Indian theme on foreign stamps

 

Date of Issue:  24 February , 2014

Portugal Post issued a stamp and souvenir sheet on 24th February to commemorate  400th Anniversary of First Edition of 'Peregrinacao' (Pilgrimage) by Fernao Mendes Pinto. The stamp features  Hindu God of war and victory, six-headed Lord Murugan (Lord Shiva's son and Lord Ganesha's brother) on his mount, Peacock, with serpent.

Fernao Mendes Pinto (1509 - 1583) - a Portuguese explorer and writer. His exploits are known through the posthumous publication (published after his death) of his memoir Pilgrimage (Portuguese: Peregrinação) in 1614, an autobiographical work whose truthfulness is nearly impossible to assess.

In the course of his travels in the Middle and Far East, Pinto visited Ethiopia, the Arabian Sea, China (where he claimed to have been a forced laborer on the Great Wall), India and Japan.

: Kasinath R. – Tanjore

email : kasinath80@gmail.com

Souvenir sheet

“ 400 Years of the 1st Edition of Peregrinação, by fernão mendes pinto”

Four hundred years have passed since the first edition of Peregrinação (Pilgrimage), a majestic account of an extended journey to the Orient that earned Fernão Mendes Pinto, “a hero made of human flesh”, his immortality(1510-1583).

The course of history would eventually distinguish this extraordinary autobiographical book as a masterpiece of universal literature, written by a great Portuguese traveller of the 16th century who was an adventurer, a merchant, an ambassador, a mercenary, a beggar, a sailor and a pirate. And was also “held captive thirteen times and sold seventeen times(...)”.

Throughout 266 emotion-filled and adventure-packed chapters, the author describes in a fresh, spontaneous and colloquial tone the impressions of a European in contact with Asian civilisation, its peoples, traditions, cults and landscapes. At the same time, he reveals the impact of the Portuguese in the Orient, often providing the reader with critiques and satirical notes.

Earliest title of the “travel literature” genre, Peregrinação stands out for its picaresque spirit that runs through the entire work, evidenced as a clear inversion of the heroic style. Some call it an anti-epic. Showing “what miseries make up a man”, the characters lay bare all their weaknesses and fears.