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Monthly e-Stamp Bulletin edited and published by Jeevan Jyoti from Dehradun.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Rainbow March 2017













Australian Jetties



Date of Issue : 21 February 2017



Dehradun  March  2017    Vol. X No. 111

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

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

Dear Reader

I am pleased to release March 2017 Issue of Rainbow Stamp News . Next Regional Meeting of Philatelic Congress of India is scheduled to be held on 4th March 2017. I wish to draw the attention of all the members of Governing Council of the PCI to bring a change in the rules of awarding system in One Frame Class upto the National Level. One Frame Class is an important class of the stamp exhibitions and if we analyse rationally, it is the only class that will survive in the years to come like T 20 Cricket. In fact a collector can display the exhibit in 16 pages. No doubt one can participate in this class by preparing a quick exhibit in a short duration of time. There are a number of participants in this class but very little credit is given to the exhibitors of this class as they are awarded points instead of medals. Now philately has become a hobby of small enthusiast group of people and needs to be promoted at least among those who are participating in the exhibitions. Awarding points in this class is not enough to recognize and appreciate the worth of the one frame exhibit. The medal should be given as per points awarded to the exhibit. However the frame fee in this class could be increased to the  double or more in order to manage the cost of medals in this category.

March is the month of famous colorful festival of India “ Holi ” .Wishing you all a very Happy Holi.                        

This is all for this month.....More in next issue. 
                                                                                






Contents


§  From the Desk of Naresh Agrawal
§  Recent Indian Issues
§  In The News
§  Doon Philatelic Diary
§  Beginners’ Section
§  Specialized Section 
§  Readers’ Right
§  New Issues from Other Countries
§  Lighter Side
§  Philatelic Clubs and Society
§  Blogs & Websites on Philately
§  Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletter











FEEDBACK FORM FOR NATIONAL COMMISSIONERS

This has been the ultimate desire of most of the philatelists to participate in International or world level shows. For this life time efforts, after spending good part of their hard earned money, huge time of their limited life time span, massive search and research; everyone likes to see that the final journey to this goal should be smooth, pleasing and satisfying. But as it is said that way to the glory is not that easy all the times. Reason may be many but smooth way is hard to get.

Well,I am indicating  towards functioning of the National Commissioners appointed for  particular exhibition in India or abroad by PCI. The Commissioners are appointed for the purpose of promoting and supporting all exhibitions granted FIP patronage, auspices or recognition to take care of the interests of the exhibitors and to help them.

They are there to smoothen the journey of exhibit to and fro. Their main function is to  ease out the administrative and  governmental hurdles by way of getting clearance form different departments, fulfill all requirement and  complete all the formalities such as arranging insurance, getting temporary permit to carry exhibits abroad, custom clearance, ASI clearance etc.. To carry the exhibits, get those displayed, receive back and carry back and deliver back to the exhibitor along with awards/medals/ literature whatever he feels like sharing / delivering. In other sense, he is the true representative of an exhibitor though ambassador of the country. Frankly speaking, a tough and responsible job accepted and done voluntarily.

In spite of all the best efforts being put in by the commissioners, they are always found to be on receiving end. Exhibitors of different mind sets have different issues with them. Some complains about poor/delayed response to the queries raised to them, reporting any action to be taken, lack and poor communication, delayed return of exhibits, return of exhibits in poor state, non delivery of appropriate literature or information of the material collected for exhibitor etc. . In general different applicants / participants have different experiences which mainly depends upon one’s own state of mind, report with the commissioner.

Mrs. Jeevan Jyoti has taken up this issue in her last editorial which genuinely needs consideration by PCI. Well, not to speak too much on this, I would  also endorse her suggestion that  there should be a feedback form  for every exhibitor who has to submit the same with in stipulated period after receipt of the exhibit. The feedback form should have  components like dates, condition of exhibit, nature and speed of communication, total expenditures etc etc. . This feedback from the exhibitor should be made mandatory.

We must also look in to the essential requirement to become a commissioner such as prompt in actions, fast and prompt communication skills, physically fit and healthy, willing to share information, and good co-ordinator.

-Naresh Agrawal Ph. 09425530514 : email  :  nareshkumar1992@yahoo.co.in


Recent Indian Issue


                                                                                                         



1 January 2017 – Splendors of India – 12 x Rs 25 + 1 MS Rs 300 + 12  MS of RS 25 each
5 January 2017 - Guru Gobind Singh 350th Prakash Utsav Rs 10 + MS
7January 2017  - India Portugal Joint Issue - Rs 5 = Rs 25 + MS
17 January 2017  M G Ramachandran - Rs 15
25  January 2017   - Nature – 6 x Rs 5 + MS
30 January 2017 – India Post Payments Bank – Rs 5



10 February 2017 – Headgears of India – 16 x Rs 10 + MS
11 February 2017 - The Poona Horse Regiment of Indian Army –Rs 5
13 February 2017 – Ramjas College – Rs 5
23 February 2017 – Ladybird Beetle – 2 x Rs 5 + 2 x Rs 15 + MS

