_Parks and Gardens of Australia

Date of Issue – 14 July 2009

Hi ! Here are the five beautiful stamps featuring Parks and Gardens of Austrlia, issued on 15 July 2009.Along with the stamps Australia Post has also issued Booklet, and Maxim Cards. These nice stamps and philatelic items will glorify a Collection prepared on Tourism. This is all for Today ! ……Till Next Post….Have a Great Time !…

The stamps feature five of Australia's most beautiful city parks and Gardens.

• Melbourne's Fitzroy Gardens


• Brisbane's Roma Street Parkland


• Hobart's St David's Park


• Canberra's Commonwealth Park


• Sydney's Hyde Park

Maxim Cards

New Maxim Cards on Jaydeva’s Gita Govinda

 

Orissa Philatelic Association is releasing a set of 11 Maxim Cards with a folder based on Jaydeva and Gita Govinda on 27 July 2009, the day the stamps will be  released at Bhubaneswar.

For more details contact Mr.Pradip Mohanty, Hon.Secretary,Orissa Philatelic Association, Keonjhar Colony, Kanikachhak, Cuttack-753008. Orissa  E-Mail : mohantypradip@hotmail.com Ph. 09861032965

Jayadeva  was a Sanskrit poet, who lived in  Orissa, circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of the Hindu deity Krishna and his consort, Radha, and is considered an important text in the Bhakti movement of Hinduism .

The Gita Govinda is the best known composition of Jayadeva. It is a lyrical poetry that is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter is further sub-divided into twenty four divisions called Prabandhas. The prabandhas contain couplets grouped into eights, called Ashtapadis.

This work of Jayadeva conforms to the philosophy of the Vaisnava tradition of the Nimbarka Sampradaya to which he belonged; in which the devotion to Radha Krishna is paramount. Indeed this work inspired such compositions in vernaculars. The first English translation of the Gita Govinda was published by Sir William Jones in 1792, where Kalinga (ancient Orissa) is referred to as the origin of the text. Since then, the Gita Govinda has been translated to many languages throughout the world, and is considered to be among the finest examples of Sanskrit poetry.

 

 

Wonders of America..

 

This stamp showing the magnificent Rainbow would be the part of my Rainbow collection !!

 

 

 

 

Wonders of America – Land of Superlatives

Courtesy – Dr Hemant V. Kulkarni, Milwaukee - USA

Miniature Sheets of India

 

Endemic Butterflies of Andaman & Nicobar Islands – 2 January 2008

Madhubala – 18 march 2008

Jasmine – 26 April 2008

Agha Khan Foundation  - 17 March 2008

India China Joint  Issue – 11 July 2008

Beijing 2008 – 8 August 2008

Indian Coast Guard – 12 August 2008

FDCs of Indian Miniature Sheets

Courtesy – Hemant Kumar Jain, Mandla (M.P.)

More Rainbows in my collection…

 

Hi ! In today’s Post I want to share some more nice stamps on Rainbow, one of my favourite themes these days. The stamp shown above is the very first Rainbow stamp from Israel that I ever collected but it was not in my notice. This is one of those stamps that I collected during  my school days and I well remember that stamp. I was looking for this stamp since a long time in my own collection recently I got it…Now has become to be very special for me as it is giving me nostalgia of my school days…and I still remember a small shop in Kanpur from where I used to purchase foreign stamps while returning from school…..So it means lot to me as in those days I never knew that some day that stamp will become so special to me…Coming back to my other recent stamps on Rainbow ….These are some beautiful stamps, so kindky sent by our very distinguished member Mr Jagannath Mani from Bangalore. Thanks Mr Mani for sending me such a lovely cover of UNO and nice stamps depicting the colours of Rainbow…. The cover was issued to commemorate World Summit on Sustainable Development by United Nations Postal Administration.

Thanks to Mr Jagannath Mani, Bangalore

Mr Mani has written some beautiful lines about Rainbow which I want to share with all of you…

while  explaining the physics of Rainbow my  physics teacher taught us few interesting thought of life related with rainbow which I want to share with you "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle" and in fact it gives us light of seven colours, and my Art teacher taught us when we wish get a colour of white we have to mix the seven colours of  Rainbow, in such way we should work by joining hands to achieve at least "something is better than nothing" these two thoughts   come to my mind when ever I see a rainbow ……

Thanks Mr Mani for such beautiful thoughts its really nice to go through it…..Hope my readers would love to read it too…Here are some other nice stamps….

