India Independence Day

Today, August 15th 2020, India would have achieved 73 years of freedom. As such, this year marks the 74th Independence Day of the country. In 1947 on the same day, India had achieved independence after years of struggle. The day holds great significance in the heart of every Indian. 

On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of independent India Pandit Nehruji hoisted the National flag at the Lahori Gate of Red Fort in New Delhi. It is a tradition that has since then been followed by the incumbent Prime Ministers, accompanied by an address to the nation.

 

The day is usually dotted with cultural programs, competitions, flag-hoisting ceremonies, and parades.  This year is special to me, as I am taking part in the Independence day drawing competition.  If you guys are on Instagram, please give me a like and share with your near and dear to get more likes and to win the competition.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CD094AzMVWz/?igshid=n0ibjn0ozxgt

 

This year, because of the pandemic, many restrictions are already in place. It is, therefore, advised that you observe the day and revel in patriotism from the safety of your house, maintain all social distancing and safety guidelines, and keep yourself and your community safe. That would be the true spirit of Independence Day 2020.

Here is the stamp issued by India for its 25th Independence day celebrations.

My Odd and Unusual Stamps/MS collection

Welcome to my world of Odd and Unusual Stamps Collection. 

My Odd and Unusual stamps include Embossed, Foil, 3D, Glow-in-the-dark, odd shape stamp/MS, Materials (cloth, wood, plastic, glass, etc), Textured, Scented, Hologram, crypto etc

Now I have Odd and Unusual stamps/MSs from 73 countries.  Please help me to reach 100.

Please click on the country to see the collection.

Ajman

Alderney

Andorra

Argentina

Armenia

Australia

Austria

Belarus

Belgium

Bhutan

Brazil

Canada

China

Croatia

Dahomey

Estonia

Faroe Islands

Finland 

France

Fujeira

Germany

Gibraltar

Guinea Ecuatorial

Hong Kong 

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Jersey

Kazakhstan

Korea

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Macau (China)

Malaysia 

Mali

Malta

Mauritius

Mongolia

Namibia

New Zealand

Oman

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Spain

Slovenia

Solomon Islands

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Switzerland

Taiwan

Thailand

Tonga

Turkey

UAE

Ukraine

UN - Vienna

United Kingdom

United States

Upper Volta

Uzbekistan

Vanuatu

Yemen

12th May: Birth Anniversary of Dorothy Hodgkin

12th May : Birth anniversary of Dorothy Hodgkin

Dorothy Mary Hodgkin (12th May 1910 - 29th July 1994) aka Crowfoot  was a British Biochemist who was known for her knowledge on Protein and X-Ray Crystallography which are methods used to determine three dimensional figures of Bio-molecules. Some of her most influential discoveries are the confirmation of the structure of Penicillin and structure of vitamin B12. She was the third woman who won the Nobel prize in Chemistry.  12th May 2020 is her 110th Birth Anniversary.


                                            

The above stamp was issued in 1996 by Royal post

The below First Day Cover and stamp were issued in 2014 to commemorate the International Year of Crystallography.

180th Anniversary of Penny black

On 6th May, 1840, The world's first adhesive postage stamp "Penny Black" was born officially. Even though The British Postal System introduced it on 1st of May, the official usage of Penny Black started only from May 6th.

Earlier the postage had to be borne by the recipients.  In 1937, to reform the British Postal system Rowland Hill suggested the use of pre-payment of postage and it was accepted and the Penny Black with the profile of Queen Victoria born after 3 years. There were around 68 million Penny Blacks printed on 2,86,700 sheets. The only known complete sheets of the Penny Black are owned by the British Postal Museum.

To prevent the reuse of the same stamps they introduced a red colour franking. It rubbed off easily and failed in its purpose. This led to the introduction of black colour franking and the colour of the stamp was changed to Red in 1841.

Below Souvenir sheet was issued on April 30, 2015 by Pos Malaysia (Malaysian Post) to commemorate 175th Anniversary of The Penny Black .  The Souvenir sheet depicts the portrait of Sir Rowland Hill, who is instrumental in bringing out the fist pre-paid postage stamp and the Penny Black and Two Pence Blue stamp.

380th Anniversary of completion of Fort St. George(stage I)

The following  special cover was issued five years ago, on the occasion of completion of 375 years of Fort St. George on 23rd April, 2015 at a function held at St. George Fort.   The special postal cover was conceived and designed by MR. D.H. Rao, one of the founding members of the  Madras Heritage Lovers' Forum.

The small picture on the front cover (above) is  the view of the Fort's Stage 1 building.

Below is the brief description of the Fort printed at the back side of the Special Cover.

22nd April 2020 - Earth Day 2020

At a time like this, when all of us are at our homes, refraining from going out for our safety and everyone else's safety, we have heard alot about how our Earth is healing and mother nature is blossoming. In order to honour and spread awareness to protect our dear Mother Earth, lot of measures have been taken till date. One amongst them all is the celebration of Earth Day. Tomorrow, the 22nd of April 2020, marks the 50th Earth Day.

 So, let us all stay safe at home and celebrate the 50th Earth Day!!!

                     The above USA stamp was issued in the year 1993!

Aryabhata satellite : A precursor to Mangalyaan

Aryabhata was the first Indian Space Satellite, designed by ISRO and launched from USSR through Cosmos 3 vehicle.  This satellite was named after the famous Indian Mathematician and Astronomer of the 5th Century, Aryabhata. Even though it was not very successful it paved the way for today's success of Mangalyaan. Like many other satellites, the Aryabhata satellite has a compact design. 

The below stamp was issued on 19th April 1975 by India post to commemorate the successful launching of the satellite.