Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !!

Shimla December 2013 Vol. VI Issue # 72

Monthly e-Stamp Bulletin Edited by Jeevan Jyoti for free circulation among philatelists Readers are requested to send reports of philatelic activities in their area for publication. Short write ups by the readers about their journals, societies, publications and philatelic requirements can be sent for inclusion in this bulletin to j.jyoti9@gmail.com and by post to Ms. Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, CCF, GHNP , SHAMSHI, Kullu -175126. (H.P.) India Note- This bulletin is only for circulation among a limited group of philatelists without any commercial purpose. The bulletin will be sent to the readers only on request. Those who wish to receive it regularly please reply giving the name of your city / country with the subject SUBSCRIBE RAINBOW

Rainbow completes 6 years of publication with this 72nd issue !!

Dear Reader,

With this Issue No 72, Rainbow Stamp News completes six years of publicationHope you enjoyed the journey of six years with Rainbowand I hope it will be continued in the years to come.. First of all, Heartiest Congratulations to all the winners at World Philatelic Exhibition BRASILIANA 2013 which concluded on 25th November at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this big philatelic show some participants had bitter experience. Some of the exhibits were shown as not present and out of competition in the award list. Rainbow Stamp News is one of those unlucky entries. The detailed reply from the organizing committee is awaited. However the clear reason must be given by the organizers to the participants individually on which ground their entry was put out of competition. There is still confusion as per national commissioners report, the exhibit was found missing at the venue though it was personally handed over to the concerned authority so it could not be judged ..Questions and Confusion still arise unless the organizing committee gives its clear reply with a valid reason. The year 2013 is going with some important philatelic events to remember like the issue of Sachin Tendulkars 200th Test Match stamps by India Post, record number of participants from India in BRASILIANA 2013 and many more.Wishing all my Readers a very Happy and Prosperous New Year
This is all for this monthMore in next issue Happy Collecting !! -- Jeevan Jyoti

View this issue on Blog

Contents
From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal Recent Indian Issues In The News Interview Beginners Section Specialized Section New Issues from Other Countries The Lighter Side Philatelic Clubs and Societies Editors Mail Box Blogs & Websites on Philately Promotional Section Current Philatelic Magazines - Newsletter

From the Desk of Naresh Agarwal

A LOOK AT INDIAN PERFORMANCE IN BRASILIANA 2013 BASLIANA 2013, a world philatelic show was an overall success. This time there were as many as 41 number of participating entries from India. A few more were sent but were somehow not considered or accepted. And one entry that of our beloved philatelic journal Rainbow Stamp News was shown in the award list as out of competition. The appropriate reason, explanation and clarification is being sought for. However, this probably was one of the highest number of entries ever sent from India in any such level of philatelic show. Looking in to the entries, there were as many as 11 from Literature class,5 from Modern Philately (21st century),7 from One frame exhibit, 3 from Postal History,3 from Thematic, 3 from Youth (19 to 21 years), 3 Youth (10-15 years) ,1 Aero philately,1 Astrophilately,2 Fiscal/revenue and 1 each from Traditional and Youth (16-18 years) classes.

Now looking in to results, there are in totality 25 medals awarded to Indian participants detailed as under : 1-Gold,2 Vermeil,5 Large Silver,7 Silver,4 Silver Bronze, 6 Bronze and rest were either given certificates of participation, diplomas and /or marks. First of all my heartiest congratulations to all the participants and award winners. While going through comments given by my philatelic friends and also various facebook users/friends to congratulate each other, one remark which struck strongly speaking about performance of Indian participants came from Col Jayanta Dutta. His comment reads as Good but India has not done too well. For me, looking in to the above statistics where only 2 Vermeil and 5 large silver have been awarded and the remarks given by Col Dutta, the questions which come to my mind are 1. Was the performance of Indian participants genuinely below the mark? The awards given at Indian National Show are lowered not only by one step by two but even up to three steps . Where as in most of the cases there has been quite good changes done to better the exhibit ? ( We do accept there is difference in marking and judgment at both the levels and medals are lowered by 1 or 2 steps but not in all cases. A difference of 5 to 7 marks has been seen in practice.) 2. Is the judgment at National Level Shows in India up to the standard to match International quality judgment or is quite lenient?. 3. Is the judgment at World Level Show strict and harsh? 4. Any prejudices or lapses during judgment at both National or International Levels. 5. Lack of proper guidance to the exhibitors The performance, is genuinely not that good in terms of getting higher medals. Here we need to view the scenario quite seriously so that we may improve our own performance as well as comparative performance and get better awards in the future exhibitions. The persons from India who visited this show can speak well on comparative analysis of the awards given to Indian participants and the participants from other countries. I would like to receive a detailed report on judgment and comparative analysis of exhibits by the Indian Commissioner, if possible to help improve the stature of Indian exhibiting While going through the overall result, we find that not so much higher awards have been given. In case, finance or medal arrangement is not a burden/issue, then certainly there is something to do with judgment or the quality of exhibits accepted. I have observed that in such shows where participation is high, the number of lower medals is also high. This is not wrong but there is certainly some effect on the judgment and the result. .

The only jury member from India could not attend the exhibition. I personally feel that presence of jury from particular country has certain impact on result particularly of that class as the jury can well understand the exhibitors mind and his reservation being from the same nation and can put forward his views to the other jury members. May be this absence e has to some extent affected the Indian results. We need to be provided with the contact details of the jury who adjudged the exhibit so that we may ask the lapses in the exhibit and the area requires improvement. When some of my friends seem satisfied with the results others seem dissatisfied. But all in all, a fare analysis is to be done and necessary steps to be taken to improve the performance. By writing all this, I never mean to be mean or tarnish the image and lower the work done by the International onal accredited jury but I want that we should find out the reasons of such result and the ways to improve it. - Naresh Agarwal : email : nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in

Recent Indian Issues

5 November 2013 : Boys High School, Allahabad Rs 5 7 November 2013 : Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan Rs 5 8 November 2013 : 50 Years of Indian Academy of Pediatrics Rs 5 11 November 2013 : Central Bureau of Investigation Rs 5 13 November 2013 : 175 years of Times of India Rs 5 14 November 2013 : Sachin Tenulkar 2 x Rs 20 + MS 14 November 2013 : Childrens Day Rs 5 23 November 2013 : Satya Sai Baba Rs 5 23 November 2013 : Intelligence Bureau Rs 5 26 November 2013 : Railway Workshops at Kanchrapara and Jamalpur Rs 5 29 November 2013 : Sashastra Seema Bal Rs 5

Recent Special Covers

1 November 2013 : Save the Future Pune 13 November 2013 : XXVII National Sub Junior Badminton Championship 2013, Cuttack

9 November 2013 : St. Johns School, Chandigarh 9 November 2013 : Trichur Philatelic Exhibition 26 November 2013 Golden Jubilee Celebration of Carmel Girls Higher Secondary School, Thiruvananthpuram

New special cancellations

New Special Special Cancellations by Gorakhpur Postal Division
3 November 2013 : Deepawali

14th November 2013 : 200th Cricket Test Match of Sachin Tendulkar at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

In The News
Stamps on Sachins 200th Test

It was a great moment when greatest Indian Cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar played his last 200th Test Match at Mumbai and India Post issued two special postage stamps and a Miniature sheet in his honour. It was indeed an honour to the player from India Post as the stamps on living personalities are rarely issued . As per rules, only stamps on Presidents of India can be issued in their life time. It is a great honour to Sachin with Mother Teresa and 3 other personalities who appeared on commemorative stamps in their life time as a special case .

