi printed with a pack which could hardly accommodate the sheet in its transparent pocket. I feel it would have been better if deptt. had served buyers with a khadi dhoti with big Gandhi Stamp printed on it instead of the stamp which otherwise too has many flaws regarding its denomination, quantity printed and of course printing quality. Yet philatelists are always happy to receive the faulty, errored and controversial philatelic commodity. Thanks to India post for providing this.

Editor’s Point

Many philatelists have written about recent Khadi MS and criticized too because it has been sold by India Post at Rs 150 more than its actual price Rs 100 in an ordinary presentation pack. It is absolutely an open business done by Postal Department during INDIPEX 2011 . The Postal Deptt knew well right from the beginning that Khadi MS will be in great demand because such type of philatelic item has been launched for the first time in India. It would have been nice if India Post had provided a decorative Presentation Pack which could be displayed as a decorative piece too. This would have not disheartened the philatelists and they would have willingly paid the extra cost of Presentation Pack The cost of ordinary presentation Pack is very disappointing and rather it is humiliating for the philatelic community . Moreover India Post had announced earlier following details about the Khadi Stamp on INDIPEX 2011 website which is still available and can be checked by anyone....

The Presentation Pack

The Khadi Stamp will be available during the exhibition at the venue, as a Presentation Pack which will also include a miniature sheet. The Presentation Pack is priced at Rs. 250 .

Where is the Khadi Stamp ??? It was not available anywhere separately… It means that India Post has cheated poor philatelists… Rs 100 Khadi Stamp should have been included in the Presentation Pack…Only then the cost of Khadi Presentation Pack seems appropriate !!

Philatelic Library

e books on Philately : All about Stamp Collecting

http://www.scribd.com/doc/37667833/Stamp-Collecting

Stamps on Astronomy & Cosmology

http://library.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/exhibits/stamps/astronomy/

New Blogs & Websites

My Picture Postcards : http://mypicturepostcards.blogspot.com/ - New Blog on post cards created by Mr Vijay Kapre.

Classic Errors http://classicerrors.com/ - A professional blog on Errors, varieties and rarities on Indian stamps

Hockey on Stamps : www.hockeyonstamps.com It is a specialized website on Hocky stamps. Sports lovers wud admire it very much.

Cricket Memorabilia : www.nazimcricket.com/stamps.php - It is a specific website on Cricket theme

Ferozpur Collection : http://www.myferozepur.com/ - Special website created by Narinder Sethi of New Delhi on Ferozpur covers.

Gandhi Stamps : http://gandhistamps.com - The website is a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi Philately. All the stamps issued on Mahatma Gandhi from various countries in the World have been featured.

Phila Mirror : http://philamirror.info/ - It is a very informative site. Regular updates on Indian & foreign stamps and news from the philatelic world are given on this site. This is a very useful site for every philatelist.

Indian Stamps for your Virtually : http://indianphilately.blogspot.com/ A nice blog has been created by Mr Kumar Kamaleshan Nair of Trivandrum. The regularly updated blog gives details about Indian stamps. The blog is beautifully designed by Mr Nair.

Se- tenant Stamps of India - http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com/ It is a specialized Blog on se-tenant stamps.

Join Mobile Philately & Stay Updated - http://mobilephilately.blogspot.com/ It is a blog by Mr Dipak Modi of Jalna, Maharashtra. Mobile Philately is a mobile technology based philatelic community with short messaging service (SMS) that allows the community members to get latest updates related to Indian philately directly into mobile message box.

Flags & Stamps - http://flagstamps.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Flag Theme .

http://jefferson-stamp.blogspot.com/ Stamp - Blog on COSTUMES, DANCES, CULTURES, FOLKLORES, ORIGINAL INHABITANT, UNIFORM MILITARY, & COAT OF ARMS

http://www.stampshopy.com/ - A new site on Indian Stamps and other philatelic items.

http://indiastampsdetails.blogspot.com/ - A new Blog on Indian Stamps by Sundar R. of Salem, Tamilnadu

http://dorincard.blogspot.com Donicard Language: English Topics: maximum cards, stamps, postcards Description: Focus on wild mammals on (traditional or non-traditional) maximum cards.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Stamps-Philately-1610/indexExp_69442.htm - It is a site based on Question & Answers on Philately. Mr Prashant Pandya replies to queries.

Philatelic Clubs & Societies

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

Eastern India Philatelists’ Association - http://www.filacapsule.blogspot.com/

Indian Stamp Ghar - http://www.indianstampghar.com/

Indian Thematic Society, Ludhiana - http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/

Ludhiana Philatelic Club

Mobile Philately - http://www.mobilephilately.webs.com/

Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

Rainbow Stamp Club - http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/

South India Philatelists Association - http://www.sipa.org.in/

Stamps of India - http://www.stampsofindia.com/

The Lighter Side

Read and Just Smile….