 

Well these are the beautiful stamps depicting the rainbow colours,  and can be well shown to explain the phenomenon causing a Rainbow, though these stamps were issued on a topic of very high level Physics subject related with the study of Einstein but I am giving here in a very simpler form that I studied in Physics at school level .

The Rainbow Formation

When light travels from one medium to another, it bends. In other words, it changes direction and moves at different speeds in different mediums. This property of light is called “refraction”. We also know that white light is made up of different colours. Different colors of light have different frequencies. Except in vacuum and air, they travel at different speeds in different mediums.

If you were to allow a beam of light to pass through a simple prism, it will bend when it enters the prism, when it leaves the prism it bends again. The different colours of the white light travel with different speeds inside the prism. The slanted surfaces of the prism makes the different colours emerge separately, thus in addition to bending light as a whole, a prism separates white light into its component colors. This splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion, where prism is a dispersing element.

This is exactly what happens when the sun rays hit droplets of water. When the sunlight strikes a raindrop, the light is refracted (bent) because the light is moving from one medium(air) to another( water). Drops of rainwater can disperse light in the same way as a prism.. When the light comes out of the water droplet, the sun's rays (white light)have now been split into their component wavelengths (colors). In this way, each individual raindrop behaves just like a prism, dispersing white sunlight into its seven component colors and a rainbow is formed.
The rainbow we see is thus a result of many, many raindrops bending the sun's rays.

Here is one more stamp that I don’t have in my collection and I wish to have it….It was issued to commemorate YIP Harburg who wrote the lyrics of the famous song  ‘ Somewhere over the Rainbow of famous film of Judy Garland“ The Wizard of OZ “. Well after seeing this nice stamp I saw this film and found it wonderful….

When all the world is a hopeless jumble
And the raindrops tumble all around
Heaven opens a magic lane
When all the clouds darken up the skyway
There's a rainbow highway to be found
Leading from your window pane
To a place behind the sun
Just a step beyond the rain

Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true
Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why oh why can't I?

Well the July – August…the months of Rain are  all around ….Let’s hope to see a beautiful Rainbow someday…..

This is all for the Day ….Till Next Post …..Have a Great Time !!

 

40 years of Space exploration

Hi Here is a recent issue on 40 years of Space Exploration by Cayman Islands. This issue also celebrates International Year of Astronomy 2009. Cayman Islands Postal Service issued a set of six stamps to commemorate Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, taken on Monday, 21 July 1969.These stamps illustrate the evolution of space exploration from the Apollo 11 trip; to the International Space Station; to other milestones along the way, including the Mars Rover landings, Hubble telescope images, and space shuttle dockings. The details of the stamps are given below. This is all for today's Post....Till Next Post....Have a Great Time !..

The 25¢ stamp shown above depicts the STS 71 launch and the first space shuttle docking to Mir, a Russian space station, on 27 June, 1995.

The other stamps not shown here feature following pictures.

The 20¢ stamp shows the Mars Rover, a robotically- operated spacecraft that propels itself across the surface of Mars after landing. The primary objectives of the spacecraft was to determine whether life ever arose on Mars; document the climate and geology of the planet; and pave the way for human exploration.

The 75¢ stamp features the Hubble telescope, which was carried into orbit by the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990. A joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency, the Hubble gives the most detailed visible-light images ever made of the universe’s most distant objects.

The $1 stamp commemorates Apollo 11. Launched on 16 July 1969, it was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. With their accomplishment, crewmembers Commander Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. etched their names in history.

The final stamp in this series is $1.50, which is of the International Space Station, the largest artificial satellite in Earth’s orbit. In-orbit construction started in 1998, and is expected to be completed by 2011. The space station is a joint project among the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and several European countries, with involvement from Brazil.

The $2 souvenir sheet is a painting by astronaut Alan Bean of the Hadley Rille, which is a deep, snake-shaped canyon on the moon.

Pride of India Collection

Hi ! In Today's Post Here is another issue of Pride of India Collection featuring Indian Flag stamp which was originally issued on 21 November 1947. It is one of those 25 stamps that have been chosen to be preserved forever as engraved solid pure silver ingots, layered with pure 24-carat gold. Here is the beautiful stamp. The more details are available at http://www.prideofindiacollection.com These are some of the most beautiful Indian stamps featuring personalities, events & places making the pride of India collection. Here is the gold plated silver replica of Indian flag . This is the special item for today’s Post…Some more interesting news in Next Part of this Post under Club News..…..This is all for Today…..Till Next Post…….Have a Great Time !…