Recent Special Covers



25 February 2017 GOPEX 2017 : Pt Ram Prasad Bismil - Gorakhpur
24 February 2017 : Consecration & Unveiling of Adiyogi - The Source of Yoga – Hyderabad
13 February 2017 :  District level Philatelic Exhibition – Ludhiana 4 special Covers10 February 2017 : 30th All India Postal Basketball Tournament 2016 -17



6 February 2017 : Tikkar Tal – Morni  Hills HARPEX 2017 - Ambala
5 February 2017 : HARPEX 2017 - Ambala GPO, Ambala
4 February 2017 : Solapex 2017. Solapur
4 February 2017 : HARPEX 2017 -Postal and RMS Emplyees Co-operative Bank Ltd. Ambala
3 February 2017 : HARPEX - 2017 Jyotisar – Janmasthali of Gita, Ambala
3 February 2017 : Sunrise at Chandrabhaga - Sun Temple Konark , Konark
3 February 2017 : SOLAPEX 2017 – Solapur 



 In The News

Canada Post and Indian Post to jointly issue Diwali stamps

In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, Canada Post and India Post have decided to produce a first-ever joint stamp to mark Diwali. This stamp will be released in September.


Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra presenting an album of Canadian stamps to B.V. Sudhakar, Secretary of Department of Posts, India

This decision was officially announced by Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra, who is of Indian origin, and his Indian counterpart B.V. Sudhakar, Secretary of India’s Department of Posts, after their meetings in Ottawa and Toronto.

“This stamp - to mark the festival of Diwali - is Canada Post’s first joint issue with India. Not only will it represent our country’s proud diversity, it will celebrate the close bond between both countries,” said Chopra.

“Issuing a joint stamp celebrating Diwali is a meaningful way to recognize the importance of this relationship to both countries,” said Sudhakar. “I am proud to have conducted the first ever visit to Canada Post,” he stated.

Chopra alluded to his last year’s visit to India, when he met “many of the big eCommerce platforms including Snapdeal, Flipkart, Craftsvilla and others, and shared with them Canada as a cross-border e-commerce market for Indian products, including handicrafts that Canadian consumers crave for.”

It was during his visit to India, Chopra told The Indian Diaspora, that he discussed with his Indian counterparts about Canada celebrating its 150th anniversary “and we would love to do a joint (stamp) issue.”

“The joint stamp issue will feature two stamps marking Diwali, the festival of lights, with one stamp design from each country,” reveals Canada Post. “The stamps will be released in each country on the same day in the fall of 2017.”
Indian Consul-General in Toronto Dinesh Bhatia said: “Both these initiatives are major milestones in Canada-India relations and I applaud Mr. Chopra and Mr. Sudhakar for their initiative and leadership in building new bridges for trade and goodwill between our two countries.”

Recent Stamp Exhibitions

BRASILIA -2017



Brasilia-2017 is a Specialized World Stamp Exhibition. The Exhibition will open on 24 October 2017 and close on 29 October 2017. Mr Ajay Kumar Mittal is the National Commissioner. Interested philatelists may contact him at email : ajaymittal1957@gmail.com


BANDUNG 2017



BANDUNG 2017 Specialised WORLD STAMP EXHIBITION, 3-7 Aug 2017 Exhibition under FIP Patronage

Shri Sahdeva Sahoo is National Commissioner for this exhibition.  emails : sahadevasahoo@gmail.com   &   sahadevas@yahoo.com  Phones +91 9337103542
 +91 674 2432251 (LL)

MELBOURNE 2017

MELBOURNE 2017, 34th FIAP Asian International Stamp Exhibition will be held in Melbourne, Australia from 30 March to 2 April 2017.
Mr. Madhukar Jhingan is the Indian National Commissioner for the MELBOURNE 2017.
 (M) +919811160965, Email: mj@stampsofindia.com


Doon Philatelic Diary

Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun






-Abhai Mishra

RIMC, Dehradun was inaugurated by his Royal Highness , Prince Edward VII, the Prince of Wales in 1922 as Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College. It was established by the British Empire to train native Indian cadets for an entry into the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, so that they can get entry as officers in the British Indian Army. The government order appointed a military commandant of the rank of Lt Colonel, a civilian headmaster, senior or junior British Masters and Indian Masters. During his address to the first thirty-seven cadets, Prince of Wales said, "It is the first few blows on the anvil of the life that give the human weapon the set and temper that carry him through life's battles". Nested in the foothills of the Shivalik ranges in the sylvan surroundings of the Doon Valley, the RIMC has a sprawling campus of 138 acres; an ideal setting green and serene for developing young minds. After India gained independence in 1947, the school continued to train young men to become a part of the Indian Armed Forces. 


