New Stamps from UNPA

Date of Issue - 25 September 2009

Hi ! I could not update my Blog for the last few days as I am away from Kullu and now in my home state Uttar Pradesh for this festive week. I am posting today's Post from Lucknow. Here are the recent stamps issued by United Nations Postal Administration on 25 September 2009.These stamps are in a set of 24 commemorative stamps in a mini-sheet format of eight stamps each on the theme "UN Millennium Development Goals". The stamps focus on eight U.N. millennium development goals aimed at alleviating extreme poverty by 2015. In the second part of the Post an appeal from our distinguished member Mr Anil Dhir of Bhubaneshwar. Please go through it and help him. This is all for Today....Till Next Post ......Have a Nice Time !....

AN APPEAL TO THE PHILATELIC COMMUNITY

Please read this short piece and help serve a philatelic cause.

I have lost track of a cover which was in the collection of the Late Jadunath Kanungo of Cuttack. It was a damaged cover posted from Jammu around the turn of the century (circa 1898-1905) and addressed to “ The Rich Merchant of Cuttack”. It was an ordinary cover with a common stamp. I had seen the cover in Jadunath babu’s collection a few years back and he had promised to give it to me. However, in philatelic eccentricity, he took his own sweet time to do so. My repeated requests would yield the reply that he had lost track of it in him huge collection.

I had got a colour scan of the cover, and it had intrigued me. The address was just mentioned as “ The Rich Old Merchant of Cuttack”, the letter had been delivered. I had done a lot of follow up and found out who the rich merchant to whom it was addressed to was. I had also followed up the story till Jammu and traced the descendents of the person who had sent the cover. The letter had been sent by a coconut wholesaler, who used to import coconuts all the way from Orissa. The coconuts for the Vaishno Devi temple used to be sent all the way from Orissa, in a journey that entailed transportation by bullock carts, train, boats and finally ponies. My efforts also yielded a lot other aspects, which made a very good study in Postal history. My desire was to write a short monograph on the cover.

I had last met Mr. Jadunath Kanungo during EIPEX held at Bhubaneswar in October 2008 where he was felicitated with the lifetime achievement award for philately by Eastern India Philatelic Association and was given honour by the Governor of Orissa. After the ceremony, I had once again asked him about the cover, and to help him search for it I gave him the colour scan (the only one I had). He promised to go thru his collection and give me the cover. I insisted on paying him a price there and then, and he very reluctantly accepted Rs 250/- for it. I kept on reminding him of it for the next two months until one day on the 7th December he rang me up and said that he had got the cover and I could come over and collect it. As I was away from Bhubaneswar, I told him that I would collect it the next week.

Unfortunately on the 9th December Jadu babu passed away. His death was swift and sudden and we lost a great philatelist. I attended the funeral at Cuttack, the thought of the cover was still in my mind. I did not broach the subject of the cover to Mrs. Kanungo for some time, but did enquire about what she would do with the collection. She did not have any immediate plans to dispose off the collection. However after a couple of months, when I approached her she told me that she has sold off the entire collection to dealers in Kolkatta. The collection was taken by her brother who sold it to different dealers in Kolkatta. I have been desperately trying to locate the cover, but to no avail.

I will pay a very good price for the cover as it has a lot of value for me as I have put up a lot of efforts for my research. To any other collector it is just a non descript cover, of not much value. My appeal to anyone who has the cover is to at least let me have a colour scan of it. Please email me at anildhir2k5@hotmail.com or ring me up at 09861020747. It will serve a philatelic cause.