Winners of Dhai Akhar Letter writing Competition

WINNERS OF NATIONAL LEVEL DHAI AKHAR LETTER WRITING COMPETITION FOR 2018-19  

organized by India Post

Category Envelope (Below 18 Years)

1st Ms. Diksha,DAl4OlD, DA Block Hari Nagar, New Delhi-110064 Delhi

2 nd Mr. Siddha;tha Bhattacharjee, Revenue Plot No. 37, Rynjah, Shillon9-06 North East

3rd Ms. Mudra Joshi, 8-203, Shrinand Nagar-S Vejalpur, Makarba, Ahmedabad- 380051 Gujarat

Category. Inland Letter Card (Below 18 Years)

1st Ms. Diksha,DAl4OlD, DA Block Hari Nagar, New Delhi-110064 Delhi

2 znd Mr. Siddha;tha Bhattacharjee, Revenue Plot No. 37, Rynjah, Shillon9-06 North East 3

3rd Ms. Mudra Joshi, 8-203, Shrinand Nagar-S Vejalpur, Makarba, Ahmedabad- 380051 Gujarat

Envelope {Above 18 Years)

 1st Ms. Sulagna Sarkar, D-15, Jayshree Park, Kolkata - 700034 West Bengal

 2nd Ms. Sneha Chouhan, Maharaja Yashwantrao School, Narendra Tiwari Marg, Indore, MP Madhya    Pradesh

3rd Ms. Deepshikha Gupta, D/o Kali Prasad Gupta, Class X-A, S.J. DAV Public School, Chaibasa – 833201

Category Inland letter Card (Above 18 Years)

1st Mr. Devina Mohan, Kanneth House, Ettekkar, Edathala PO, Aluva, Ernakulam 683561 Kerala

2nd Ms. Gongotrisaikia, Geeta Nagar, Kachalukhowa, Nagaon, Assam -J82 0O1 Assim  

3rd Mr. Gupteshwar Nath Upadhyay, Flat-S,4th Floor, Mahasu Sadan, Bhagwati Nagar, Lower Khalini, Shimla L71

Top of Form

Titanic letter sold for £ 126000 at an auction....

One of the last known letters to have been written on the Titanic has sold for a world record price at auction.

The letter, written by American businessman and Titanic passenger, Oscar Holverson, fetched £126,000. It was sought-after because he wrote it on 13 April 1912 - the day before the Belfast-built ship hit an iceberg.

It is the only known letter, on headed Titanic notepaper, to have gone into the Atlantic and survived.The sea-water stained document was sold to a British buyer, whose bid to the auction in Wiltshire came in via phone.

The auctioneer, Andrew Aldridge, described the anonymous customer as someone "who collects iconic items from history".Mr Holverson, a successful salesman, wrote the letter to his mother while travelling on the ill-fated ship with his wife, Mary.

The couple boarded the Titanic in Southampton and planned to travel back to their home in New York.

In his note, the writer seems in awe of his surroundings, telling his mother that "the boat is giant in size and fitted up like a palatial hotel".

Mr Holverson, who has an idiosyncratic style to his syntax, also writes about seeing "the richest person in the world at that time" - John Jacob Astor - on the ship, accompanied by his wife.

"He looks like any other human being even tho (sic) he has millions of money," he adds. "They sit out on deck with the rest of us."

The letter had a reserve price of between £60,000 and £80,000.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's sale, Mr Aldridge said that "even if the letter was virtually blank, it would still rank as amongst the most desirable, such is the nature of the paper, its markings and history".

Having been an auctioneer of Titanic memorabilia for 20 years, he said that its content takes it to another level, "because of its date, the fact it went into the Atlantic and the observations it contains".

One prophetic entry in Mr Holverson's letter never came true, when he wrote: "If all goes well we will arrive in New York Wednesday AM."

When the Titanic sank, Oscar Holverson, along with JJ Astor, died along with more than 1,500 people.Mary Holverson survived.Her husband's body was recovered and, inside a pocket book, the letter was found.

It still bears the stains of the sea water and the water mark of the White Star shipping line.

