New Stamp from India

Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi

Date of Issue : 23 September 2016

Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications (Independent Charge) and Railways released the Commemorative Postage Stamp on Centenary of the Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi on September 23, 2016. 

Lady Hardinge Medical College is a for women located in New Delhi, India. Established in 1916, it became part of the Faculty of Medical Sciences,University of Delhi in 1950. The college is funded by the Government of India.

Source : Stamps of India

Centenary of Agatha Christie writing her first detective story

Date of Issue : 15 September 2016

2016 marks the centenary of Agatha Christie writing her first detective story – The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The Royal Mail is marking the occasion with a set of six stamps representing some of her best-known novels – Murder on the Orient Express, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Body in the Library, And Then There Were None, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and A Murder is Announced.

The set of six stamps were created by Jim Sutherland of Studio Sutherl & and illustrator Neil Webb and include elements that react to UV light and heat. 

Each stamp sums up one of Christie’s complex plots in a single frame illustrated by Webb, with clues that point to the murderer hidden in the artwork. These ‘hidden clues’ are revealed with exposure to UV light or heat, and of course, the use of a magnifying glass.

“As ever – there’s so much detail in handcrafting for such small canvasses,” explains Sutherland, “The books themselves are beautifully written with such clever plots and twists – we were keen to reflect that in the scenes chosen from each story.”

Sutherland and Webb worked to create a styling that fits the author’s era, but is also modern. “We worked very closely on the ideas and compositions – swapping sketches and ideas and final details, it was a real collaborative effort. Trying to sum up complex plots in one frame is tricky but very rewarding.”

Some of the hidden clues on individual stamps include:

Murder on the Orient Express – a figure, half-hidden wielding a knife; the names of the suspects; Poirot himself

A Murder is Announced – Crucial to the story, the word Switzerland hidden in microtext; the clock’s numbers; the invitation to the murder

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd – words that Roger Ackroyd read aloud before his demise; the murdered character; Hercule Poirot’s head

And on each individual stamp is hidden a letter, which combine across the set to spell: AGATHA

New Special Cover from Uttrakhand

Swami Dayananda Saraswati 

A special cover was released on Swami Dayananda Saraswati at Dayananda Ashram, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh by Uttrakhand Circle of India Post  on 12 September 2016.

Courtesy - Abhai Mishra - Dehradun

FIFA World Cup 2018

FIFA World Cup 2018 Stadiums

Russia will host FIFA World Cup in 2018 and this event is awaited by millions of sporting fans. Russia proposed the following host cities: Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg. All the cities are in or just outside European Russia to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country.To mark this important resolution Rusmarka has released special stamps that are dedicated to Volgograd Arena, Ekaterinburg Arena, Rostov Arena and Samara Arena that will host the FIFA World Cup™ in 2018.

Volgograd Arena is a versatile stadium that will be situated on the shore of the Volga River and will fit harmoniously into the overall city view adding to the Mamayev Kurgan ensemble. The front design associates with a local tradition of intricate wickerwork out of vine and festive fireworks closely connected to the military history of Volgograd Hero City.

Ekaterinburg Arena is the largest sports complex in the Ural situated close to the historic center of Ekaterinburg. It is an architectural monument, the front of which features Soviet neoclassical elements and monumental architectural pieces, such as various sculptures, flowerpots and pennants.

Rostov Arena is a football stadium that will be situated on the left bank of the Don River. The arena is distinguished by an original architectural solution: the northern stand will be open, with a scenic view on the Don behind. The stadium will become a center of the urban landscape connecting business centers and shopping malls with the city rowing canal.

The Samara Arena sports facility will be situated on the southern slope of the Zharenyi (Sultanov) Bugor island hill in the northern part of the city with its eastern part bordering forest territories. The arena will have the form of a huge dome up to 60 m high with a so-called “cut-out” in the middle. The football field will be in the open air and the stands will be under the roof.

Birds of Canada..

Here is a beautiful set of stamps issued by  Canada Post for the bird lovers featuring five birds of Canada. Clockwise from upper left, the five featured birds are the Rock Ptarmigan (Nunavut), the Great Horned Owl (Alberta), the Atlantic Puffin (Newfoundland and Labrador), the Sharp-tailed Grouse (Saskatchewan) and the Common Raven (Yukon). Part of each bird‘s wings and/or body extends beyond the border of each stamp, creating a sense of movement.

• Atlantic puffin (Newfoundland and Labrador) – Sometimes called a sea parrot for its brightly coloured beak that turns grey after the breeding season, the puffin spends most of its life at sea. It can dive as deep as 60 metres to catch fish and small crustaceans. Its main breeding grounds in Canada are along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec.
• Common raven (Yukon) – The raven holds a special place in the heritage of some First Nations and often takes the role of the trickster. Ravens breed across most of the northern hemisphere but are less common in human-inhabited areas than their smaller cousin, the American crow.
• Great horned owl (Alberta) – The owl is named for its ear-like “horns,” which are actually just tufts of feathers. It has a deep hooting voice and a yellow-eyed stare, and can swivel its head more than 180 degrees to compensate for eyes that don't move in their sockets. Vise-like talons allow it to prey on animals as large as skunks and rabbits. The night hunter was selected as the province's official bird in a vote by schoolchildren.
• Rock ptarmigan (Nunavut) – Called aqiggiq in Inuktut, the rock ptarmigan appears in the art, folklore and diet of indigenous peoples. Well adapted to the cold climate, it lives in the Arctic year-round and is camouflaged by white winter plumage and mottled brown summer plumage. Its feet are covered with feathers to retain warmth and to help it walk on the snow's surface.
• Sharp-tailed grouse (Saskatchewan) – A common sight on the prairies and grasslands, the non-migratory sharp-tailed grouse survives harsh winters and summer droughts. In the spring breeding season, the birds gather on ancestral mating grounds, where the males dance, stamping their feet and displaying their feathers and yellow combs to impress the females.

New Special Covers

Krishna Pushkaram , Vijayawada - 10 August 2016

Railway Mixed High School, Erode - 3 August 2016

Jogulamba Temple, Alampur, Dist. Mahabubnagar, Telangana - 12 August 2016

World's Biggest Shirdi Naga Sai Baba Statue, Machillipatna, - 13 August 2016

Srikakula AndhraMahavishnu Temple, Srikakulam, Vijaywada - 16 August 2016

Iskon Founder Acharya Bhaktivedanta Swami & Iskon Golden Jubilee Celebrations - 19 August 2016

Krishna Pushkaram, Vijaywada - 22 August 2016

Bapu Museum, Vijaywada - 23 August 2016

Rio 2016 , Chennai - 10 August 2016

- Sreejesh Krishnan, Trivandrum