The college is administered by the Union Ministry of Defense, through the Directorate General of Military Training, Army. RIMC (Limca Book of Records confirm) is perhaps the only institution in the country where exams for Class X and XII are conducted twice a year, in May and November. Alumni of the RIMC are known as "Rimcollians". Over the year the alumni has produced many leaders of society, both military as well as civil. Four chiefs of Army staff and one chief of the Air staff in India; one Commander-in-chief of the Army and two chief of the Air staff in Pakistan. 





Hugh Catchpole is a name which is very much revered at RIMC. Catchpole joined the RIMC in 1928, as an assistant master and went on to become the principal of the college in 1947 and remained the principal till 1953 when an order of the Indian government restricted the contract periods of foreign nationals to one year. It was then that he left for Pakistan where two Rimcollians, Habib Akbar and Abdul Qayyum, assisted him in setting up the Punjab Cadet College at Hasan Abdal.  He died in Islamabad on February 1, 1997 at the age of 90. During the Catchpole centenary celebrations at Dehradun in 2007, Rimcollians from all around the world gathered and paid there homage to the legendary teacher. A cricket match was also played between the cadets of India and Pakistan.
References
1. www.rimc.gov.in
2. www.en.wikipedia.org


-Abhai Mishra - email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

Beginners’ Section


 A POST OFFICE FOR YOUR VALENTINES





It itself is named “Loveland Post Office” situated in Colorado, USA and is always a busy place, but especially so during the first two weeks in February , when many people come to Loveland to mail their Valentines with a special "LOVELAND" postmark. Even celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama had visited here.




The Loveland Chamber of Commerce and the United States Postal Service have been teaming up for 65 years with their internationally renowned Valentine Re-mailing Program. This program re-mails more than 160,000 cards each year from all 50 states and more than 110 countries. They also issued stamps cards throughout the year with its annual cachet that reads "There is nothing in this world as sweet as love."
 
The Chamber of Commerce also holds a local contest to gather artistic designs and verses toward the development of a new cachet each year. They also produce the “official Loveland valentine card” which is generated from the creative works of local artists and residents who design the card front, inside verse, and the cachet stamp.
Love landers are very proud of their program that sends a message of love around the globe. In fact, there is a waiting list for people who would like to be one of the 60 plus volunteers who lovingly hand-stamp each card with a specially designed cachet for first two weeks in February.


Specialized Section


On the 126th anniversary of Agatha Christie's birth








© Dr.Satyendra Kumar Agrawal


Year 2016 was marked as 125th anniversary of her birth, the centenary of Christie writing her first detective story as well as the 40th anniversary of her death (which was in January 1976).Postal administrations all over the world honoured this all-time great Mystery novelist issuing commemorative stamps and other philatelic products.

PHILATELIC TRIBUTES IN CHRISTIE STYLE



Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie

Royal Mail chosen six of the sixty-six detective novels that Christie penned including her first published detective novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” for its 2016 commemorative issues. Other novels depicted on the stamps include: “Murder on the Orient Express”, “And Then There Were None”,” A Murder is Announced”,” The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” and “The Body in the Library”. All in true Christie style   designed by London-based Studio Sutherland in collaboration with British illustrator Neil Webb Jim, containing hidden elements relating to key scenes and principal characters from Christie’s mystery novels.Printed mostly in moody black and white, they make extensive use of micro printing  to include references to book titles, plots and characters, as well as the six letters which comprise her first name, as if they were hidden clues. To unfold these secrets one will need a mix of body heat, UV light and a magnifying glass.


FDC, GB 2016

“MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS”: SUSPECTS ARE ALL PRINTED IN MICRO TEXT

“Murder on the Orient Express” published in 1934,was inspired by an actual incident when the Orient Express was blocked by snow.Agatha journeyed frequently on the Orient Express to and from Baghdad with her second husband Max Mallowan, the well-known archaeologist who excavated several important sites in the Middle East.
In Murder on the Orient Express, just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprisingly full for the time of year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer. An American lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.With tension mounting, detective HerculePoirotfinds that everyone travelling in his coach has a motive. Hecomes up with not one, but two solutions to the crime.
When the Albert Finney film adaptation of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ opened, more than 3,000,000 copies of its, were sold in 1974 alone.




“The red kimono character is a red herring, distracting the viewer from the killer hidden behind a heat sensitive ink curtain (you simply put your finger on it and curtain disappears),” Sutherland said. “The suspects are all printed in micro text along the train rail. I loved the idea that you need magnifying glass to read some of the clues—as stamp collectors use them as well as sleuths.”

This famous novel is also commemorated on an early issue of GB 1991 as a pane of a Booklet depicting only a knife.



“THEN THERE WERE NONE”: KEY TO THE PLOT IN MICRO TEXT IS THE MOON’S REFLECTION

 “Then There Were None” is the Christie’s best-selling novel and one of the biggest sellers of all time – with 100 million copies sold. This book has had more adaptations than any other of Christie’s work, as well as eight film versions.Published in 1939, this novel sees a group of people lured into staying on a remote island under various pretexts, and then being murdered one after another, apparently in retribution for earlier sins.



