New stamps from India

Stamp on Sai Baba

India Post  released a commemorative stamp on Sathya Sai Baba on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary celebrations to be held at Puttaparthi of Anantapur district on November 23.

 

Union minister of state for communication & information technology (IT) Killi Krupa Rani released a commemorative stamp on Sathya Sai Baba on the occasion of his 88th birth anniversary celebrations held at Puttaparthi (Anantapur district) on 23rd November 2013.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba (born as Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 1926 – d. 24 April 2011) was a highly revered spiritual leader and world teacher, whose life and message are inspiring millions of people throughout the world. He claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. The Sathya Sai Organisation, founded by Sathya Sai Baba "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement" has over 1,200 Sathya Sai Centers in more than 100 countries. Through this organisation, Sathya Sai Baba established a network of free hospitals, clinics, drinking water projects and schools. Sathya Sai's devotees are spread across the world.

Sathya Sai Baba had died at Puttaparthi on April 24, 2011 due to ill-health. As Sathya Sai's devotees are spread across the world, the Sathya Sai Central Trust moved a proposal to issue a commemorative stamp on Sai Baba last year.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

Stamp on Intelligence Bureau

Date of Issue : 23 November 2013

A commemorative stamp on  Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s internal  Intelligence  agency was also released today by India Post.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency.It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Shrouded in secrecy, the IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the military.

Understanding of the shadowy workings of the IB is largely speculative. Many a times even their own family members are unaware of their whereabouts. One known task of the IB is to clear licences to amateur radio enthusiasts. The IB also passes on intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police. The Bureau also grants the necessary security clearances to Indian diplomats and judges before they take the oath. On rare occasions, IB officers interact with the media during a crisis situation. The IB is also rumoured to intercept and open around 6,000 letters daily. It also has an email spying system similar to FBI's Carnivore system. The Bureau is also authorised to conduct wire tapping without a warrant.

Japan Spain Joint Issue

 

400th Anniversary of the Relations between Japan and Spain

In recognition of floriculture and the plant species that are cultivated in such disparate places as Spain and Japan, the postal services of the two countries have released a joint set of stamps dedicated to the Geranium and Lespedeza Thunbergii. The two stamps are joined along the serration.

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New Special cover from Dehradun

 

A new special cover on Nanda Devi Rajjaat Yatra will be released on 20 August 20 13 at Dehradun.

 

Release of Special Cover & Special Cancellation

Venur : Hotel Madhuban, Rajpur Road, Dehradun

Date : 20 August 2013 at 5 PM

: Abhai Mishra – Dehradun

The Nanda Raj Jat offers an unparalleled and complete experience to the travelers with interest in local cultural and religious traditions of Uttarakhand as well as to those who are decent trekking enthusiasts. Its sanctity for locals is equal to Kumbh and it is one of the most lively and colourful festivals in the region.

Nanda devi - the daughter of Kings of mountains, and the consort of Lord Shiva - is the supreme spiritual goddess of the locals of Garhwal and Kumaon region. She visits her maternal dwelling in these Himalayan heights in the Bhadrapad (months of August - September) - and this festive break is celebrated by the natives.

The Nanda Raj Jat takes place once every twelve years - the journey starts from Nauti village accompanying a mythical four-horned sheep and Doli and all sorts of gifts for Nanda Devi, who is treated as a daughter revisiting her mother.

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Greetings on Eid

 

Eid Mubarak

Greetings to all on festive occasion of Eid !!

Eid is a day of merriment and thanksgiving. Members of the Muslim community celebrate by gathering with friends and family, preparing delicacies, wearing new clothes, giving each other gifts and putting up lights and other decorations in their homes.

Eid -ul-Fitr  "festival of breaking of the fast"), also called Feast of Breaking the Fast, Eid, is an important religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramazan, the Islamic holy month of fasting (sawm). The religious Eid is a single day and Muslims are not permitted to fast on that day. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramazan. The day of Eid, therefore, falls on the first day of the month of Shawwal. This is a day when Muslims around the world show a common goal of unity. The date for the start of any lunar Hijri month varies based on the observation of new moon by local religious authorities, so the exact day of celebration varies by locality.