(Read more in this issue)

Video Stamp from Australia Post

Australia Post has introduced a new kind of stamp: a QR code that allows you to record a personal video message to send with your package. We're surprised, after Croatia introduced the QR code stamp last year, that the idea hasn't really taken off; after all, stamps are the perfect size and shape for the smart phone-scannable phone barcodes. It's awesome to see Australia Post getting in on the act action. ion. Unlike the Croatian stamp, which was used to track the passage of your mail across the globe, though, Australia Post's version, called the Video Stamp, lets you record a video message to send with your post. You can record 15 seconds of footage up to 12 hours after you have posted your item. When the recipient receives the package, they can scan the stamp using their smart phone to receive whatever message you want to send. If the recipient doesn't have a smart phone, they can enter an eight-digit code e on the Australia Post website to view the video. Watch Video : How to use it.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy_JbMPxeKc

The videos can be shared via social media, so you might want to be careful about what you record, and can be viewed for three months after recording, which lowers their collectability slightly so philatelists might find them a little disappointing. The stamps are now available for free with Express Post and Express Courier International products and are currently undergoing a trial for the Christmas period. If they're successful, they'll be made available permanently. Source : Crave

3D Postcard from Croatian post

Croatian post issued 3D postcard which can be turned in Herzegovinian hut in only few moves. Inside of this postcard you can find herbs like sage and heather which are specific for locations where such huts were constructed.

Rare 1894 Shanghai to Germany cover to be auctioned in December..

The 1894 registered cover from Shanghai to Germany with date stamp April 22, 1897 will be auctioned in December with an estimate between 130,000 215,000. The cover has a combination of the 1894 Empress Dowager and 1897 Red Revenue stamps with provisional surcharges. They are cancelled by the Shanghai Pa Pa-Kua obliterator terator in black. It is also franked with a French Post Offices in China 50c stamp.

New Pictorial Cancellation from Germany

On January second 2014 a new pictorial cancellation will be issued in 49163 Bohmte. The cancellation is featuring a Hedgehog toge together ther with young hedgehogs. The cancellation honors the Day of the museum of hedgehogs in Bohmte.Interested philatelists may please contact: Wolfgang Beyer,Vice Chairman of the German Philatelic Collector Group ARGE ZOOLOGIE.Mail: Wolfgang.beyer1@aol.de .Postage rates: 0,75 Euro AIRMAIL, 2,80 Euro Registered AIRMAIL

Philatelic Exhibitions
BIRDPEX 2014 International stamp exhibition on Birds

BIRDPEX is an international philatelic exhibition on "birds" that takes place every four years. After Christchurch (New Zealand , 1990), Rosenheim (Germany, 1994), London (United Kingdom, 1998), Leek (the Netherlands, 2002), Nrresundby (Denmark, 2006) and Antwerp (Belgium, 2010), the 7th edition will take place in Poitiers (France) Every "bird" exhibitor can participate - no qualification needed - in the classes thematic philately, maximaphily, open class, postal history, traditional philately, one frame and youth. Entry forms and regulations you may find on the website or if you contact the addresses below. Hope to see you and your exhibit on BIRDPEX 7 and POITIERS 2014 from 1th to 4th of May 2014 in Poitiers !

- The organization committee BIRDPEX http://philapoitiers2014.online.fr/

Contact :

Jean-Francois Duranceau 2 rue de Berry, 86170 AVANTON (France) email : jean-francois.duranceau@orange.f francois.duranceau@orange.fr

National Commissioner for PHILAKOREA 2014

PHILAKOREA-2014, World Philatelic Exhibition, 7 7- 12th August, 2014, Samseong 11 dong, Gangnam-gu, gu, Seoul, Korea. Mr Surendra Kotadia has been appointed the National Commissioner from India. He may be contacted at following address : Mr. Surendra Kotadia, Dimple Drums and Barrels Pvt. Ltd., 1119, Maker Chambers - V, 221, Jamnalal Bajaj Road, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021. Email: surendrakotadia@gmail.com (M) + 919819903789 (O) + 91-22 22-22024130 / 31 (R) +91-22-23805125 / 3789 Philatelists, interested in participating in above exhibitions may contact Commissioner for more details.

BRASILIANA-2013

WORLD STAMP EXHIBITION Brasiliana 2013 was held at PIER MAU in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from November 19 to 25, 2013 organized by the Brazilian Federation of Philately (FEBRAF) and Brazilian philatelists under the Patronage of Brazilian Enterprise of Posts and Telegraphs (ECT), in accordance with th the e F.I.P. General Regulations for Exhibitions. 73 countries participated in this exhibition. Mr. Madhukar Jhingan was the National Commissioner - India for BRAZIL 2013 2013. e mail: mj@stampsofindia.com Mr Yogesh Kumar of Bareilly was member of Jury but he could not attend the exhibition.

Official website: www.brasiliana2013.net.br Indian participation at Brasiliana 2013

Anil Suri: Fiscals of Cochin (Fiscals) - Gold

Angeet Suri: Fiscals of Jodhpur(Fiscals) - Vermeil

Pragya Jain: I am Bow and this is my story (Thematic) - Vermeil Madhukar Jhingan: Indian Internal Airmails (Aerophilately) - Large Silver Rajesh Paharia: The Dead Letter Offices of India 1854 - 1912 (Postal History) - Large Silver Pravesh Kumar Gupta: The Imperial Durbars of Delhi (Postal History) - Large Silver Pratisad Neurgaonkar: Postal Stationery of British India 1856-1947 (Literature) - Large Silver Avinash Sharma: Olympic Games (Youth 10-15 Yrs) - Large Silver Rohit Prasad: Decimalisation of Postal Rates (Postal History) - Silver Naresh Agrawal: Mail and its Movement (Thematic) - Silver Brij Mohan Modi: Architecture is Soul of Civilization (Thematic) - Silver Binod Kumar Jain: India Refugee Relief Tax 1971 -73 (Traditional) - Silver Niyogi books / Sekhar Chakrabarti) - The Indian National Flag unfurled through Philately (Literature) - Silver Samira Bose: Glimpses of India (Youth 19-21 Yrs) - Silver Maira Bose: Lady Di (Youth 10-15 Yrs) - Silver Savita Jhingan: From India to Space (Astrophilately) - Silver Bronze Ranjit Singh: Sikh Heritage through Stamps (Literature) - Silver Bronze Kashish Thaper: Science & Technology as a Vehicle of Progress in India (Youth 19-21 Yrs) - Silver Bronze Paritri Upadhyay: Wild Life on Maxim Cards (Youth 16-18 Yrs) - Silver Bronze Prashant Pandya: Glimpses of innovations in 21st Century Indian Postal services (Modern Philately, 21st Century) - Bronze Vikas Singh: Philatelic Handbook on Indian Railways (Literature) - Bronze Madan Middha: Year Book of Indian Philately (Literature) - Bronze

