Singapore-Vietnam Joint issue

 

Vietnam and Singapore have issued a set of two similar stamps on 12 August 2013 featuring a bird each from the two countries to mark the 40th anniversary of establishment of bilateral relations.

A ceremony was held August 12 by Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications and Vietnam Post at the Hanoi Post Office to release the stamps.

One stamp features Vietnam’s grey peacock pheasant and the other, Singapore’s red jungle fowl. Both have a male and female bird each.The pheasants were drawn by Vietnamese painter To Minh Trang, and the jungle fowl by Singaporean Eng Siak Loy.

Singapore Post on August 12 released the stamps at the Jurong Bird Park.This is the second set of stamps the two countries have jointly issued. The first one, to mark the 35th anniversary of ties in 2008, featured Vietnam’s dragon fruit and Singapore’s durian.

News from our Readers

Largest FDCs

 

 

Mr Vipan Kumar Thakur of Chandigarh has created  FDCs of 12.50 x 18 inches  for the issue "Wild Flowers of India". Perhaps these are the biggest FDCs of India.Approximately  1500 images of flowers(approximately 1300 verities of flowers) have been depicted on all 3 covers.

Ganpati Cover from Thailand

Avinash  J.  Anaokar shares here First Day cover from Thailand depicting Lord Ganesha on the cover.

New stamps on Musical Instruments

 

Vietnam post issued a set of three stamps featuring traditional Vietnamese musical instruments – Ta lu’, Klong put and Goong.

The Ta lu’ is a stringed instrument popular in the Van Kieu ethnic communities in the provinces of Quang Binh and Quang Tri of Vietnam. The instrument is made of a piece of wood, a piece of bamboo or bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo stem.

The Klong put is the Xe Dang language name of a musical instrument of the wind family, air driving-in branch. It is played by ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) such as the Xe Dang, Bahnar, Gia Rai, Hre, etc. A traditional Klong put consists of many large empty hornless bamboo sections. The length of each section ranges from 60 to 200 cm and a diameter ranging from 5 to 8 cm. When played, the tubes are laid horizontally and the player must either stand with her back bent or kneel while clapping her hands at a distance of about 10cm to push air into the tubes to produce sounds. Generally, each tube produces only one tone.

The Goong is a large bossed gong of the Mnong people of central Vietnam. The goong may be played in a set of 9 gongs from large to small. It is tuned by means of pegs, hit at the sides, forcing an inner frame against the membrane and thus tightening it and raising the pitch.

700th Anniversary of Era Querimonia of the Aran Valley stamp from Spain

Spanish Post issued a stamp celebrating the 700^th anniversary of Era Querimonia of the Aran Valley.

The Aran Valley is located in the central Pyrenees in the province of Lleida. The history of this valley is marked by the defence and claim of a series of historical rights that make up its identity.

In the Middle Ages (1175), the Aranese signed a treaty with the king of Aragon granting them the privilege to make use and be in possession of their own pastures, forests and waters. The king took on the obligation to defend them from possible enemies and in return, the Aranese paid an Aranese Gali­n (equivalent to about 20 litres of wheat) as tax per household.

In 1313 the dwellers of the valley agreed to swear allegiance to King James II in return for keeping their charters, privileges and freedoms. On August 23 1313, James II King of Aragon, Valencia … and Count of Barcelona, drew up the document known as Era Querimonia in which the Aranese were awarded a series of rights.

Era Querimonia consists of twenty two chapters. The first few refer to the right of the Aranese to their own lands, vineyards, orchards, fishing waters, mills and irrigation. They are entitled to their own woodland and forests with freedom to cut wood for their own use and convenience. They may hunt in the woods, cut grass for winter and allow their animals to graze in these lands. Other chapters refer to: communal rights, the king’s army, offenses and penalties; notaries and judges’ salaries, among others.

Particularly important is the chapter on the right of pre-emption and buyout because of kinship which obliged any man wanting to sell a property to offer it first to his brothers and relatives. Another interesting chapter is the one on the system of economic conjugal rights, referring to the rights and partitions of the consorts. The privileges of the Era Querimonia have remained, albeit partially.

With the advent of democracy and the 1990 Act of the Parliament of Catalonia part of the historical and linguistic rights of the Aran Valley were restored.

The stamp depicts one Galin and the coat of arms of the Aran Valley.