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New Special Cover

 

Kerala Postal Circle of India Post released a Special Cover on 28-07-2013 on the occasion of Death Centenary of Servant of God Mother Eliswa   1913-2013.

Mother Eliswa was born on 15^th October 1831 at Ochanthuruth in Ernakulam District, Kerala.  She was a valiant woman who left behind the legacy of a religious culture for women which was unfamiliar in her time – 19^th Century  – in Kerala.  She was not only the foundress of religious congregation but also of the first school for girls, boarding  houses, orphanages attached to the school for girl students.  It was one of the first women educational  reformative movements in Kerala.  She was taken to heavenly abode on 18^th July 1913 at the age of 82 years.  In recognition of her contribution to the society n Kerala.

 

Death Centenary of Servant of God Mother Eliswa   (1913-2013)

Edappally  : 28 July 2013

: Sreejesh Krishnan : email :  sreejesh.nt@gmail.com

Club News

Commemorative postage stamps on 100 years of Indian Cinema issued by India Post will be available for sale at the Philatelic Bureaus in third week of August 2013.

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Terror Attack on World Heritage Monument

 

It was shocking to wake up on Sunday with the news of the serial bomb blasts at Bodhgaya. There were nine blasts that occurred in the morning between 5 AM and 6 AM. This was a terror attack in and around ‘Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodhgaya’, a World Heritage shrine. Though it was learnt through news media that this attack could not affect the main structure of the Mahabodhi Temple, but the Bodhi tree is partially damaged.

 

One of the holiest Buddhist shrines, it was under this sacred pipal or Bodhi tree, where Siddhartha Gautam attained enlightenment and became Buddha, the Apostle of Peace. It is said in the Parinibbana Sutta that Lord Buddha himself identified four places of future pilgrimage: the sites of his birth, Enlightenment, First Discourse, and death. The position of the original Bodhi tree is marked by a platform in the temple ground and the tree that stands is believed to be a direct descendant.

In 2002, UNESCO designated the Mahabodhi Temple Complex as the World Heritage. In its justification for inclusion in the World Heritage list, UNESCO states:

The Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Bodh Gaya has direct association with the life of the Lord Buddha, being the place where He attained the supreme and perfect insight. The site of the Mahabodhi Temple provides exceptional records for the events associated with the life of Buddha and subsequent worship, particularly since Emperor Asoka built the first temple, the balustrades, and the memorial column. The present Temple is one of the earliest and most imposing structures built entirely in brick from the late Gupta period. The sculpted stone balustrades are an outstanding early example of sculptural reliefs in stone. The grand 50m high Mahabodhi Temple of the 5th-6th centuries is of immense importance, being one of the earliest temple constructions existing in the Indian sub-continent and one of the few surviving examples of early brick structures in India, has had significant influence in the development of architecture over the centuries. It is one of the few representations of the architectural genius of the Indian people in constructing fully developed brick temples in that era. 

 

Let us hope and pray that this one of the holiest shrines of utmost importance will remain safe and secure for many future generations.

- Pradeep Kumar Mallik – Patna

email : mallikphila@gmail.com

 

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My recent cover…

 

Light Houses of Poland

Thanks to Andrzej Bek, Poland

Amarnath Yatra

Amarnath cave is a very famous shrine in Hinduism located in  Jammu and Kashmir . It is dedicated to Shiva. The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m (12,756 ft), about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir and reached through Pahalgam town. The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism, and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. The cave itself is covered with snow most time of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims. An annual pilgrimage is made to the Amarnath cave by lakhs of Hindu devotees on challenging mountainous terrain to see an ice stalagmite formed inside the cave. Amarnath Yatra is an important holy pilgrimage of Hindus.

Cancellations from the APO en-route to Amarnath Yatra

Amarnathyatra 2000 Cancellation of FPO 873 & Unit censor E1-239

 

Amarnathyatra 2000 Cancellation of M.I. Room 4/1 Gorakha Regiment

: Timir R. Shah- Vadodara

News from UK..

Birds attack on Postal Workers…

 

The real life angry birds: Postmen refuse to deliver to seaside road because of risk of being dive-bombed by seagulls protecting their nests

Postal workers are refusing to deliver to a seaside cul-de-sac because they are coming under attack - from dive-bombing seagulls. Officials at Royal Mail said petrified postmen have been injured by the swooping birds, dive-bombing and pecking at their heads.