Praful Thakkar: Collectors Guide to First Day Covers & Folders of India 1947-1964 Official & Private (Literature) - Bronze Praful Thakkar: Collectors Guide to First Day Covers & Folders of India with Set of stamps, Se-tenant Stamps & Miniature Sheets (Literature) - Bronze Siddharth S Tawker: Reptiles (Youth 10-15 Yrs) - Bronze Yogini Jhingan: Holograms (Youth 19-21 Yrs) - Diploma Nisha Gupta: Meghdoot post card(Modern Philately, 21st Century) - C Himanshu Gupta: Indipex 2011 World Philatelic Exhibition, New Delhi (Modern Philately, 21st Century) - C Parvesh Gupta: 100 Years of Indian Cinema (Modern Philately, 21st Century) - C Anushtha Jain: Delhi 2010 - XIX Commonwealth Games (Modern Philately, 21st Century) - C Narendra Kumar: Narendra Kumar: Narendra Kumar: India Postage Stamp Year Book 2008 (Literature) - CP India Postage Stamp Year Book 2009 (Literature) - CP India Postage Stamp Year Book 2010 (Literature) - CP

Narendra Kumar: India Postage Stamp Year Book 2011 (Literature) - CP Ashish Talwar: The First Flight of Air India International (One Frame Exhibit) - 75 Marks George Reynolds: Leonardo's Vitruvian Man (One Frame Exhibit) - 74 Marks Leeza Padhi: Ramayana The Great Indian Ballet Beyond India (One Frame Exhibit) 70 Marks Srinivasan Paramasivam: Peacock A bird and A Symbol (One Frame Exhibit) - 68 Marks Rohit Prasad: Bullock Train An Unexplored Chapter of Indian Postal History (One Frame Exhibit) - 66 Marks Nagendra Nayak: Global Warming (One Frame Exhibit) - 62 Marks Vikas Singh: Darjeeling Himalayan Railway - A World Heritage Site (One Frame Exhibit) - 53 Marks

Saudi 2013 - New date for exhibition

Saudi 2013 is postponed to 12-17 March 2014. It will be a 6-day General Asian International Stamp exhibition and will includes Traditional, Postal History, Youth, Literature and Modern Philately classes. Website : http://www.saudi2013.com/ Mr Umesh Kakkeri , the National Commissioner for this exhibition may be contacted at : Email: umesh_kakkeri@hotmail.com (M) +919969571767

Forthcoming Stamp Exhibitions MAPPEX 2013

11th Madhya Pradesh Philatelic exhibition will be held in Bhopal from 19 to 21 December 2013. New Delhi - 7th to 9th December 2013 orgainsed by Stamps of India Bhopal- 19th to 21st December 2013 Coimbatore- 4th and 5th January organized by PR Krishanan Raipur-9th and 10th of Jan.

Serious mistake on recent Cinema stamp This stamp featuring Bangla actor and director Dhirendranath Ganguli from set of 50 stamps on 100 years of Cinema issued by India Post on 3 May 2013 bears a wrong picture of the person. The actual photo of Dhirendranath Ganguli is the second one. Mr Dipok Dey, artist and noted philatelist of Kolkata points out the mistake clearly in the following picture. According to him the person shown on the stamp is Bangla actor Robin Majumdar.

Obituary

Mrs Ratni Jatia , wife of renowned philatelist of India Late Shri DN Jatia passed away on 15th November 2013. Our deepest condolences to all family members. May her soul rest in peace . Please view FB page : Deoki Nandan Jatia - Philatelist

Interview
In this issue, meet the noted philatelist from Indore, Mr Om Prakash Kedia. He is a well known Postal History Collector Here he answers to the questions of Mr Naresh Agarwal and shares his views and experiences on various aspects of Philately with the Readers. It is a great pleasure to publish his interview in this special issue . - Editor

Mr. O.P Kedia is an engineering post graduate from University of Roorkee (Now IIT Roorkee). He is now self retired from business as his children not interested in continuing his business. His entry in to the world of stamps goes back to 1960 and now has a journey of 53 years with changing phases of philatelic collecting and exhibiting. Recalling his old days days Mr Kedia says my interest started very early in1960s ,by removing stamps from letters received in course of our business-as in those days there was no TV or internet and every children in my vicinity used to have this hobby. Later we made pen friends in many countries and exchanged stamps. At some stage I tried to collect theme like Cricket and other popular themes. But I found I could not go very far in this field as proper material are not available in India and buying them from abroad is very expensive.

He has various Regional, National and International awards to his credit on different collections. Recently he won Vermeil medal at AUSTRALIA 2013 for his exhibit "DEVELOPMENT of INDORE POST (1873-1908)" and Large Vermeil at INPEX 2013 for single frame entry "War Contribution stamps of Dewas state". A man of jolly nature and being a hardcore philatelist, he loves philately and of course philatelists. Mr OP Kedia may be contacted at email : opkedia52@hotmail.com

At Stampmania 2009, Baroda

Interview with OP Kedia

1.How did you come in contact with stamps and what inspired you to pursue this hobby in a systematic way ??
I started as a young collector taking stamps from the envelopes received in the course of my family business. I started making systematic efforts for country collection during my stay as a student at University of Roorkee now IITR. At UOR my professor Dr. S.Lal (an eminent engineer who later became director of IIT Kharagpur and president of Institution of Engineers) was a keen collector and he refined my collecting interest. As was fashion during those days I collected mainly popular countries like GB, Australia, USA, Germany,Nepal ,Ceylon and Pakistan I made basic collections of all these countries, which I still have. I was secretary of Philatelic and Numismatic club at UOR and was

awarded trophy for best overall performance. I stopped collecting country collection after 2000 as they become very expensive to continue. My romance with serious philately started when I shifted to Indore which is surrounded by many princely states and I was lucky to acquire good material at reasonable prices. My experience with philatelic exhibitions started in 1997 with MAPPEX -state level exhibition held in Indore .