Thanks for Telegram Messages  …

I thank my friends and Readers for the last  telegrams sent by them…

It is not possible to publish all telegrams here but I am giving here the nice messages from Telegrams…Many Many Thanks to all of You !!

1. Farewell To Telegram – SIPA, Chennai

2. Samay Ka Pher Hai Dekhiye Jo Tha Sab Se Tej

Woh Taar Is Daur Main Aaj Hua Nistej

Tar Tumahara Kar Raha Hun Aabhar Vishesh

Dashkon Tak Tumney Diya Sukh Dukh Ka Sandesh – Ambrish Kumar – Allahabad

3. Loving Greetings – N. Kalyani – New Delhi

4. Good Bye To Telegram – Arvind Mullick – Jabalpur

5. Long Live Telegram in our heart we love you – Ashwani Dubey – Gorakhpur

6. I am 162 years old unfortunately my end has come -Telegram – Prashant Pandya-    Vadodara

7. RIP India’s Telegram Service 1851 – 2013 – Prashant Pandya – Vadodara

You are invited to farewell of Telegraph Service on 15 July 2013 at www.indianphilately.net  - Prashant Pandya – Vadodara

New stamps from Vietnam..

 

For a Vietnam Free of Tuberculosis

Date of Issue : 24 March 2012

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by an infection Mycobacterium Tuberculosis which mostly has affected the lungs but sometimes the other parts of the body. Today, TB is mostly common, having bad effect over one third of the world’s population, with 9 million new cases each year, causing 2 million deaths, mostly in developing countries.

On the occasion of World Tuberculosis Day, when Dr. Robert Koch detected the cause of tuberculosis and made propaganda against TB in Vietnam, on the 24th of March 2012, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) special issues stamp set: “ For a Vietnam free of Tuberculosis! ”.

Date of Issue : 8 March 2012

The Ministry of Information and Communication of Vietnam has issued a set of stamps dedicated to the evolution of the national dress of Vietnamese women - Ao Dai.

Ao Dai is Vietnam's traditional dress, which was first designed over hundred years ago. This dress was renewed many times under different names and finally became Vietnam ladies' current formal dress. It is usually worn in formal events, festivals and is now a popular uniform for girl students.

Club News

KANPEX – 2012

  Report by Mrityunjay Mishra, Kanpur

A district level stamp exhibition KANPEX 2012 was held at head Post office , kanpur from 24-25 March 2012. The exhibits on various categories were displayed in 132 frames. My stamp was the centre of attraction at the  exhibition. Two special covers were released during the show. On the spot drawing competition, Quiz and a philatelic workshop was organized at the exhibition. Noted philatelist from Lucknow  Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma was member of jury.

 

IN INVITEE CLASS- SHRI RAMESH CHANDRA, SMT. SHAMA ZAIDI, SHRI S.A.M. ZAIDI, SHRI DINESH CHANDRA SHARMA, SHRI MOHIT KUMAR, SMT. SUMAN LATA AND SHRI RAJ PREET SINGH SALUJA  WERE HONORED WITH MEMENTO & CERTIFICATE.

IN COMPETITIVE CLASS  – 

TWO GOLD - DR. V.S. RAJPUTAND SMT. NOOPUR MEHROTRA,

TWO SILVER– GAURANG AGARWAL AND VASU YADAV

SIX BRONZE – KU. ASATHA SHUKLA, ASHUTOSH SHUKLA, ABHISHEK PRAJAPATI, NILAY MEHROTRA, MALAY MEHROTRA AND LABHANSHI AGRAWAL WERE AWARDED WITH MEDAL AND CERTIFICATE.

- MRITYUNJAY MISHRA : email :  jay_mishra2003@yahoo​.com    Ph. 9984169915

Which work of art would you like to see portrayed on a stamp in 2013?

In 2013, Åland Post issues a stamp to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Åland Art Museum. You can now join in to select the artwork to be depicted on this stamp !
Aland Post  raffles off a €100 gift voucher to Mariehamns bokhandel and 5 Year books “Ålands Frimärken berättar 2010-2011” (value: €59.40) among all voters.

 

The artworks are listed on the website.   To the vote….   Read More…

2012 – The Year of Dragon

 

Date of Issue : 1 December 2011

The Vietnam Post has issued two stamps celebrating the new year of Dragon. In Vietnamese Dragon is called by different names "Thin" or "Long". In Vietnam Dragon has been traditionally respected and worshipped as a supernatural animal quite close to people.