The letter eventually made its way back to his mother.Mr Aldridge said that makes it "possibly, the only onboard letter written by a victim that was delivered to its recipient without postage".

Source :  BBC News

Letters from home…

 

Date of Issue : 6 March 2014

Here is a beautiful stamp issued by Swiss Post  featuring a letter, commemorating 125 years of Swiss Army Post . Whether or not you enjoyed your military service, one thing is always remembered fondly, even decades later: the packages and letters from home. For 125 years, the Army postal service has been making soldiers’ lives sweeter with sumptuous food parcels and passionate love letters. A commemorative stamp was issued by Swiss Post on this occasion.

Each year, the Army postal service delivers two million letters, a quarter of a million parcels and 1.3 million newspapers supplied free of charge by the publishers to their recipients – and postage is free up to five kilos. Every now and then, however, the soldiers are in for a bit of a shock. Thomas Ramseier recalls: “We’ve received fused tin cans, concreted-over car tyres, and even a foul-smelling pig’s head.” Ramseier has also been taken aback by the sheer size of some of the deliveries. One morning, for instance, more than 200 packages were delivered for a tank officer. To put a stop to such excesses, in 2006 the free postage for Army post was limited to five parcels per trip to the post office, per recipient.

Today, as well as conveying letters and parcels to and from every corner of Switzerland, the Army postal service, with its 30 or so military post offices, also serves as the military information office for troop locations and telephone numbers (Office Switzerland).

What’s more: since 2004, it has even operated outside Switzerland. Wherever Swiss Army personnel are serving far from home, the Army postal service organizes their post – be it in Kosovo or Bosnia Herzegovina. So one thing is for certain: the Army will always need a postal service. It’s the Landjager sausages and love letters that keep the army going.

Stamps on Civic Values…

 

Date of Issue : 18 September 2013

The new block of four stamps from Spanish Post highlights values such as fellowship, respect, sports and road safety.

Provide children and young people the Governing Civic Values in society is one of the great educational performances. Since school education, parents, family and society act as a whole, the transmission of civic values to young people is essential to get a respectful and democratic coexistence.

The fellowship is a link established between people who do things together and is one of the necessary values for personal development. It’s present in our lives from childhood in school, university, sports or working life. The fellowship involves respect and trust among members of the group, because we must not forget that a partner is the person you share experiences, situations and feelings with.

Respect is one of the core values for the coexistence of people. It involves the acceptance and consideration of people or things around us and covers all aspects of life. Like respect for ideas, freedom of expression, religion, color of skin, age, laws and social norms, not to mention the respect for nature, animals and environment.

Another thing that promotes civic values from an early age and influences the development of person is sport. The sport involves effort, achievement, self-discipline, teamwork, rules of the game … That is a number of qualities that exalts a person. Education from the sport entails respect and tolerance and is a form of group integration. Whether having competitive or amusement purposes, sports develop values that contribute to the physical and intellectual development.

Road safety involves educating schoolchildren in the knowledge of the most basic rules of traffic. Respecting traffic lights, looking at both sides of the street before crossing, wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle or not invading the roads are rules that must be observed. Children learn from the adults and the right acting on public roads is the best example to follow.

Write Letters to your friends….

 

Epistolary Correspondence stamp by Andorra

Andorra Correos jointly with the Secretariats of Development and Finance and Public Administration of Principality of Andorra issued a block with one stamp “Epistolary Correspondence – 2013, write letters to your friends”.  The block depicts a boy and a girl writing letters and a boy throwing a written letter in a mailbox. The issue appeals to get back to the old great tradition to write letters and exchange epistolary correspondence as testimony of warm feelings and sincere friendship among people.

Club News

JAIN ACHARYA GYANSAGAR STAMP RELEASED AT SATNA ALSO

 

Jain Acharya Gyansagar stamp release function was also organised at Satna (M.P.) in the auspicious presence of 27 Jain Sadhwis headed by Pujya Aryika Dradhmati Mataji in a grand way.