2. We would like to know about your philatelic interests and which is your most favourite subject ? I have tried few facets of philately e.g. country collections, thematic, revenue, postal stationeries and postal history. However I like postal history most because every item in this field is unique and there is always a chance to discover new facts. My present
collections and interest include postal history of Indore, postal stationeries of India and Gwalior state, Cancellations of Gwalior state and Bazar cards of India besides fiscals of princely states of Madhya Pradesh.

3. Looking in to the present scenario when stamps collectors are turning in to investors/traders, there is fast intrusion of other modern communication techniques, life styles are changing, means of entertainment have changed, digitalization has overpowered how do you see at the future of philately? What shape it will take.. how it will survive..? I see a few trends emerging. : First there are newcomers who start getting new issues from philatelic bureaus/counters/accounts. They soon turn into investor/dealer.This trend of turning collector to investor/dealer may not last long with India Post increasing the print quantity of new stamps. Second some people start collecting thematic and I think this trend will continue. Lastly there are professionals / business people / NRIs with deep pockets. These people like to buy / invest in classical materials and their demand is hiking the price of classical items. These people will remain a long term lover of philately in my opinion and the price of classical material will go up in future with increasing demand. 4. India post, one of the biggest postal administrations has failed to promote philately in true sense in-spite of the fact that it is spending huge amount in this cause? Where exactly it is lacking? What are your suggestions? The biggest failure in my opinion is not to involve philatelists in spending the budget available. There is a philatelic advisory committee at all India level. This should be replicated at district/regional and state level with local philatelists adopted/nominated as member and

regular meetings held. The budget available and its uses should be discussed and implementation should be tracked. 5. It is seen now a days that collectable postal material whether mint/unused or used has become very costly. Internet seems to have converted value of Indian material from rupees in to dollars. So It has become a boom at one hand (as it has become search and procurement very easy) and curse at the other (because of high prices).This is detrimental for the promotion of philately as common Indian cannot buy such material. How do you look at it and what are your suggestions? In my opinion Internet is not a bane but a boom for philatelists. The conversion from Rupees to Dollar on internet was being done by Indian dealers only. The foreign collectors/dealers who bought these items in old days start the auction at very low price and if you are lucky you may get your want for a fraction of the market price. I got most of my material in this way. The keyword is time and patience. Further with facebook and other exchange sites people are discovering exchange partners in other countries. I know a few people who built their thematic collections through this route. 6. At the age of 61 and having good collectible interest ranging from postal history to thematic, how are you planning to pursue this hobby. Your message to the philatelists of your age? None of my children are interested in my hobby. So I plan to dispose loads of material collected during last fifty years barring India mint stamps and princely state items*. I want to advance my Indore postal history collection to large Vermeil level (I got 82 marks in Australia 2013) and later make it to 8 frame collection. I also want to make another collection of international vermeil level in different field. For philatelists of my age-if you are already a collector continue with whatever you are collecting now. For new comers I would suggest a thematic interest or India mint/used. If you can afford you can go for serious philately also. 7. There is no exhibit evaluation committee in India. We feel PCI should come up with some new systems to help philatelists in procuring philatelic material, guiding philatelists and postal evaluation of exhibits .. to help promotion of philately and to get better awards in International shows? Do you think this is feasible? The idea is good but is not the only way to go forward. Self help can be the best way to go forward in present scenario. I learned my way through internet and books/catalogues. F.I.P. have detailed guideline for exhibiting on their website for all categories of philately. There is another site of American Association of Philatelic exhibitors(AAPE) where you may get idea about how to organize your collection into an exhibit.

For learning about philatelic items there are catalogues /handbooks available on different topics of postal stationeries, revenues, postal history besides SG/Scott for stamps. The CD on old issues of ISC bulletin is a goldmine on Indian philately. Some philatelic forums also discuss philatelic topics. One such forum is stamp boards from Australia which discuss topics on every field of philately with an excellent discussions on Indian state stamps . 8. Your opinion about inclusion of youth in the main stream of philately in India? Youth can always be attracted to philately with proper efforts. Philatelic clubs can be organized at school level. Now with F.I.P. including MOPHILA on international level where only items issued after 2000 can be exhibited more youth can be lured with attraction of international awards. All international exhibitions also have youth class where entry is free. So this is an added attraction. Further, regarding inclusion of youth at various important posts of philatelic fields such as appointing them commissioners or jury at higher levels, while agreeing to your opinion that youth are energetic, fast, skillful etc. and they can be helpful in many ways, I feel that to be jury or commissioner -it requires reliability, experience, knowledge, consistency in devotion to the cause of philately and also the consistency in judgment. All these things come with time and that is why you find internationally the jury members and commissioners are elderly philatelists. However, PCI has recently appointed new commissioners like Mr.Kotadia (he attended all PSI meetings since 1973) and Umesh Kakkeri from Mumbai. They have also appointed new apprentice juries at state levels some of them will graduate to national and international level. If you go through my earlier suggestion on setting philatelic advisory committee at regional, state levels-here youth can play a major role in promoting the hobby and they will have a chance to show their mettle there and may go up higher in the ladder with their leadership quality. 9. With the fast internet activity a new concept of virtual or online philatelic exhibition like EXPONET has emerged. What is your opinion about such shows. Can competitive online exhibition be organized ??? EXPONET is not a virtual but an online philatelic exhibition. As I understand virtual philately means organizing an exhibit with material taken from internet/other sources without owning it. EXPONET-an online exhibition is a welcome idea because it gives access to viewing world class collections at your leisure and knowledge about how to organize your collections. Competitive philatelic exhibitions can be organized for virtual philately as a separate class where the jury do not have to bother about authenticity or ownership or condition. With computer editing you can create, copy, change colors so you are not sure what is being exhibited is real. It will be just like a fine art exhibition. The traditional competition though now becoming very costly cannot be replaced by virtual edition.

10. This month MAPPEX 2013 , a regional level exhibition is being held at Bhopal. Certainly a very good news for philatelists of not only central India but whole of the India. What do you expect from this show and what message do you want to give to the philatelists? MAPPEX 2013 is being held after almost 13 years and I hope to see some good collections from Philatelists of M.P..It will certainly give boost to philatelic activity in the state.I myself preparing two new exhibits for this event and my collection on Indore postal history will be exhibited in invitee class. I wish all philatelists who are participating good luck for their hard work.

At INDIPEX 2011, New Delhi 11. Finally, Please share your most memorable experience of your long philatelic journey with the readers and your advice to the philatelists in generalregarding how to enjoy philately.. My most memorable experience was when I got my first Gandhi 10 Rs stamps in 1979.This was my long cherished dream at that point of time and I cannot express my pleasure of affording a 10 Rs. Gandhi stamp. To enjoy philately one must separate the financial part of it and enjoy the possession of your dreams.