“The island is the profile of the unknown killer and host,” Sutherland said. “The poem, key to the plot, is the moon’s reflection. The mysterious U.N. Owen appears at the lit window.”





“THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY”: MISS MARPLE BOOKS IN SHELVES NAME IN MICRO TEXT

In “The Body in the Library”,published in 1942, the case follows Miss Marple investigating a complex mystery in which the identity of the victim is far from clear, never mind that of the murderer.



“Miss Marple investigates a body found in the library,” Sutherland said. “Her previous books appear on the shelves behind.”





“A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED”: UV INK REVEALS THE CLOCK FACE
 
 “A Murder is announced”,published in 1950, is the 50th Christie mystery imaginative tale concerns a killing which is advertised in advance in a local newspaper, and is followed by more. Solving the case requires all of Miss Marple’s intuition. Its first edition sold record breaking 50,000 copies.



Killer bursts in at a preannounced time (6:30) to shoot at the hostess,” Sutherland said. “She holds the newspaper where he announced his plans. UV ink reveals the clock face. Miss Marple appears on the scene.”


BOOKS ADOPTED FOR TV AND FILMS

Television adoption of Miss Marple and Poirot books achieved critical acclaim as well as popular success. Most of her books and short stories have been adapted for   radio, video games, comics and more than thirty feature films.



Series of 13 British crime drama comprising 70 episodes, based on Agatha Christie's Poirot aired on ITV during 1989-2013



Peter Ustinov as Inspector HerculePoirot in movies: Death on the Nile (1978); Evil Under the Sun (1982); Thirteen at Dinner (1985) (TV); Dead Man's Folly (1986) (TV); Murder in Three Acts (1986) (TV); Appointment with Death (1988)


She was named ‘Mystery Writer of the Century’ and in 1972 she was immortalised in Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum...




SHE HAS A ROSE NAMED AFTER HER




Beautiful rich, pink Hybrid Tea shaped blooms that are lightly fragrant. A strong growing, disease-resistant climber with outstanding dark-green glossy foliage and Repeat Bloom


EVEN HER TYPEWRITER ON WHICH SHE WROTE MANY OF HER NOVELS IS ON VIEW IN TORRE ABBEY IN TORQUAY

Her Typewriter

The Mysterious Affair at STYLESher first mystery plot
Reverse side of the Booklet pane, GB 1991


She is the only crime writer to have created two equally famous and much loved characters - Hercul ePoirot and Miss Marple


-Dr Satyendra Kumar Agrawal : email : rosephila@hotmail.com


United States Columbian Issue








-Col J Dutta & Dr Anjali Dutta



Contd from the last issue …..


The design for this stamp, "Columbus Presenting Natives", was modeled after one of the paintings created by Luigi Gregori for the administration building at the University of Notre Dame after it was rebuilt following an 1879 fire, and was one of five designs engraved by Robert Savage. This denomination was originally intended to pay the fee for registered mail. However, the change in registered mail fees that necessitated the introduction of the 8-cent Columbian also changed the most common purpose of this value; it instead paid the full postage for registered first-class mail, rather than just the additional fee.  A total of 16,516,950 ten-cent stamps were issued.



10¢ Columbian bottom sheet-margin plate "No. 99"




15¢ Columbian

"Columbus Announcing His Discovery" depicts his return to court from his first voyage. The original painting by Ricardo Baloca y Cancico is lost and is believed to have been destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. Originally intended to pay postage for international registered letters, the change in the registered mail fee left this stamp with fewer direct uses. Although it would pay the cost for a triple-rate international letter, it was most commonly used in combination with other stamps to meet more expensive heavyweight charges.


30¢ Columbian

The title of painter Felipe Maso's work, "Columbus before the Franciscans at La Rabida" was shortened to "Columbus at La Rabida" when it was adapted for use in the Columbian Issue. This value was most commonly used to pay for mail to expensive foreign destinations and 1,576,950 were issued.


50¢ Columbian

A painting by A. G. Heaton was the basis for "Recall of Columbus", the first 50-cent stamp issued in the United States. Like all high-value Columbians, it was primarily used in combination to meet the needs of heavyweight or international shipments. Only 243,750 of these stamps were issued.


A. G. Heaton’s Recall of Columbus


$1 Columbian

This design was based on a painting by Antonio Muñoz Degrain, and, like many others in the Columbian Issue, engraving for this design was done by Robert Savage. Prior to the printing of "Isabella Pledging Her Jewels", no United States postage stamp, as aforesaid, had been issued with a value above 90 cents. This stamp, like all stamps equal to or greater than a dollar in value in the set, paid no specific rate at all. Although all five are known to have been used for heavy international shipments, there is speculation that they were primarily intended as Exposition advertising and as revenue for the Post Office Department. Most uses of the dollar-value Columbians were on philatelic covers.

Because they were so expensive, there were far fewer of these dollar-value stamps printed; in the case of the one-dollar Columbian, only 55,050 were ever produced. The one-dollar “Isabella Pledging Her Jewels” was recently ranked #24 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.