On this occasion, Mr. Sudhir Jain, National Chairman - Jainism Philately Group, in his speech, informed that this stamp was originally scheduled to release in March 2013. Stamp printed at that time was bearing portrait photo of Acharya Gyansagar Ji and compulsory items of a Digamber Jain saint, Morpankh Pichhi and Kamandal were absent. On the protest of Digamber Jain community, India Post, for the first time, cancelled that stamp and printed another stamp bearing Pichhi & Kamandal alongwith the full image of Acharya Gyansagar Ji.

- Sudhir Jain – Stana (MP)

International Letter Writing Week 2011

 

Date of Issue : 4 October 2011

Thai Post issued a a set of 4 stamps and a very exclusive miniature sheet on 4 October 2011 to commemorate International Letter Writing week .The stamps feature Cartoon characters of kids in various actions that show the travelling of letter.

The Path of Letter Writing
     In today's world, the means of communication have been moving with swift speed and increasing convenience. Nevertheless, letter writing still remains a principle means of communication because it can be done at all times and on all occasions. Letters can be reminder of a good time, a good memory. Letters of important persons can become historical records for fortune generations while well-written letters can be transformed into great literary works.

Source : http://www.siamstamp.com/eng/

Club News

SIPEX 2011

3 Special Covers were  issued during SIPEX- 2011, Chennai. More photos of the exhibition and complete result is available at SIPA website :  www.sipa.org.in

 

 

: Mahesh Parekh, Chennai

From our Readers….

Army Postal Service Covers – Part 4

- P. Ramakrishnan

151	THE DOGRA REGIMENT 10	05/12/1991
152	THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY 15	06/12/1991
153	ARMOURED REGIMENT 66	06/12/1991
154	ARMY ORDNANCE CORPS	06/12/1991
155	THE GARHWAL RIFLES 11	01/01/1992
156	THE MADRAS REGIMENT 26	01/01/1992
157	SATA REGIMENT 20	22/01/1992
158	AIR DEFENCE REGIMENT 27	01/02/1992
159	SQUADRON AF 20 & 43	10/03/1992
160	ENGINEER REGIMENT 12	26/04/1992
161	NORTH COMPEX	30/04/1992
162	FIELD REGIMENT 7	27/05/1992
163	ARMY HEAD QUARTER	05/06/1992
164	HQ BRIGADE 77	10/06/1992
165	THE MECHANISED ENGINER REGIMENT 234	15/10/1992
166	INTELLIGENCE CORPS	01/11/1992
167	THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES 2	05/11/1992
168	THE RAJPUTANA RIFLES	23/11/1992
169	THE BIHAR REGIMENT	01/12/1992
170	CAPTAIN G S SALARIA	05/12/1992
171	INDIA MILITARY ACADEMEY	10/12/1992
172	POONA HORSE	15/12/1992
173	ENGINEER REGIMENT 202	26/12/1992
174	COMPANY ASC 622	28/12/1992
175	THE BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS 13	04/01/1993
176	MEDIUM REGIMENT 40	01/02/1993
177	ARMOURED REGIMENT 70	11/02/1993
178	ARMOURED REGIMENT 68	01/03/1993
179	THE DOGRA REGIMENT	03/03/1993
180	ARMOURED REGIMENT 1	13/03/1993
181	ENGINEER 7	23/03/1993
182	INFANTRY BATTALION 103 (TERRITORIAL ARMY)	31/03/1993
183	CORPS OF ELECTRIAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS	15/10/1993
184	THE SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY	23/02/1994
185	THE ARMY ORDANCE CORPS	05/04/1994
186	THE MAHAR REGIMENT 3	06/05/1994
187	THE MADRAS REGIMENT 17 (COCHIN)	15/07/1994
188	SUB JOGINDER SINGH PVC	13/10/1994
189	KUMAONI AND NAGA SOLDIER	28/10/1994
190	RAJASTHAN - EXSERVICEMEN RALLY JAIPUR	06/11/1994
191	THE GORKHA RIFLES 4TH REUNION	17/11/1994
192	THE GORKHA RIFLES 1ST REUNION	03/12/1994
193	ARMOURED REGIMENT 71	16/12/1994
194	ARMOURED REGIMENT 72	16/12/1994
195	THE MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY	19/12/1994
196	THE BRIGADE OF THE GUARDS	29/12/1994
197	FIELD REGIMENT 1	17/02/1995
198	BOMBAY ENGINEER GROUP	25/02/1995
199	LADAKH SCOUTS	11/05/1995
200	THE GORKHA RIFLES 4	13/05/1995