Indian Flag – From Pride of India Collection

Club News

The craze for date cancellation 9.9.09

The long awaited date 9.9.9. is going to be a craze among philatelists particularly with those, collecting special date cancellations as this date coming once in a lifetime with three 9s in a row. I am also collecting 9 September cancellations and would be very thankful if someone posts me a letter on this day & help me to make my collection for this special date. Please send your postal address, It will be a great pleasure to post you a letter in exchange on this very special day from Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), the valley of Gods ……

Stamp collector makes it to Limca record book

He has spent around three-fifths of his life after his hobby, and thanks to one of his school teachers who caught them young', Jaishankar Prasad, who has not even reached the legal marriageable age in India, now has his name in the Limca Book of Records (LBR)! Prasad, 20, is credited for being the Indian who has collected stamps from the most number of countries in the world.
He tends to fuel his passion with money he earns from buying and selling plots, but his penchant for stamps began in his school days, when he was merely eight years old! "We had this English teacher in school who once asked us to write letters, and we needed stamps to do it. That was my first encounter with a stamp, and since then, for the next eight years, I collected them indiscriminately," explains Prasad.
"Then, one day, I realized how haphazard my collection had been, and I sat down to sort out the numerous stamps I had collected. To my surprise, I found that I already had stamps from 200 countries, and they could be separated into as many categories. That was when I started collecting stamps more seriously," he informs.
Apparently, by that time, he had collected enough paraphernalia and literature related to philately, and it was in one of these that he read about categorizing collections. Over the next few years, he collected stamps from as many countries he could, and in 2008, sent his claim of having collected stamps from 308 countries across the world. To his delight, the people who be at the Limca Book of Records ruled that he did have a collection unrivalled in India!
Interestingly, many of the stamps in Prasad's collection have actually no place to belong these days. For example, there is the stamp that was released by the French to be used only in the French-occupied parts of India before independence, but the stamp cannot be circulated any more. However, its value is great, specifically because its country of origin' does not exist any more. The same can be said for stamps from countries like East and West Germany, Czechoslovakia and a unified Korea.
Prasad's hobby, meanwhile, seems to have other side effects too, and these are both positive and negative. The positive ones include the time when an octogenarian, having come to know of Prasad and his hobby, brought along his entire collection of stamps and donated it to the young lad. "Besides, whenever I collect a stamp, I not only get to know a little bit about the culture of the country, but also about what language is spoken there, what their currency is, what is commemorated and a lot more," he gushes.
The negatives, however, are no less compelling either. "Stamps are of two types. The ones which enter circulation are called definitive, while the ones released simply to pay tribute to an object, a person or an incident are called commemorative stamps. I was once approached by a man with a simple definitive stamp released twenty years ago. It pained me to tell him that the stamp would fetch him hardly Rs 10, because he was expecting to sell it for lakhs! The stamp simply did not have that kind of value," he recalls. "And then there was this very rich man who had offered to give me Rs 5 lakh in return for the favour' that I send the record claim to Limca in the name of his son, who claimed to be somewhat of a collector himself. The offer really got me for a while, because I was not even 20, and was already being offered really big bucks! He even said that I could keep the stamps, as long as I sent the entry in his son's name. However, better sense prevailed, and I declined the offer," he explains.
Meanwhile, Prasad seems to have no intention of stopping anytime soon. He has already sent the next claim for a record to the publishers of the LBR, saying that he has extended his collection to cover 325 countries. He is also now collecting commemorative stamps released by the Indian government, but is skeptical over how long these stamps will continue to be released. "At the time when India became independent, hardly one or two commemorative stamps were released. That number has now touched almost 125, which is the number of commemorative stamps that may be released this year," he says .
Today, few people would prefer to write a letter and put stamps on it when making a call on a phone is as cheap. That is why definitive stamps are going out of circulation, and the government is trying to make up for the deficit by selling more commemorative stamps," he says. "Now how we receive these commemorative stamps is a different ballgame altogether. All of us, the serious philatelists, have a special account at the local general post offices (GPOs), through which we receive the commemorative stamps. We receive the stamps by registered post, and we have to pay only for the cost of the stamps," Prasad informs.

Published in Times of India 19 July 2009

Mobile Philately………What it is?

Mobile Philately is 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.

Type your Name, Mobile Number, City, Pin Code, Email ID & Collecting interest and send a SMS to 09890373344 or you can also email this information to modi.philatelist@gmail.com

From More Details : Log on to http://www.mobilephilately.webs.com/

News from our Members…

Pradip Jain writes from Patna…

It was an amazing experience to attend 100th Rotary Convention held at Birmingham U. K. , 21st -- 24th June 2009. Nearly Twenty thousand Rotarian delegates from all over the globe 186 Nations member countries participated in this mega event.