Interview : Naresh Agarwal

Beginners Section

Do you know ??
India Post has issued stamps ps on 5 living personalities so far . Only Presidents of India are exceptions. As per rules of India stamps cannot be issued on any personality during his/her lifetime except presidents of India IndiaThe five great personalities are : These stamps have been issued as commemorative stamps on these personalities.

1.Sachin Tendulkar stamp issued on 14 November 2013 2. Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 5 September 1997) stamp issued on 27 August 1980 3. Welthy Fisher isher ( 18 Sep 1879 16 Dec 1980 ) stamp issued on 18. March 1980.

4. . Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve ( died at the age of 104) stamp on 100th Birthday (18 April 1858 9 November 1962) 5. . Sir Mokshagundum Viswesaraya (1860 - 1862) (died at the age of 102) stamp on 100th Birthday

Specialized Section Some Remarkable Cancellations and Postmarks 15

- Dr Avinsh B. Jagtap

Camp and Field Post Offices (Type 18a) CAMP OF EXERCISE HEAD QUARTER
This is a rectangle of nine bars, with no letter inset. It is in duplex form, the left half of the duplex reads CAMP.OF.EXERCISE/HEAD QUARTERS and the date JAN: 7. Renouf classifies this under All-India Series of cancellations and denotes this as Type 18a, perhaps because of nine parallel horizontal bars in the right duplex.This cancellation was used by the Temporary Post Office opened on the occasion of The Prince of Wales visit to India in 1876.

1876 Cover from Delhi to Urugalla (Ceylon) franked by 4 As. adhesive (SG69), bearing the word Cancelled in ms. is obliterated by a rare duplex cancellation (Renouf Type 18a). The left dupelx is a circle (Diameter 26mm) containing the wording CAMP EXERCISE: HEAD QUARTER along the circumference and the date in the date JAN: 7 in the centre. The right half of the duplex is a square (22x22mm) with 9 parallel horizontal bars.

The reverse of the cover shows the following marks: 1. Round stamp with inscriptions CAMP OF EXERCISE: DEHLI FIELD P.O./JAN.7 inverted. (Mark the spelling of DELHI, DEHLI instead of DELHI) 2. Octagonal Railway Stamp T/ B F/ I /SHOLAPUR/JAN: 11 (Renouf T.132) 3. CALIMERE POINT / JAN: Octagonal Arrival Mark of Ceylonese Post Office in RED 4. URUGALLA/ JA 16/76/ PATD Arrival Mark of Destination in RED

Some Remarks by the compiler: Renouf classifies this particular cancellation as his Type N0. 18a, based on his other cancellations used in India under All-India Series of 1873-84, where it is a duplex form with a circle on the left containing name of the town and the date and the right half with the capital letter assigned to the headquarters of that particular circle and the distinguishing number & letter for post offices. This right hand duplex contains parallel horizontal bars.This cancellation has not been taken into consideration by Jal Cooper or by Col. D.R.Martin. Brig. D.S.Virk in his book Indian Postal History 1873-1923, on page 135, depicts the following cancellation, with the left duplex formed by a circle containing the letters

GOVERNOR GENERALS/CAMP. P.O./DEC 29 and the right duplex with 9 horizontal by parallel bars. This was also in use during 1873.

- Dr Avinash B Jagtap : email : abjagtap@hotmail.com

Hindu Gods & Goddesses and Their Vahans (Part I) : Shiva

Dr.Satyendra Kumar Agrawal Although, Hindus believe in only one supreme God or power, they do tend to worship different Hindu gods and goddesses. They are all the different forms of the Supreme and divine almighty power that is above all. Also, there are many animals, birds and sea creatures which are depicted alongside Hindu Gods and Goddesses, known as their Vahans, mounds or vehicles and enjoy a place of their own as divinities and as incarnations or aspects of Vishnu or Shiva. They embellish and beautify Hindu decorative art and temple architecture, adorning the outer walls and towers of temples as objects of beauty or being installed inside as objects of veneration.

Lion

Garuda

Nandi

Each vehicle is very different and even more symbolical representing the animal energies or qualities or skills which need to be strengthened or sublimated in our lower nature with the help of the divinities who can transform them. SHIVA Shiva is one of the most complex gods in Hinduism, embodying seemingly contradictory qualities. He is the destroyer and the restorer, the great ascetic and the symbol of sensuality, the benevolent herdsman of souls and the wrathful avenger. Nandi, a white bull is the bull vahana of Shiva. Nandi means causing gladness and its idol is found in almost all Shiva temples seated and watching over the main shrine quite and benign facing the Linga or the image of Shiva. In this position, Nandi is acting not only as Shiva's guardian, but also as a constant devotee.

Nandis idol is found in almost all Shiva temples He is also the chief of Shivas Ganas (attendants) and Nandishvara is another name of Lord Shiva. The disciplined bull, which is calm and docile, symbolizes Dharma, an image of controlled power. Lord Shiva rides the Nandi bull, which stands for the brute

and blind power, as well as the unbridled sexual energy in man - the qualities only he can help us control.

Lord Shiva on Nandi The two of the largest Nandi statues in India is found in the Halebid Shiva Temple in Karnataka. One of the famous Nandi Statues in India is at Chamundi hills in Mysore, again in Karnataka.

Second Largest Nandi

DURGA Shiva's consort, Durga (and Parvati, Uma, Chandi and Kali), is the mother of the universe and believed to be the power behind the work of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world. She symbolizes the power of the Supreme Being that maintains moral order and righteousness in the universe. Worship of the goddess Shakti is very popular among the Hindu people. Durga stands for the unified symbol of all divine forces (Shaktis).

Goddess Durga riding on a Tiger/Lion Vande Mataram (Sanskrit: Vande Mataram "I do homage to the mother"; is a poem in the 1882 novel, Anandamatha by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. It is written in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit. It is a hymn to the goddess Durga, identified as the national personification of Bengal.

Vande Mataram a hymn to Goddess Durga Since time immemorial she has been worshipped as the supreme power of the Supreme Being. Durga has the role of a warrior goddess who destroys demons. and was created by the powers of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva to kill the demon Mahisasura who had unleashed a reign of terror on earth, heaven and the nether worlds, and he could not be defeated by any man or god, anywhere as Brahma had given Mahisasura the power to be the invincible conqueror of the universe. Thus Durga slew Mahisasur,and got the name Mahisasurmardhini - the slayer of Mahisasur She is usually depicted with ten arms that hold the weapons of the various gods with a lion as her vehicle and one of her many weapons.

Goddess Durga as Mahisasurmardhini The lion represents power, will and determination. Mother Durga riding the lion symbolizes her mastery over all these qualities. This suggests to the devotee that one has to possess all these qualities to get over the demon of ego. Lion also stands for cruelty, mercilessness, anger, violence and hostility towards other beings and riding on him Durga also symbolizes that her grace can help man to control all these qualities in him and become an enlightened one.