P. Ramkrishnan may be contacted at email : pramakrishnan1@royalenfield.com

Letter to India Post officials

Dear Director & Chief Post Master Generals

I am one of the Members of South India Philatelist’s Association, Chennai.   I have been collecting Stamps since 1977. I have participated in 10th Tamil Nadu Philatelic Exhibition held on 02nd to 05th  August 2000 held at Coimbatore.

I have displayed Indian Army Stamps and Indian Army Postal Service Covers in the Seniors\General Category title of Indian Army for the State level.   I was awarded the Bronze Medal for that Exhibition.

The list of only 67 Philatelic Bureaus    is available in your web site (http://indiapost.gov.in/philately.html.) In this list STD Code, Phone number, Cell number and email-id  of the Philatelic Bureau/ In-charge have not been mentioned.

Hence I request you to provide  the  contact details of Philatelic bureaus to share and collect  philatelic information ( Any cancellation / released,  Eg: Sainik School Amaravathi Nagar, Coimbatore Date of issue 18^th Jul 2011).

Also while sending the queries to the following ids,  it shows error in mail Ids.

directorphilately@indiapost.gov.in; tilak@indiapost.gov.in

Kindly update the current Email ids  give on your website.

Please update the information regarding the release are special cancellations covers and  stamp release place has to be updated in website to track and get the details easily.

Regards

P Ramakrishnan

42 Varalakshmi Nagar Extn, Main Road

Kolathur, Chennai 600 099

Ph. 09884009359 email : pramakrishnan1@royalenfield.com

 

The World’s Smallest Postal Service…

 

Hi ! In today’s post just wish to share a wonderful forward with all of you which I recently received from one of my friends….Its related with mini letters…posted  with a magnifying glass for identifying the mailing address.

The World’s Smallest Postal Service was created by San-Francisco- based postmistress 
Lea Redmond, who decided to put the crazy idea into practice as soon as it popped into her head. She just strapped her small desk to her back, hopped on her bicycle and set-up shop in one of the local cafes. Since then she came to realize many other people are simply charmed by her miniature postal service.

At the Worlds Smallest Postal Service, your letters are written in tiny letters, carefully wrapped and sealed with a miniature was-stamp bearing the senders initial. To make sure the tiny messages don't get lost in the traditional mail, they are packed in transparent envelopes equipped with a magnifying glass for identifying the mailing address.

 

For Valentines Day the mailing rates at the Worlds Smallest Postal Service are: $8 plus shipping for letters, and $10 plus shipping for small packages containing an antique china button and a note saying You are as cute as a ....

 

 

Children's TV stars on stamps..

 

Date of Issue : 8 June 2011

Post Danmark issued two stamps on 8 June 2011, two of DR’s children's TV stars: Bruno and Teddy. cartoon films are favourite of children all over the world. These stamps are sure to be liked by children and those collecting on ‘ children theme ’. This stamps have a white background so the characters look very bright and attractive .

Teddy

The good-natured Teddy lives in a secret den in a secret forest, where he goes on adventures with his adult friends Aske, Luna and Viola. His best friend is Chicken, who is younger but sometimes smarter than Teddy. His youngest friend, Duckling, does not understand very much and so can be a bit trying.

Bruno

Bruno the Bear made his television debut in 2005 as the door opener for the advent-calendar serial “Teddy’s Christmas Journey”. He is an old, badly worn bear, filled with hay and straw. Instead of a right paw, he has a claw, which is sometimes replaced with a pizza-slicer or a flamethrower. Bruno usually sees himself as the centre of the universe. He speaks with slight Jutland accent and, as seen on the stamp, he loves French fries.