 

100th Rotary International Convention Birmingham

The R. I. convention was inaugurated by the United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon . Our Rotary on Stamp Fellowship group booth prominent positioned in house of friendship area. The outstanding display of Rotary on Stamp history and journey to the 100th R. I. Convention through stamp and philatelic material was well presented,and displayed by my good friend Rtn Michael Gosney and his wife Jo . The Rotary on Stamp Booth was the most active booth. It was visited by most of the delegates.

Presenting India issued Rotary on Stamps commemorative album to Rtn. D.K. Lee. R.I. President 2008-09

Presenting India issued Rotary on Stamps commemorative album to  R.I. President elect Rtn. John Kenny 2009-10

Rotary on Stamp fellowship member in the Booth Rtn. Michael G. Gosney and wife Jo, Rtn. Jerry FitzSimmons, Rtn. Pradip Jain and Rtn. K. Hamana

A journey through Rotary on Stamps and history of 100th Convention display through stamps and Philately document by Rtn. Gosney (U.K.)

Dark at Dawn....The longest Solar Eclipse..

Hi ! The long awaited Solar Eclipse is over now. Hope some of you had the chance to view it very clearly. Unfortunately I could not see and just watched on television. But the enthusiasm and excitement is still all around about this great celestial phenomenon. Here is a very beautiful Miniature sheet issued to feature Solar Eclipse so I want to show it here for today's Post here. I have just received a mail from our very distinguished reader of Israel, Dr Eli Moallem who has keen interest in Indian Mythology and he has also prepared a very nice collection on it. He writes the mythological story behind the Solar Eclipse which I am giving here with the nice stamp issued by Laos, to share with all of you! This is all for Today.....Till Next Post.......Have a Great Time !...

Mythology behind the Solar Eclipse....

A nice Laotian Buddhist legend tells that during the churning of the milk ocean, the gods received the immortalization nectar from Monini. Svarbhânu the demon sneaked between Sûrya the sun and Chandra the moon, and received nectar. Both, when realized this fraud, convinced Vishnu to cut Svarbhânu into two pieces. The upper part of Svarbhânu became Rahu, an immortal dragon head that swallows occasionally the sun or the moon as revenge causing eclipse. Laos issued several nice stamps of Rahu swallows the sun. Here is one of them.

- Dr Eli Moallem, Jerusalem - Israel


Indian Myth

The earliest Indian myth on solar eclipse is found in the "Rig Veda". (The religious book composed between 1500-1200 BC).Rahu, one of the most notorious demons of the Hindu myth, was rubbed the wrong way by the sun. Myth has it that Vishnu, God of all Gods churned the oceans to usher in peace. This was at the end of a bitter war between the Gods and demons. At this time, Dhanvantri, the fountain head of medicine,emererged with necter. This was too good for the demons to let go.Vishnu manage to get it across the Gods, but Rahu, disguised as a God tried to get some nectar for himself.The sun and the moon saw this happenning and informed Vishnu, who immediately chopped off Rahus head. Rahu lived on though bodyless, because he had managed a sip of the nectar. But he never forgave the sun or the moon and periodically eats either one up.

Chinese Myth
A dragon swallows the sun. It needs to be frightened away by beating of drums.

African Myth
A snake emerged from the ocean and grew so large that it moved to the sky and swallowed the sun. The snake can be scared by beating of drums.

Countdown begins for ....Total Solar Eclipse

 

Hi ! We are all going to see the total solar eclipse tomorrow morning..which has thrilled everyone.. Its a rare chance that should not be missed...It occurs when the new moon gets between Earth and Sun, and covers the solar disc completely. This can happen only during a new moon, when the sun and moon are in conjunction as witnessed from earth.  Today's Post is special Post to celebrate this lifetime oppertunity to view the eclipse...so get ready with your filters and glasses...to view this great phenomenon !! Some nice stamps on solar eclipse for this special Post...Till Next Post ...Have a Great Time !!

The solar eclipse that will take place on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 will be a total eclipse of the Sun. It will be the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting at greatest eclipse 6 minutes, 39 seconds, it has sparked tourist interest in eastern China and India.