GANGA In Hindu belief Goddess Ganga was a celestial being and descended on Earth in the form of a river on the request of the great king Bhagirath to relieve his ancestors and find them a place in heaven. Legend has it that the earth was unable to bear the force of the celestial river, and that the Gods requested Shiva to bear the river on his matted locks and bring down its energy. Ganga is thus often regarded as one of Shiva's consort as he is often depicted with the Ganga on his matted hair

. Ganga on Shivas matted hair.

Ganga is the most sacred of the rivers for Hindus and Gangajal - the holiest of water is used in all the rituals of Hindus and is believed to wash away the sins of mortal men. Goddess Ganga is mostly represented in Hindu scripture riding on her mount the magara (crocodile), one of the rivers strongest water creatures identifies her as the manifestation of the river but also demonstrate her unquestionable power of assimilation and all pervasiveness.

Maa Ganga on her carrier-a crocodile To understand the symbolism of this vehicle an important incident found in the Bhagavad PuranaGajendra Moksha, (rescue of elephant),may be helpful which shows the importance of Bhakti, prayer and true devotion. Once there was an elephant named Gajendra. He was the king of a huge herd of elephants and he had thousands of queen elephants with whom he used to bathe and play in a huge lake. Gajendra was proud about his status and on a summer day he was

arrogantly bathing in the lake with his friends. Suddenly a crocodile from below caught him by the foot and tried to pull him to the bottom of the lake. Gajendra fought hard to get rid of the crocodile but the battle continued for thousand years. In the meantime, all his friends and queens deserted him. Finally realization dawned on an exhausted Gajendra and he prayed to Lord Vishnu. Soon the Lord appeared and rescued the elephant from the crocodiles deadly grip, freeing him from material existence. This story symbolizes the egoistic soul as an elephant and as long as we are young, healthy and wealthy, we feel many people love us and we become egoistic. The crocodile symbolically represents death, which ends everything. When we are caught in the jaws of death, there is no one who can save us. Friends flee, relatives disappear. Our own body fails us miserably. Like the elephant in the story, the only solution from suffering is to turn to the Lord who rushes to our aid, destroys death, and releases our soul from the clutches of death and that is liberation or Moksha that comes by the grace of the Supreme. It can also be achieved with the assistance of our merciful Mother Ganga, who uses a crocodile as a vehicle, symbolizing the crocodile of maya can easily be tamed and liberation or Moksha can be achieved. KARTIKEYA Karttikeya is the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati, the brother of Ganesha, and said to have been born to destroy the evil demon Tarakasura representing the negative tendencies in human beings. He is known by many names Subramaniam, Sanmukha, Shadanana, Skanda Kumar and Guha. In the southern states of India, Kartikeya is a popular deity and is better known as Murugan. He is the principal god of war and General of the Army of the gods. He is known for his extraordinary strength and carries on one hand a spear and his other hand is always blessing devotees. His name Shadanana, meaning one with six heads corresponds to the five senses and the mind and indicates that if humans wish to lead themselves efficiently through the battle of life, they must always be alert lest they are shown the wrong path by crafty people with the six demonic vices: kaama (sex), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (passion), mada (ego) and matsarya (jealousy).

The peacock with Lord Kartikey Kartikeya is the symbol of youth, beauty and valour.His vehicle is a peacock named Indranilaratha, a pious bird that grips with its feet a serpent, which symbolizes the ego and desires of people. The peacock in Sanskrit is called "mayura", which also symbolizes Kartikeya's effulgent beauty.The peacock with Lord Kartikey riding on it with his battle armor on, represents the destroyer of harmful habits and the conqueror of sensual desires.

Pictorial Postmark of Palani , Tamil Nadu which is famous for the temple of Kartikeya (Murugun) depicting Murugan's 'Vel' (the Divine Lance) as well as a Peacock feather symbolic of his mount: the Peacock GANESHA The chubby, gentle, wise, elephant-headed Lord Ganesha is one of Hindus most popular deities and is born from Goddess Parvati alone without the intervention of her husband Shiva.

Lord Ganesha As described in the Mudgala Purana, Lord Ganesha has taken eight incarnations and has a mouse as his mound in five of them. In his incarnation as Vakratunda, lion was his carrier, a peacock in his incarnation of Vikata, and Sheshnag, the divine serpent, in his incarnation as Vighnaraja.

Lord Ganesha and Sheshnag According to Ganesha Purana, of the four incarnations of Lord Ganesha, Mohotkata has a lion, Mayuresvara has a peacock, Dhumraketu has a horse,

and Gajanana has a rat. Jain depictions of Lord Ganesha show his mound variously as a mouse, elephant, tortoise, ram, or peacock. He is the remover of obstacles, and he is usually shown in sculpture accompanied by or riding a very small mouse, which represents the fear and nervousness in man, the feeling of doubt and weakness that overwhelm us at the onset of any new venture. Since mouse is seen as being capable of gnawing its way through most things, it symbolizes Ganeshs ability to destroy every obstacle. By praying to Lord Ganesha, his devotees can go about their task confidently, with the assured feeling that Vighnavinayaka, The Lord of obstacles-Ganesha alone can remove obstacles from our minds.

Ganesha and his Vahana The mouse is interpreted in several ways. A legend is also associated with this mound according to which mouse was a god called Kroncha.At the assembly of Indra,King of Gods, Kroncha accidentally stepped on the toes of Muni Vamadeva, who got angry and cursed Kroncha to become a mouse. Terrified, Kroncha fell to his knees and pleaded for mercy. This subdued Muni Vamadevas anger but he could not retract the curse, instead offered that Kroncha would meet Lord Ganesh and become his vehicle and become worthy of worship even by gods.

Carrier of Ganesha a Mushika

- Dr Satyendra Kumar Agarwal email :

rosephila@hotmail.com

New Issues from other countries

Hungary
5 November 2913 Christmas

The motifs of these Christmas stamp designs are pieces of traditional iced ginger bread.

Russia
Russian Post issued a stamp to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Sambo in Russia. Sambo is a Russian martial art and combat sport. The word SAMBO is an acronym for SAMozashchita BezOruzhiya, which literally translates as self-defense without weapons.

Sambo is relatively modern since its development began in the early 1920s by the Soviet Red Armyto improve their hand-to-hand combat abilities. Intended to be a merger of the most effective techniques of other martial arts, Sambo has roots in Japanese Judo, international styles of wrestling, plus traditionalfolk stylesofwrestling such as: Armenian Kokh, Georgian Chidaoba, Romanian Trinta, Tatar Koras, Uzbek Kurash, Mongolian Khapsagayand, Azerbaijani Gulesh. The stamp depicts Sambowrestlers on the background depicting elements of the corporatedesign developed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Sambo.