$2 Columbian

"Columbus in Chains", its image derived from a painting by Emanuel Leutze, is one of only two stamps in the series to depict Columbus on land in the New World (along with the 2-cent). Here, he is shown facing charges of administrative misconduct after his arrest in San Domingo by Don Francisco de Bobadilla.

Only 45,550 were printed. The two-dollar “Columbus in Chains” was recently ranked #48 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.




Emanuel Leutze’s Columbus in Chains



$3 Columbian

"Columbus Describing Third Voyage" was one of five designs engraved by Robert Savage. All of these were his sole work, engraved without collaboration with either of the other two engravers working on the Columbian Issue. Engraving was based on a painting by Francisco Jover Casanova, the same artist whose work was adapted for the 8-cent stamp's design. The three highest value Columbians were printed in much smaller quantities than less expensive members of the set, 27,650 in the case of the 3-dollar value. As with the 6-cent Columbian, a colour variety exists that is awarded minor number status. While this stamp is normally described as yellow green, the variant is considered to be olive green. Only 24,713 of these stamps were sold. This stamp was recently ranked #36 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.


$4 Columbian

"Isabella and Columbus" was the first United States stamp to bear the portrait of a woman. Queen Isabella's place on U.S. postage in that regard would not be equaled until Martha Washington was depicted on a 1902 definitive. The portrait of Columbus on the right was adapted from one by Lorenzo Lotto. Only 26,350 were printed, the least of any of the Columbians. Only 22,993 of these stamps were sold.  The four-dollar “Isabella and Columbus” was recently ranked #40 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.
As with the 6-cent Columbian, a colour variant exists that is awarded minor number status. While this stamp is normally described as crimson lake, the variety is considered to be rose carmine.


The design for both was taken from an earlier Columbus medal struck in Madrid, probably designed in turn by Olin L. Warner of New York. The figures on the left and right of Columbus were probably engraved by Charles Skinner.  Alfred Jones engraved both the stamp and the original half-dollar coin issued by the United States Mint with the "Columbus" portrait, which faced the opposite direction from his engraving work on the Columbian Exposition half dollar. The two framing figures were engraved by Charles Skinner. Some 27,350 were printed, of which 21,844 sold.

The most popular stamp in the Columbian series, the five-dollar Columbian “has an almost mystical aura in the United States philatelic community,” according to Alexander Haimann of the National Postal Museum. Philatelic historian Lester Brookman describes this stamp as “the very peak of desire for a great many collectors.” Only 21,844 were sold. An additional 5,506 were printed, but were subsequently destroyed by the Postal Department in June, 1899. The five-dollar “Columbus” was recently ranked #4 in the book 100 Greatest American Stamps by Janet Klug and Donald Sundman, 2008.



The 1892 and 1893 Columbian half dollars were the first commemorative coins issued by the United States


The 16 stamps of the United States Columbian Issue

Related Issues

A series of four envelopes, or preprinted postal stationery, was issued along with the stamp set. This series included 1-cent, 2-cent, 5-cent, and 10-cent values depicting the heads of Columbus and Liberty.

 

Design of 1¢ and 2¢ Columbian envelope



Design of 5¢ SPECIMEN Columbian envelope




10¢ Columbian envelope

Postal cards were also issued to commemorate the Exposition. There were 12 different designs related to the Exposition. The cards were sold individually or as a set in a paper wrapper. One, depicting the Women's Building, is known in two slightly different versions. The pre printed stamp was not specifically designed for the Exposition, and was the same on all versions.




Complete set of 12 (series No. 1) Official 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition postal cards








The stamps used to pay the 10-cent special delivery fee were printed in blue. There were concerns that the 1-cent Columbian, also printed in blue, might be too similar for post office employees to distinguish quickly, resulting in confusion or underpayment for services. It is not clear if this problem ever actually occurred; no covers are known using a 1-cent Columbian to pay for the special delivery charge.  However, the Post Office Department issued a new special delivery stamp, colored orange, to remedy the potential problem.  Although not officially part of the Columbian Issue, this stamp is sometimes referred to as the "Orange Columbian" by collectors due to its origin.





10¢ Orange Columbian

In 1992, in an international postal endeavor of unprecedented scope, the United States, Italy, Spain and Portugal − the four nations most closely associated with Columbus − each issued a set of six souvenir sheets on which all sixteen of the 1893 U. S. Columbian stamps were replicated.  The sets of all four countries had been jointly designed and proved largely identical, differing only in details relating to language and national postal usage. The American issues reproduced the original stamps almost exactly but altered the date in the upper right corner from 1892 to 1992.

Three stamp-images appeared on each of the sheets except for the sixth, which was devoted entirely to the original $5 Columbian. The American and Italian sets each offered sixteen perforated stamps, denominated in sixteen values. The Spanish and Portuguese sets, by contrast, included many imperforate images, for only one stamp on each sheet was perforated, and in each of these two sets, all the perforated stamps bore the same denomination — respectively, 60 Spanish pesetas and 260 Portuguese escudos (no denominations appeared on the imperforate images).