The eclipse is part of series 136 in the Saros cycle, like the record setting Solar eclipse of July 11, 1991. The exceptional duration is a result of the moon being near perigee, with the diameter of the moon 8% larger than the sun (magnitude 1.080). This is second in the series of three eclipses in a month. There was a lunar eclipse on July 7 and now a solar eclipse on July 22 and then a lunar eclipse on August 6.

It will be visible from a narrow corridor through nothern Maldives, northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

Totality will be visible in many large cities, including Surat, Vadodara, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Dinajpur, Guwahati, Chengdu, Nanchong, Chongqing, Yichang, Jingzhou, Wuhan, Huanggang, Hefei, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Huzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Shanghai, as well as over the Three Gorges Dam. According to some experts, Taregana in Bihar is the "best" place to view the event.

 

A partial eclipse will be seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of South East Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania. Taregana is treated as one of the best locations to see this solar eclipse.

With the countdown to the longest total solar eclipse of this Century having already begun, astronomers and science experts are organising a series of activities at different places on Wednesday morning. According to National Science Centre director Shivaprasad Khened, it will be a lifetime opportunity for not just Delhiites but also people in different States and Union Territories of the country to view the eclipse.

Pradip Jain writes from Patna...

Total Solar Eclipse - July 22nd, 2009

Hundreds of scientists, researchers and astro-tourists from across the world are raching Patna to arrive in the Bihar - Taregana village ahead of the total solar eclipse. These include scientists from US space agency NASA, Britain, Italy, Germany, France. The total eclipse, starting a little after sunrise, is expected to last three minutes and 48 seconds at Taregana. According to the NASA forecast based on satellite imagery, the sky over the region is likely to be less cloudy than others along the path of the total solar eclipse. So it may offer one of the best views of the celestial phenomenon.

Taregana already has an ancient connection with astronomy, having been one of the two places used by 6th century Indian astronomer-mathematician Aryabhatta for his celestial studies.

Total Solar Eclipse - 4th December 2002

The South African Post office issued  the total Solar Eclipse of 4 December 2002 a special Stamp Miniature Sheet and a Postcard on the day of the eclipse. The postcard shows the umbra (eclipse shadow) as it progressively cover the sun, culminating in the total eclipse. The commemorative envelope bears a graphic illustration of the eclipse track against the backdrop of a map indicating its path from the Atalantic through different parts of South Africa up to Australia.

New stamps on Wildlife...

The Great Pandas

Hi ! In today's Post some nice stamps on wildlife.One is of Giant Panda issued in May 2009 on the occassion of Hong Kong 2009 by Pitcairn Islands and Vanuatu . It is die cut to shape. Well, this is a beautiful SS featuring very cute Pandas. These look so lovely and the blow up of Panda on the Souvenir Sheet is just wonderful.The second Souvenir sheet. features Butterflies, issued by Taiwan on 25.6.09. It is die cut to butterfly shape and has holes cut to Butterfly shape on stamps. First stamp to have holes of butterfly shape. The species featured on the stamps are: Green Spotted Triangle, Golden Birdwing, Paris Peacock and Asian Swallowtail. Here are the nice stamps, showing lovely creatures . Our sincere thanks to Mr. Sundar Lal Bansal from New York who has sent infomation about these beautiful stamps. Mr Bansal is a great Wildlife lover and has prepared a very comprehensive collection of Max Cards on Wild Life . This is all for today....Till Next Post ...Have a Nice Time !!

The beautiful Butterflies...

40th Anniversary of Man on the Moon...

Hi ! Forty year ago, on July 20, in 1969, Neil Armstrong, Commander of Apollo 11 Mission and Edwin Aldrin Jr., Commander of its lunar module ‘ Eagle’ became the first astronauts to land on the moon. As Armstrong set his foot on the celestial body he said, “ One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Millions of people across the world watched the video broadcast of the Moon landing. It was a big event. Now this is 40th anniversary of the first Moon Landing. To mark this memorable event Royal Mail will issue a commemorative sheet of 10 stamps with appropriate labels and illustrated border, in an illustrated folder. The Royal Australian Mint has issued a 50 cent special coin to celebrate 40th anniversary of Moon Landing. Its a special day to celebrate for the whole world ! Have a look to these beautiful issues and nice cancellations which will be given on this special occasion ! This is all for this special Day ....Till Next Post... Have a Great Time !.

Coin on 40th anniversary of Moon Landing

Special Coin by Australia
To celebrate 40th anniversary of First Moon Landing, The Royal Australian Mint has issued a 50 cent coin on 6 July 2009 .The reverse design of this coin depicts the lunar landing module in space, on its approach to the surface of Earth's moon.