Netherlands Sinterklaas and sinterklaasfest

PostNL issued a sheetlet of stamps celebrating Sinterklaas and sinterklaasfest. The stamps radiate the atmosphere of joy and expectation corresponding to the spirit of the Saint Nicholas

feast in the Netherlands. The five illustrations in ten stamps are based on the classic Santa Claus story. Sinterklaas is a traditional winter holiday figure still celebrated in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, as well as some parts of Germany, French Flanders, Lorraine and Artois. Although he is usually referred to as Sinterklaas, he is also known as De Goedheiligman (The Good Holy Man), SintNicolaas (Saint Nicholas) or simply as De Sint (The Saint). He is celebrated annually on Saint Nicholas eve (5 December) in the Netherlands. Originally, the feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas patron saint of children, sailors, philatelists, and the city of Amsterdam, among others. Saint Nicholas being a bishop and this geographical spread make clear that the feast in this form has a Roman Catholic background, although the papacy has never officially recognized his existence.

Hrvatska posta issued a stamp to commemorate Faros Marathon. During last four decades Faros Marathon has developed from a small provincial competition into a world institution of long-distance swimming and enjoys today the primacy as the most prestigious world marathon.

The Lighter Side

Sachin Tendulakar worlds greatest Cricket player has touched the hearts of Cricket and sport lovers all over the world . On 14th November he played his last Test match and took retirement from the Cricket. India Post issued commemorative stamps and a MS to commemorate his 200the Test . I am sharing here a special article published in Business World related with his stamps for the interest of Readers..

Stamping Approval of Sachin

Philately, the king of hobbies, has honoured Sachin Tendulkar, the king of cricket, many times before India Post issued special stamps on 14th November, 2013.

Prof Arvind Jain of Bhilwara (Rajasthan), has the complete collection of stamps featuring Sachin Tendulkar. issued worldwide in the last five years. Jain, a philat elist by choice, is the Vice Principal of Government Girls College, Bhilwara. He holds the national record (in Limca Book) since 2007 for the largest collection of postage stamps issued on the theme of Cricket. According to Jain, Sachin was first featured on a Stamp-Tab attached with an official UK stamp. A very special sheetlet was issued by England in 2009 during the British National Stamp Exhibition -- Stampex-2009 -- honuoring record breakers in test cricket. Out of the 10 stamptabs, one was issued on Sachin for the most number of runs in International Test Cricket (12,429 runs at that time).

The Republic of Congo issued a special sheetlet in 2009, on which six living legends of the cricket world were featured, including Sachin. On the occasion of Cricket World Cup 2011, St Vincent issued a set of nine miniature sheets featuring nine cricket playing nations, one of which was issued on India featuring Sachin on three stamps. Republic of Togo issued one miniature sheet and one souvenir sheet on the same occasion, featuring the Master Blaster in action. Guinea Bissau also congratulated Team India on their World Cup victory by issuing one beautiful souvenir sheet and one sheetlet in 2011, featuring Sachin Tendulkar and other Indian players. Even Easdale Island, Scotland, issued a complete sheet of eight stamps in four different designs, featuring portraits of Sachin in various moods. This sheet was issued on the occasion of the completion of 12,000 runs by Sachin Tendulkar in international Test cricket. This sheet was prepared exclusively as a collectors item and was not valid for postal use. These stamps were called Propaganda Stamps. Surprisingly, Sachin Tendulkars name was also printed in Hindi on all the stamps, although wrongly spelt as Sacheen. So, its a big #ThankyouSachin from the world of philately.

Ten Extraordinary stamps of 2012

Here are Top 10 Most Extraordinary stamps 2012 ranked by International Stamp News

1. Worlds First stamp to incorporate a genuine diamond from Jersey Post 2. First Holographic Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II featured on a Jersey stamp 3. The worlds first pop-up stamps from the Netherlands 4.Bat shaped stamp from Switzerland 5. Stamps for Sami culture from Finland 6. Visit Iceland stamp with the QR-code

7. Embroidered and Paprika Fragranced stamps by Hungary Post 8. Seasons stamps from the Netherlands 9. Aromatic Flowers Jasmine stamp from Cyprus 10. Grapefruit scented postage stamp from French Polynesia View all above Extraordinary stamps

Editors Mail Box

Dr Avinash B. Jagtap Switzerland
There is a nice article by Dr Satyendra Agarwal on Amrita Sher Gil, who was rather unknown for a long time.

Cdr G. Sriramrao , Vishakhapatnam I went through the article in the Rainbow Stamp News, Monthly News Bulletin, regarding Amritha Sher- Gil , her great paintings and the stamps, Fdc's and Souvenir sheets,Special covers issued on her birth centenary covering many of her paintings.. The article is extremely interesting and I was amazed to see the research carried out in preparing the article. Pradip Jain - Patna I am glad to see the current news of every new stamp release ceremony with photo placed in the Rainbow which is remarkable and speaks itself your hard work over the years with dedication and remain well communicated. Rainbow family grown up in many fold over the year. It is now the best News letter, information and presentation wise. I must compliment all your good work. Blogs & Websites
1. Welcome to the World of Indian Philately - http://www.indianphilately.net/ An exclusive website created by Mr Prashant Pandya dedicated to Indian Philately .The philatelists can register for Online Philatelists Directory on this website. 2.Virtual Stamp Club http://www.virtualstampclub.com/index.html It is website for On Line collectors. Membership is free. Many collectors around the world are its members. 3. Stamp Magazine - http://blog.stampmagazine.co.uk/ This blog is updated by Adrian Keppel every Friday with new Articles on a variety of subjects.

4.Indian Thematics - http://www.indianthematics.blogspot.in/ - A new blog created by

noted Thematic Philatelist Mr Dinesh Chandra Sharma. This blog is all about Thematic Philately.
5. Indian Philatelists Forum - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indianphilatelists/ This is an electronic discussion forum dedicated exclusively to Indian Philately that allows members to engage into meaningful discussions on all aspects of Indian Philately. Membership to the forum is open to all philatelists who have interest in Indian Philately. Members can share and discuss their ideas, knowledge, research, collections, events, exhibitions, auctions, publications exclusively related to Indian Philately. 6. The best stamps - http://thebeststamps.blogspot.co.uk/ Its a beautiful blog created by Julian Fernandes of Pune ( Now living in UK) featuring lovely stamps of birds with the photos of the same birds giving a wonderful look !! 7. Robin Stamps Criticism : http://robin-stamps.blogspot.in/ : This blog is about new issues of postage stamps and the critical study of their design 8. Numismatic & Philatelic Association http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm - This Numismatic & Philatelic Association is a nonprofit and non-trade motive association that aims to promote the hobbies Philately (Stamp Collection) and Numismatics (Coin Collection) among children, students, interested individuals among the general public and especially for the budding philatelists and numismatists. 9. How to Collect Stamps To Stamp Collecting http://www.howtocollectstamps.com/ : The Complete Guide