References
1. Brookman, Lester G. (1947). The 19th century Postage Stamps of the United States, Vol. III. H. L. Lindquist
2. Haimann, Alexander T. (2006-05-16). "Columbian Exposition Issues (1893)", NPM
3. The World’s Fair Collection: 1893 Columbian Issue, Sale 1055, Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc., 2013.

-       Col Jayanta Dutta & Dr Anjali Dutta - email : doctorjayanta2009@gmail.com

Incredible ! Mosquitoes earned three Noble Prizes







-ILYAS PATEL


Contd. from the last…..

Treatment
Malaria is treated with anti-malarial medications; the ones used depend on the type and severity of the disease. While medications against fever are commonly used, their effects on outcomes are not clear. Uncomplicated malaria may be treated with oral medications. Recommended treatment for severe malaria is the intravenous use of anti-malarial drugs. For severe malaria, artesunate is superior to quinine in both children and adults. Treatment of severe malaria involves supportive measures that are best done in a critical care unit. This includes the management of high fevers and the seizures that may result from it. It also includes monitoring for poor breathing effort, low blood sugar, and low blood potassium.
Resistance
Drug resistance poses a growing problem in 21st century malaria treatment. Resistance is now common against all classes of anti-malarial drugs apart from artemisinins. When properly treated, people with malaria can usually expect a complete recovery. However, severe malaria can progress extremely rapidly and cause death within hours or days. In the most severe cases of the disease, fatality rates can reach 20%, even with intensive care and treatment. 

Malaria Research and Noble Prize
Scientific studies on malaria made their first significant advance in 1880, when Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran—a French army doctor working in the military hospital of Constantine in Algeria—observed parasites inside the red blood cells of infected people for the first time. He therefore proposed that malaria is caused by this organism, the first time a protist was identified as causing disease. For this and later discoveries, he was awarded the 1907 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. A year later, Carlos Finlay, a Cuban doctor treating people with yellow fever in Havana, provided strong evidence that mosquitoes were transmitting disease to and from humans. This work followed earlier suggestions by Josiah C. Nott, and work by Sir Patrick Manson, the "father of tropical medicine", on the transmission of filariasis.
Ronald Ross was born on May 13, 1857, as the son of Sir C.C.G. Ross, a General in the English army. He commenced the study of medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London in 1875; entered the Indian Medical Service in 1881. He commenced the study of malaria in 1892. In 1894 he determined to make an experimental investigation in India of the hypothesis of Laveran and Manson that mosquitoes are connected with the propagation of the disease. After two and a half years' failure, Ross succeeded in demonstrating the life-cycle of the parasites of malaria in mosquitoes, thus establishing the hypothesis of Laveran and Manson. In 1899 he joined the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine under the direction of Sir Alfred Jones. He was immediately sent to West Africa to continue his investigations, and there he found the species of mosquitoes which convey the deadly African fever. Ronald Ross was awarded a Nobel Prize for his discovery of the life cycle of malaria parasite, although he considered his epidemiological mathematics to be a much more valuable contribution. He did not build his concept of malarial transmission in humans, but in birds, nor did he identify the exact species of mosquitoes. In 1897, an Italian physician and zoologist Giovanni Battista Grassi, along with his colleagues, had established the developmental stages of malaria parasites in anopheline mosquitoes; and they described the complete life cycles of P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae the following year. When the 1902 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was considered, the Nobel Committee initially intended the prize to be shared between Ross and Grassi. The weight of favour ultimately fell on Ross, largely due to the influences of Robert Koch, the appointed "neutral arbitrator" in the committee; as reported, "Koch threw the full weight of his considerable authority in insisting that Grassi did not deserve the honor". Ross was the first to show that malaria parasite was transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes, in his case the avian Plasmodium relictum, which is a harmless parasite. However, Grassi's work was more directly relevant to human health as he demonstrated that human malarial parasites were transmitted only by female Anopheles. Indeed, it was Grassi who both correctly identified the mosquito species as Anopheles claviger and in 1898 established the complete life cycle of P. falciparum, the first human malaria parasite for which this had been done. Thus the first Noble for malaria research went to Ronald Ross in 1902.



The findings of Finlay and Ross were later confirmed by a medical board headed by Walter Reed in 1900. Its recommendations were implemented by William C. Gorgas in the health measures undertaken during construction of the Panama Canal. This public-health work saved the lives of thousands of workers and helped develop the methods used in future public-health campaigns against the disease.
The first effective treatment for malaria came from the bark of cinchona tree, which contains quinine. This tree grows on the slopes of the Andes, mainly in Peru. The indigenous peoples of Peru made a tincture of cinchona to control fever. Its effectiveness against malaria was found and the Jesuits introduced the treatment to Europe around 1640; by 1677, it was included in the London Pharmacopoeia as an anti-malarial treatment. It was not until 1820 that the active ingredient, quinine, was extracted from the bark, isolated and named by the French chemists Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou.


