Book Review

 

Guardians of Heritage

Exploring The World of GI Tag Products of India

-      Senthilkumar Chandrasekaran

Guardians of Heritage : Exploring the Wold of GI Tag Products of India by Senthilkumar Chandrasekaran : First Edition 2025 : Published By Mohanapriya Senthilkumar : ISBN 978-93-342-5045-9 : Copyright : Senthilkumar Chandrasekaran : Pages: 280 : Size A4 : Type Hardbound : Price: INR 1950: Author email : csenthilkumar78@gmail.com

 

A new book “Guardians of Heritage by Senthil Kumar Chandrasekaran” is an excellent book on different philatelic items related to Geographical Indications.  A geographical indication (GI) is a name used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into effect from 15 September 2003.

GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as: "indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.

India, with its vast cultural and ecological diversity, has given GI recognition to a variety of products ranging from the agricultural products, food products Handicrafts which promote the tapestry of culture and craftsmen, Manufactured products which show case the indigenous capability, to the natural products of India like the Makrana Marble. India Post has issued stamps, special covers, cancellations and other postal memorabilia to promote these GI Tagged Products of India. 

This book is based on author’s collection of philatelic items related to Geographical Indications. The book is a tribute to the GI Tagged Products. The author has shown different philatelic items  like Stamps, Miniature sheets , Special Covers, Special Cancellations, Permanent Pictorial Cancellations, Picture Postcards, Meter Marks, and other items issued by Deptt of Posts. related to GI products .

The author has given separate chapters to Agriculture Products Food Stuffs, Manufactured Products, and natural Products. The description of each product is given in detail.

 

A special chapter has been given in the book on special and specific Products from other countries like Czech Republic, Thailand, Japan, Peru, Chile, France, UK, Mexico, Portugal, Italy and Greece. This is a very interesting part of the book. It covers textile, Agriculture. Cheese, alcoholic beverages and other products from these countries.The list of State wise GI Tag Products and Alphabetical Index of GI Products has been given in the book which makes easy for reference.

The printing and layout of the book is excellent. There are about 600 multi coloured images covering different philatelic items from India and other countries. The book is very useful for all thematic collectors as well as for non philatelists too as it gives a comprehensive information on a variety of special GI Products of India. The author has given details about each item very systematically so it is a very good refence book for everyone..  The book will prove to  be an asset for all philatelists and book lovers. This book is specially recommended for School and college libraries as it has lot of information on a variety of interesting products from different parts of India and other countries. It will enrich the knowledge of students about many special products and the rich heritage of our country. Thematic philatelists will find this book very interesting as the author has tried to show different types of philatelic items in the book which are part of a thematic exhibit,  I recommend this book for every thematic collector as well as people from all walks of life of every age group. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Senthilkumar Chandrasekaran is a Chemical Engineering Graduate from renowned AC Tech Campus of Anna University, Chennai, India. He is currently employed in an Indian multi national company specialised in Water and Wastewater Treatment as General Manager & Head of Engineering Function.

He was collecting stamps during his school days and restarted his philatelic interest during 2010 and became a very active collector cum exhibitor since 2019. His collection interests includes Water, Olympics, Gandhi, Joint Issue, Indian Heritage, Indian Postal Stationary and GI Tags.

He is a Life member of South India Philatelists’ Association (SIPA), Philatelic Congress of India (PCI), Ananthapuri Philatelic Association (APA) and Madurai Philatelist and Numismatist Association (MAPNA). He had participated in various State and National level exhibitions and won medals in different categories including Thematic, Postal Stationary, Literature and One-Frame.