10.GANDHI Stamps & Philately Study Circle : http://gandhistampsclub.blogspot.in/ - A new Blog by Ketan Patel .. Saving Gandhi Philately by trying to bring awareness and exposing illegal activities in Gandhi Stamps and Philately. 11. Europa Stamps : http://europa-stamps.blogspot.in/ : A blog on Europa, cept, norden & sepac stamps 12. Phila Mirror : http://philamirror.info/ : The Indian Philately Journal 13. Se- tenant Stamps of India - http://setenantsofindia.blogspot.com/ It is a specialized Blog on se-tenant stamps. 14. Flags & Stamps - http://flagstamps.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Flag Theme . 15. Glimpses of Modern Indian Philately : http://modernindianphilately.blogspot.com/ - It is a specialized blog on Modern Philately, created by Mr Prashant Pandya .

16. Question & Answers on Philately : http://en.allexperts.com/q/Stamps-Philately1610/indexExp_69442.htm - It is a site based on Question & Answers on Philately. Mr Prashant Pandya replies to queries.

17. Philatelic Journalists Forum - http://philatelicjournalistsforum.blogspot.in/ The Philatelic Journalists is an initiative by a few enthusiast philatelists, who love the hobby to the deepest. 18. The Philatelist - http://o-filatelista.blogspot.in/ - A blog with lot of info about stamps and philatelic activities around the world. 19. Phila India - http://philaindia.info/index.html - Website created by Mahesh Reddiar

with lot of info and articles on philately .

Philatelic Clubs & Societies

Baroda Philatelic Society - http://www.vadophil.org/ Deccan Philatelic Society Pune, Maharashtra Eastern India Philatelists Association - http://www.filacapsule.blogspot.com/ India Study Circle - http://www.indiastudycircle.org/ Indian Stamp Ghar - http://www.indianstampghar.com/ Indian Thematic Society, Ludhiana - http://indianthematicstamps.webs.com/ Ludhiana Philatelic Club Mobile Philately - http://www.mobilephilately.webs.com/ Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur Rainbow Stamp Club - http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com/ Rajkot Philatelic Society Rajkot, Gujarat Gujarat Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad South India Philatelists Association - http://www.sipa.org.in/ Stamps of India - http://www.stampsofindia.com/ The Army Philatelic Society, Pune

Current Philatelic Magazines Newsletters

Stamp of India Collectors Companion - Indias first weekly e-newsletter edited by Madhukar and Savita Jhingan from Stamps of India, New Delhi. E-mail: mjhingan@yahoo.com Website: www.stampsofindia.com India Post Quarterly Journal of the India Study Circle publishes original articles submitted by members of ISC. ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/ VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/ Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor Col Jayanta Dutta SIPA Bulletin Editor - Mr G. Madan Mohan Das and published by South India Philatelists Association, Chennai website : http://www.sipa.org.in/ GPA News Editor - Ilias Patel and published by Gujarat Philatelists Association, Ahemadabad.

RAINBOW STAMP CLUB

This is a blog of e-stamp Club www.rainbowstampclub.blogspot.com . The idea of this blog is to extend philatelic fraternity in all corners of the world. Readers may write about themselves with their collecting interests and share new ideas with other philatelists. New Post on recent issues, news on stamp activities and Contribution by members are published every day on this blog.Readers may also express their views on any philatelic matter which will be published under Club News at Rainbow Stamp Cub Blog. Philatelic Clubs and Societies may also send brief write ups. News about new issues of India and abroad and other information related with Philately are regularly posted on this blog. Readers may send reports on new issues, special covers, cancellations & philatelic activities of their area for inclusion in this Blog. - Editor

Promotional Section
New Books on Philately by India Post India - A Philatelic Journey
This coffee table book, India- A Philatelic Journey, was released by Honble President of India on 3rd September, 2013 at Vigyan Bhawan in the inauguration ceremony of 11th Asian Pacific Postal Union Congress. The book gives a glimpse of our country having chapters on Mahatma Gandhi, freedom struggle, art & culture, wild life, flora & fauna, sports and heritage sites of India. The book has been made in collaboration with the Times of India Group. The designing, printing and editing has been done by the Times of India Group. The packaging of the book is excellent; it is inside a beautifully designed Shrink wrap box. The most important thing which differentiates it from other coffee table books is that real stamps are used to describe the above

mentioned subjects. One side of the page have the text and other side have stamps related to the subject. Approximately 117 stamps issued since 1974 to 2012 have been inserted, in original, in each book. This book is a limited edition and exclusively for niche customers. Only 800 copies are available for sale. The book can be purchased from National Philatelic Museum, Dak Bhawan, New Delhi. This will also be made available to major philatelic bureaux. Interested customers can also place their orders to the nearest bureaux or send an email to Shri V.K.Singh, ADG(Philately) on vksinghs@yahoo.co.in. The price of the book is kept as Rs. 5500.

Art and Culture of India

India Post issued another book on Art and Culture of India. It contains 42 stamps and 1 MS issued on various themes like Greetings, Taj Mahal, paintings, Handicrafts, Textiles, gems and Jewellery, Festivals, Mimiature Paintings Dances , Masks etc. The book is available at all Philatelic Bureaux . Price Rs 2500.

Year Book Of Indian Philately by Madan Middha

For the book contact : MADAN MIDDHA, Saket Vihar, Phalka Bazar, Gwalior 474 001 email : madan_middha@yahoo.co.in

of India, International Stamp News; Indian Philately Digest ; Mansoor B.- Mangalore; Prashant Pandya Vadodara; Sreejesh Krishnan Trivandrum; Ashwani Dubey - Gorakhpur For detailed images related to this issue Please Visit : http://www.rainbowstampnews.blogspot.com/

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue Stamps

Address for communication:

Jeevan Jyoti, c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav, Chief Conservator of Forests, GHNP, Shamshi, Kullu (H.P.) PIN 175126 India E-mail j.jyoti9@gmail.com Last date for receiving write ups 25th of every month. Kindly send images in jpg compressed format & text in MS Word only. If you liked this issue please forward it to your friends and help in promoting philately.

A Request to Readers & Contributors Please do not send the text in scan form or PDF. Send your write ups in MS Word only. Kindly specify your contribution such as article/News/ Readers Right / Beginners Section/ Lighter Side etc. Please do not send forwarded messages for promotional section if you want to give any information for promotion please write personally with brief write up. As this newsletter is not used for any commercial purpose in any manner. Attention Please send limited number of images in compressed jpg format only with your article. Please send text and images separately. Please do not send text or image for publication in PDF.

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..Happy Collecting Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) India.