Julius Wagner-Jauregg (1857 – 1940) was an Austrian physician, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1927. His Nobel award was "for his discovery of the therapeutic value of malaria inoculation in the treatment of dementia paralytica". The main work pursued by Wagner-Jauregg throughout his life was related to the treatment of mental disease by inducing a fever, an approach known as pyrotherapy. In 1887 he investigated the effects of febrile diseases on psychoses, making use of erisipela and tuberculin (discovered in 1890 by Robert Koch). Since these methods of treatment did not work very well, he tried in 1917 the inoculation of malaria parasites, which proved to be very successful in the case of dementia paralytica (also called general paresis of the insane), caused by neurosyphilis, at that time a terminal disease. It had been observed that some who develop high fevers could be cured of syphilis. Thus, from 1917 to the mid 1940s, malaria induced by the least aggressive parasite, Plasmodium vivax, was used as treatment for tertiary syphilis because it produced prolonged and high fevers (a form of pyrotherapy). This was considered an acceptable risk because the malaria could later be treated with quinine, which was available at that time. This discovery earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1927. His technique was known as malariotherapy; however, it was dangerous, killing about 15% of patients, so it is no longer in use. Thus second Noble went to malaria research not directly but indirectly.

Quinine became the predominant malarial medication until the 1920s, when other medications began to be developed. In the 1940s, chloroquine replaced quinine as the treatment of both uncomplicated and severe malaria until resistance supervened, first in Southeast Asia and South America in the 1950s and then globally in the 1980s.

The first pesticide used for indoor residual spraying was DDT. Although it was initially used exclusively to combat malaria, its use quickly spread to agriculture. In time, pest control, rather than disease control, came to dominate DDT use, and this large-scale agricultural use led to the evolution of resistant mosquitoes in many regions. The DDT resistance shown by Anopheles mosquitoes can be compared to antibiotic resistance shown by bacteria. During the 1960s, awareness of the negative consequences of its indiscriminate use increased, ultimately leading to bans on agricultural applications of DDT in many countries in the 1970s. Before DDT, malaria was successfully eliminated or controlled in tropical areas like Brazil and Egypt by removing or poisoning the breeding grounds of the mosquitoes or the aquatic habitats of the larva stages.
Malaria vaccines have been an elusive goal of research. The first promising studies demonstrating the potential for a malaria vaccine were performed in 1967 by immunizing mice with live, radiation-attenuated sporozoites, which provided significant protection to the mice upon subsequent injection with normal, viable sporozoites. Since the 1970s, there has been a considerable effort to develop similar vaccination strategies for humans.

Eradication efforts
Several notable attempts are being made to eliminate the parasite and eradicate it worldwide. In 2006, the organization Malaria No More set a public goal of eliminating malaria from Africa by 2015, and the organization plans to dissolve if that goal is accomplished. Several malaria vaccines are in clinical trials, which are intended to provide protection for children in endemic areas and reduce the speed of transmission of the disease. As of 2012, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has distributed 230 million insecticide-treated nets intended to stop mosquito-borne transmission of malaria. The U.S.-based Clinton Foundation has worked to manage demand and stabilize prices in the artemisinin market. Other efforts, such as the Malaria Atlas Project, focus on analysing climate and weather information required to accurately predict the spread of malaria based on the availability of habitat of malaria-carrying parasites. The Malaria Policy Advisory Committee (MPAC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) was formed in 2012, "to provide strategic advice and technical input to WHO on all aspects of malaria control and elimination". In November 2013, WHO and the malaria vaccine funders group set a goal to develop vaccines designed to interrupt malaria transmission with the long-term goal of malaria eradication.