Maximum Cards

 

Great Writers - Ernest Hemingway..

 

Vietnam Post  has issued a stamp on 2nd March 2011, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the death of Ernest Hemingway, one of the greatest authors of the world. The  design of the stamp is so beautiful with Hemingway’s two great books “ Farewell to Arms” and  “The Old Man and The Sea” with his autograph and profile. The design of the FDC is very nice with image of his famous book and Nobel Prize he received for the book. Vietnam Post also issued a beautiful Max card with this issue.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961) was an American novelist, a short story writer and a journalist. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 with his novel “The Old Man and the Sea” and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. The Old Man and the Sea is a novel  written in 1951 in Cuba and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction to be produced by Hemingway and published in his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it centers upon Santiago, an aging fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream.

Read More…

Hemingway is the second American (after Norman Morrison, 1965) and the third foreign writer (after Maxim Gorky of Russia, 1968 and Rabindranath Tagore of India, 1982) featured on Vietnamese stamps.

Maxim Card

 

The Old Man and the Sea tells an epic battle between an old, experienced fisherman and a giant marlin. It opens by explaining that the fisherman, who is named Santiago, has gone 84 days without catching a fish. He is so unlucky that his young apprentice, Manolin, has been forbidden by his parents to sail with the old man and been ordered to fish with more successful fishermen. Still dedicated to the old man, however, the boy visits Santiago's shack each night, hauling back his fishing gear, getting him food and discussing American baseball and his favorite player Joe DiMaggio. Santiago tells Manolin that on the next day, he will venture far out into the Gulf to fish, confident that his unlucky streak is near its end.

Thus on the eighty-fifth day, Santiago sets out alone, taking his skiff far onto the Gulf. He sets his lines and, by noon of the first day, a big fish that he is sure is a marlin takes his bait. Unable to pull in the great marlin, Santiago instead finds the fish pulling his skiff. Two days and two nights pass in this manner, during which the old man bears the tension of the line with his body. Though he is wounded by the struggle and in pain, Santiago expresses a compassionate appreciation for his adversary, often referring to him as a brother. He also determines that because of the fish's great dignity, no one will be worthy of eating the marlin.

On the third day of the ordeal, the fish begins to circle the skiff, indicating his tiredness to the old man. Santiago, now completely worn out and almost in delirium, uses all the strength he has left in him to pull the fish onto its side and stab the marlin with a harpoon, ending the long battle between the old man and the tenacious fish. Santiago straps the marlin to the side of his skiff and heads home, thinking about the high price the fish will bring him at the market and how many people he will feed.

While Santiago continues his journey back to the shore, sharks are attracted to the trail of blood left by the marlin in the water. The first, a great macho shark, Santiago kills with his harpoon, losing that weapon in the process. He makes a new harpoon by strapping his knife to the end of an oar to help ward off the next line of sharks; in total, five sharks are slain and many others are driven away. But the sharks keep coming, and by nightfall the sharks have almost devoured the marlin's entire carcass, leaving a skeleton consisting mostly of its backbone, its tail and its head. Finally reaching the shore before dawn on the next day, Santiago struggles on the way to his shack, carrying the heavy mast on his shoulder. Once home, he slumps onto his bed and falls into a deep sleep.

A group of fishermen gather the next day around the boat where the fish's skeleton is still attached. One of the fishermen measures it to be 18 feet (5.5 m) from nose to tail. Tourists at the nearby café mistakenly take it for a shark. Manolin, worried during the old man's endeavor, cries upon finding him safe asleep. The boy brings him newspapers and coffee. When the old man wakes, they promise to fish together once again. Upon his return to sleep, Santiago dreams of his youth—of lions on an African beach.

Club News

Founder member of Karnataka Philatelic Society passed away…

Mr C N Narasimha Murthy a founder member of the Karnataka Philatelic Society and Senior Philatelist from Bangalore passed away  on 27th June 2011. He was a renowned philatelist and  had worked on various posts of the Karnataka Philatelic Society .

May his Soul rest in peace.  Our deepest Condolences to his family members.

-Jagannath Mani
www.olympicgamesphilately.blogspot.com