It is thought the gulls are launching their aerial onslaughts to protect nests, and are being made even angrier by the postal workers’ brightly-coloured uniforms. Royal Mail has now ruled the gulls are a health and safety risk and have told residents at Liskey Hill Crescent, Perranporth, Cornwall, to collect their letters from a nearby post office.

But homeowners say they have had to put up with the seagull blitz themselves for years and want mail staff to start delivering again. Jackie Bray, 67, who has lived on the crescent for 35 years, said: 'I’m waiting for a hip operation and now I have to go to the post office every day to collect my mail.

'It’s a service that we pay for, a service we are not getting. We have to put up with the seagulls so why can’t they? They should man up, buy a hard helmet and deal with it.'

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: Markand Dave – Nadiad (Gujarat)

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Kedarnath–the worst tragedy ever…

 

 

 

Kedarnath Shrine struck with worst tragedy ever !

Kedarnath Temple is one of the holy Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located on the Garhwal Himalayan range near the Mandakini river in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand The most remote of the four Char Dham sites, Kedarnath is located in the Himalayas, about 3,584 m (11,759 ft) above sea level near Chorabari Glacier, the head of river Mandakini, and is flanked by breathtaking snow-capped peaks.

The town suffered extensive destruction on 17 June 2013 from flash floods caused by torrential rains in Uttarakhand state.The massive floods at Kedarnath have left behind a trail of death and destruction in the entire valley stretching from the temple town to Gaurikund and further downstream. Abuzz with pilgrims till last week, the 1,200-year-old shrine now stands alone amid a sea of debris.

Mr Timir R. Shah shares here a Maximum Card of Kedarnath from his collection. One can see the actual Kedarnath temple and the temple after disaster.

 

Kedarnath Temple Before and After  Disaster

"There is nothing left in Kedarnath now except the temple. "It was shocking to watch a place bustling with people metamorphose in a matter of a few hours into an island of death and destruction," a visitor says..

There were about 8,000 people there on the fateful night when the calamity struck. 4,000 mule herders were present with their animals to ferry the devotees, but now all that is visible there is water and a lonely shrine surrounded by the debris of collapsed structures…..Hotels, shops, houses have all vanished…

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Stamps on pilgrimage sites

 

Date of Issue : 1 June 2013

Croatian post Ltd. Mostar has issued a commemorative postage stamp on Medjugorje.

Medjugorje, a small village in Herzegovina, has become famous Marian shrine after six young people, on 25th June 1981, on the hill Crnica, on the place called Podbrdo; had an encounter with the woman who they had recognized as Our Lady. People from all over the world started coming on pilgrimage to the Queen of Peace and carry messages of Our Lady and call for peace, prayer, fasting and repentance.

Medjugorje, which was first mentioned in 1599, is today one of the most visited shrines of Our Lady. There are three special places in Medjugorje: the Apparition Hill, the parish church and Cross Mountain. Pilgrims gather to pray the Rosary on the Apparition Hill where the visionaries first testified about encounter with the Lady. The parish church of St. James, the patron of pilgrims, began to be built in 1937 and was finished in 1969.

Pilgrims gather daily in prayer in the church. On the Cross Mountain in 1934, the concrete cross high8 meterswas constructed in memory of the 1900th anniversary of Jesus’ death. In its intersection the Cross received form the Rome is embedded.

The Holy See, in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican has founded International investigation commission for Medjugorje in 2010. Commission members are cardinals, bishops and experts that will work in a confidential manner and the results of the study will be submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

500 Years of the Pilgrimage Site of Maria Luggau stamp from Austria

Austrian post celebrates the 500^th anniversary of the pilgrimage site of Maria Luggau in Carinthian Lesachtal by issuing a special stamp block. Nowadays Maria Luggau is a town in the Austrian municipality of Lesachtal, which represents a scattered village with about 300 inhabitants. It was named after Maria, Magna Mater Austriae,  and has a church of XVI century, named after Saint Maria as well. This place attracts pilgrims for already 500 years.The stamp featuring Saint Maria is framed by a beautiful unusual perforation corresponding to the frame of the original icon.

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