Special Covers

North East

Letter writing Campaign

Gangtok : 19 June 2003

Image source : Ashwani Dubey, Gorakhpur

Discussion

Critical Analysis of the cover : The 3 elements of the above cover are not co-related. The stamp is on Energy conservation, cover illustration shows Rhododendron and the cancellation shows “letter writing campaign”. Not a good item for thematic collection . All the three elements must have relation with each other.

Club News

News for Coin & Banknote collectors…

Issue of 10/- denomination banknotes with inset letter "B" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs 10/- denomination banknotes with inset letter "B" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005 issued earlier. All banknotes in the denomination of 10/- issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.

Issue of ` 100/- denomination banknotes with inset letter "L" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue ` 100/- denomination banknotes with inset letter "L" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series with the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India and the year 2011 printed on the back of the Bank note. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series 2005 issued earlier. All banknotes in the denomination of ` 100/- issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.

- Vishal Sanganeria , Guwahati

Ancient Letters from Israel

Hi ! I have already spent about a week in Kullu & just gettig familiar to this new place. In last seven days I found Kullu a big place like any other city. Today I visited Manali, another famous tourist spot of Himachal Pradesh. It's about 90 minutes drive from Kullu. The way to Manali is really a picturesque view alongwith the Beas river. After visiting various places of Himachal Pradesh, I just can say that whole Himacal Pradesh is full of natural beauty. To see its beauty, you must have lot of stamina to travel along steepy, Zig zag roads and a bit adventurous too, to go through some risky and dangerous path. This is all what I observed during lot of travelling in different parts of Himachal Pradesh. Coming back to philatelic items in today's Post, Here are three beautiful stamps which will be issued by Israel on 17 Decmber 2008 . The three stamps in this depict examples of ancient letters discovered at archeological sites that shed light on important chapters in the history of Eretz Israel. Each of the letters presents significant historical evidence regarding a tumultuous time in the history of Eretz Israel and demonstrates the different writing methods and letter formats utilized in various periods.Rulers employed special messengers to deliver letters to their recipients. The first day cover which is not shown here depicts one such Egyptian messenger, as detailed in an ancient Egyptian wall painting. In our regular series some nice FDCs of se-tenant stamps from the collection of Mr. Shrikant Parikh. This is all for the Day ! ...Till Next Post ..... Have a Great Time!.....

A Journey to Indian Stamps - FDCs of se-tenant stamps

From Collection of Shrikant Parikh

National Parks of India - 31 May 2008

Ist War of Independence 1857 - 9 August 2007

Writing Letters.....

Date of Issue : 9 May 2008

Hi ! Writing letters used to be a very interesting few years back. It was the best way to convey one's feelings, emotions and every kind of information. Moreover It was the only way to convey heart to heart feelings that could not be expressed to a person when talking face to face. But with the time and dominance of electronic devices these changed to e-mails and phone calls. Though e- mail is the easiest way to send message but it has not the essence & warmth of the letters which were written with pen on a paper. As the life has become very fast these days, we don't even use full words while sending e-mail it is always brief and written using abbreviations. But I still love the old fountain pen which I used to write with during my school days. I have selected a few stamps to show you here on the the theme of Letter Writing. It was also the theme of EUROPA of 2008. Many beautiful stamps have been issued on this theme all over Europe. I had written about some of them, few months back. Here are some more which I liked most and I want to share them with you.The first one which appears above is from Aland and the other is a miniature sheet from Spain which appears below showing a very romantic mood with full of emotions . You can see there letters beside beautiful flowers and a piece of heart felt lines of the letter sticked on the wall. This is really a very nice idea, depicted on this souvenir sheet showing deep emotions of some one in love. There are some more magnificent stamps shown below it . In our regular series some FDCs of se-tenant stamps from collection of Mr. Shrikant Parikh.This is all for today..... More in Next.......Till then Have a Nice Time.....