Fresh out of business school, a young man answered a want ad for an accountant.
Now he was being interviewed by a very nervous man who ran a small stamp dealership that he had started himself.
"I need someone with an accounting degree," the man said."But mainly, I'm looking for someone to do my worrying for me."
"Excuse me?" the accountant said.
"I worry about a lot of things like mailing packets, putting up items for auction, replying
to customers" the man said. "But I don't want to have to worry about money. Your job will be to take all the money worries off my back."
"I see," the accountant said. "And how much does the job pay?"
"I'll start you at eighty thousand."
"Eighty thousand dollars!" the accountant exclaimed. "How can a stamp business afford
a sum like that?"
"That," the stamp dealer said, "is your first worry."

On Line Games…

The Smithsonian Postal Museum offers a collection of children's games on their website that have to do with stamps and postal history. To play Clickl here

Promotional section

Private Special Cover

Mr Sanjiv Jain of Dehradun has prepared a special cover related with Basant Festival and Jainism. Mr Sanjiv Jain may be contacted for the cover at email : jainsanjiv@live.com

Stamp Book of Indian Stamps in Printable form

Mr Prem Pues Kumar of Jamshedpur has prepared album of Indian Stamps (1947 onwards) in printable form with special pages for Definitives and Rath Yatra varieties and many oher issues. He may be contacted for PDF files at email : premunlimited@gmail.com

Blog : http://indianstampscollection.blogspot.com/

Year Book of Indian Philately 2010

Year Book of Indian Philately 2010 edited and published by Mr Madan Middha is a very informative reference book for all collectors as it contains all necessary data of Indian philately and activities during the year 2010. The previous edition of the Year book has recently won Bronze medal award at INDIPEX 2011 and was awarded a Silver medal at SINE, National Philatelic Exhibition. Besides different data, covering different aspects of Indian Philately .The book contains comprehensive articles by noted philatelists of India which cover various important topics of Philately.

The book contains more than 264 pages with 30 Chapters and it covers stamps, sheetlets, Postmarks/ Cancellations, Events, Baton Relay Covers, Society News, International Exhibitions, Philatelic Periodicals, Current Postal Rates & Philatelic Museums of the world and a variety of informative articles by well known philatelists of India. The book will prove to be useful for all Stamp Lovers. It is an essential reference book which is recommended to all the lovers of Indian philately and philatelists in general.

Price Rs 200 US $ 15 Contact Address : Madan Middha, Saket Vihar, Phalka Bazar, Gwalior 474001.

e mail : madan_middha@yahoo.co.in Ph. 0 930 110 1244

Year Book 2011

Mr Madan Middha the publisher of Year Book of Indian Philately needs suggestions from the Readers for Year Book 2011..for which he has started working Readers are requested to send their suggestions about contents of the new edition. Articles are also invited from the readers. Please contact Mr Middia email madan_middha@yahoo.co.in

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 - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/

Phila News, Editor Rajesh Pahariya and published by Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur

VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/

e ZEP Newsletter http://www.ezep.de/zpj/zpj.html Editor : Dieter Leder

email zpj@arcor.de website www.eZEP.de

SIPA Bulletin Editor - Mr G. Madan Mohan Das and published by South India Philatelists’ Association, Chennai website : http://www.sipa.org.in/

FILA Capsule – Editor : Ajit Dash and published by EIPA, Bhubaneshwar.

GPA News – Editor- Ilias Patel and published by Gujarat Philatelists’ Association, Ahemadabad.

Kar Phila News published by Karnataka Philatelic Society & edited by by Akshay Borad

e–mail : akshayborad@hotmail.com

Editor’s Mail Box

Sanjay Goenka, Kolkata

Thanks for emailing me, my 1st copy of Rainbow Stamp News. I found it very informative & detailed activities in India & abroad at one place..Thank you once again.

Cdr. G Sri Ramarao,I.N,(Retd.), Vishakhapatnam

Heartiest congratulations to you on winning the Bronze at the Indipex 2011 It is one of the great Newsletters which I read regularly and learn a lot as well enjoy seeing the new stamps and special covers. Articles of Dr Agarwal, Mr Agarwal and Dr Jagtap and others are very informative. The new subject you have recently started on Music is very educative to me, as through this, I am coming to know of the New Stamps being issued by various countries on Music so that I can try for them.

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 every day 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, ; Mansoor B.- Mangalore, International Stamp News ; Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur; Lallan P. Singh – Patna; Vishal Sanganria, Guwhati ; Europa

Download PDF copy of this issue at following link :

http://www.scribd.com/doc/52137447/Rainbow-April-2011

Address for communication:

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.

Kindly specify your contribution such as article/News/ Reader’s Right / Beginners’ Section/ Lighter Side etc

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.