Spain - 23 April 2008
Remembering some one

Austria - 6 June 2008
Writing letter with fountain pen - A great experience



Portugal- 9 May 2008
The joy of receiving and sending a letter

Great Britain- 5 February 2008
Taking it to its Right Destination


Bosnia & Herzegovina - 8 March 2008
Remembering & Writing till late Night



Liechtenstein - 3 March 2008

Just Notice ! The whole Love letter is written on the margin of the sheetlet of the stamps. It is very unusual and interesting.


A Journey through Indian Stamps- FDCs of Se-tenant Stamps

From Collection of Shrikant Parikh

Greetings - 30 September 1991

Bridge & Structural Engineering - 1 March 1992

Diamond Jubilee of Indian Air Force - 8 october 1992

Europa Stamps

Writing Letters

Many beautiful stamps have been issued for the year 2008 on 'Letter Writing' which is this year's theme for EUROPA stamps. Some of them which I found intresting are shown here. But the stamp I liked most is the stamp issued by Poland on 5th May 2008 with the most exclusive design and innovative idea than the other ones. When I see such striking ideas of the artists my heart is filled with great respect and appreciation for them. These novel ideas of a person makes him special and different from others.The designing artist placed an envelope with the calligraphed address on the table, between knife and fork instead of a plate, and thus it became something that appeases hunger, although not a physiological one. After all the letters, as the photographs, are the material records of fragments of life, a moment to be remembered or an instant emotion, and therefore they are a piece of art, being at the same time a historical document. This particular way of communication may be only imperfectly replaced by the e-mail or internet chat. We used to come back to some letters after many years, they are also stored and recalled. This issue, reminding us about the value of the handwritten letter, is accompanied by an occasional postmark in a form of the addressed envelope. Hope you would also enjoy these issues and these will take you down memory lane when you used to write letters to you dear ones.Why don't you pick up your pen just now and write a letter to your friend. Send it by post and enjoy the pleasure of writing letters. This is all for Today ! Have a nice Day and Happy Collecting.......

Date of Issue- 5 May 2008

The EUROPA Stamps and the tradition of joint issues of the EUROPA stamps is over 50 years old now. In 1956 six postal operators of the original member countries of the European Union (Belgium, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and Italy) have prepared a joint issue of the stamp with the word EUROPA in a form of a tower built of its letters. The joint issues have been continued recurrently up to 1973 always with common design with the leading themes such as: Europe, unity and peace, only gradually supplemented with some symbols of telecommunications. Since 1974 only Europe as the leading subject remained, and the stamps are designed by each country individually. The range of possible themes has become therefore much broader, including culture, famous personages, or inventions, but also some more general problems, such as nature conservation or the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America in 1992. The EUROPA stamps should on one side contribute on popularity of the community ideas while on the other side they should help in mutual understanding of the various traditions. Moreover, they underline cooperation of the European public postal operators, particularly in the domain of philately.CEPT - European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations was an official sponsor of the EUROPA joint issues in the years 1959-92. After that PostEurop - Association of the European Postal Public Operators. Exists since 1993 and it takes care about the EUROPA joint issues.

Date of Issue - 5 May 2008

This is also a very beautiful stamp issued by France showing earlier days of writing letters with quill. For the people who do not know French the text written on the stamp (Le plaisir de vous écrire) means : the pleasure to write. The contrasting colours used in this stamp make it quite attractive.

Date of Issue: 9th May 2008

This is the stamp from Andorra and you can see first letter of Hindi alphabet and other Indian regional languages. This can be attractive and new for those collecting on calligraphy or Indian theme.

Date of Issue- 1 June 2008

This beautiful stamp set is from Gibraltar issued on 1st June. I have already written about it in my earlier post but it will be unfair if i dont mention it here as it depicts our father of nation Mahatmat Gandhi and other three famous personalities of the world writing letters.

Date of Issue: 26th May 2008

This se-tenant stamp is from Greece with also a good design and giving a look of olden times with old letters and pen. The issues shown below will attract children very much as these have beautiful cartoon designs on witing letters and their importance in our life.

Date of Issue: 13th June 2008