Malaria has been successfully eliminated or greatly reduced in certain areas. Malaria was once common in the United States and southern Europe, but vector control programs, in conjunction with the monitoring and treatment of infected humans eliminated it from those regions. Several factors contributed, such as the draining of wetland breeding grounds for agriculture and other changes in water management practices, and advances in sanitation, including greater use of glass windows and screens in dwellings. Malaria was eliminated from most parts of the USA in the early 20th century by such methods, and the use of the pesticide DDT and other means eliminated it from the remaining pockets in the South in the 1950s. 
Research
Vaccine
Immunity (or, more accurately, tolerance) to P. falciparum malaria does occur naturally, but only in response to years of repeated infection. An individual can be protected from a P. falciparum infection if they receive about a thousand bites from mosquitoes that carry a version of the parasite rendered non-infective by a dose of X-ray irradiation. An effective vaccine is not yet available for malaria, although several are under development. The highly polymorphic nature of many P. falciparum proteins results in significant challenges to vaccine design.
Other
A non-chemical vector control strategy involves genetic manipulation of malaria mosquitoes. Advances in genetic engineering technologies make it possible to introduce foreign DNA into the mosquito genome and either decrease the lifespan of the mosquito, or make it more resistant to the malaria parasite. Another new application of genetic technology is the ability to produce genetically modified mosquitoes that do not transmit malaria, potentially allowing biological control of malaria transmission. In one study, a genetically-modified strain of Anopheles stephensi was created that no longer supported malaria transmission, and this resistance was passed down to mosquito offspring.
World Malaria Day (WMD)
World Malaria Day (WMD) is an international observance commemorated every year on 25 April and recognizes global efforts to control malaria. World Malaria Day sprung out of the efforts taking place across the African continent to commemorate Africa Malaria Day. WMD is one of eight official global public health campaigns currently marked by the World Health Organization (WHO), along with World Health Day, World Blood Donor Day, World Immunization Week, World Tuberculosis Day, World No Tobacco Day, World Hepatitis Day and World AIDS Day. World Malaria Day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, WHO's decision-making body. The day was established to provide "education and understanding of malaria" and spread information on "year-long intensified implementation of national malaria-control strategies, including community-based activities for malaria prevention and treatment in endemic areas." Prior to the establishment of WMD, Africa Malaria Day was held on April 25 that began in 2001,
Noble Prize 2015 - Press Release
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with one half jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi ÅŒmura
for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites and the other half to Youyou Tu for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria Diseases caused by parasites have plagued humankind for millennia and constitute a major global health problem. In particular, parasitic diseases affect the world's poorest populations and represent a huge barrier to improving human health and wellbeing. This year's Nobel Laureates have developed therapies that have revolutionized the treatment of some of the most devastating parasitic diseases.
William C. Campbell and Satoshi ÅŒmura discovered a new drug, Avermectin, the derivatives of which have radically lowered the incidence of River Blindness and Lymphatic Filariasis, as well as showing efficacy against an expanding number of other parasitic diseases. Youyou Tu discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from Malaria. These two discoveries have provided humankind with powerful new means to combat these debilitating diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people annually. The consequences in terms of improved human health and reduced suffering are immeasurable.



Figure 1The distribution of the most devastating parasitic diseases: River Blindness, Lymphatic Filariasis (Elephantiasis) and Malaria is collectively shown in blue on the world map.
Youyou Tu was born in 1930 in China and is a Chinese citizen. She graduated from the Pharmacy Department at Beijing Medical University in 1955. From 1965-1978 she was Assistant Professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, from 1979-1984 Associate Professor and from 1985 Professor at the same Institute. From 2000, Tu has been Chief Professor at the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Malaria was traditionally treated by chloroquine or quinine, but with declining success. By the late 1960s, efforts to eradicate Malaria had failed and the disease was on the rise. At that time, Youyou Tu in China turned to traditional herbal medicine to tackle the challenge of developing novel Malaria therapies. From a large-scale screen of herbal remedies in Malaria-infected animals, an extract from the plant Artemisia annua emerged as an interesting candidate. However, the results were inconsistent, so Tu revisited the ancient literature and discovered clues that guided her in her quest to successfully extract the active component from Artemisia annua. Tu was the first to show that this component, later called Artemisinin, was highly effective against the Malaria parasite, both in infected animals and in humans. Artemisinin represents a new class of anti-malarial agents that rapidly kill the Malaria parasites at an early stage of their development, which explains its unprecedented potency in the treatment of severe Malaria.



The discoveries of Avermectin and Artemisinin have fundamentally changed the treatment of parasitic diseases. Malaria infects close to 200 million individuals yearly. Artemisinin is used in all Malaria-ridden parts of the world. When used in combination therapy, it is estimated to reduce mortality from Malaria by more than 20% overall and by more than 30% in children. For Africa alone, this means that more than 100 000 lives are saved each year. The discoveries of Avermectin and Artemisinin have revolutionized therapy for patients suffering from devastating parasitic diseases. Campbell, ÅŒmura and Tu have transformed the treatment of parasitic diseases. The global impact of their discoveries and the resulting benefit to mankind are immeasurable.




Reference: (1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria

Acknowledgments: The author thankfully acknowledges all source of information without which it was difficult to prepare this article. The author is thankful to Mr Prathmesh Patel of Anand for providing scan images of Meghdood postcards and Dilip Naik of Ahmedabad for providing all Meghdood postcards from his collection for study and preparation of this article.

- Ilyas Patel - email : iap.patel@gmail.com

Readers’ Right
  

INDIAN PHILATELY-- Past, Present, Future

Swamynathan R 

Traditionally, the word "Philately" originates from the study of postal communication which includes postal marks on the letters, stamps affixed on it, routes taken by the letter, rates etc. Philatelic activity is a means for learning and sharing. It’s also a cultural and an educational activity.

This article mainly focuses on the SCENARIO of Indian Philately of PAST (from the post independence, excluding the British Philately), PRESENT and how Indian Philately must be in FUTURE. Initial days (upto mid 1950's) of Indian Philately were dominated by British settlers in India who were great researchers and published many books on Indian Philately mainly on Lithograph stamps of 1854-1855,  Handstruck cancellations and Early cancellations etc. 

1. Early Days of Philately (PAST)
In the earlier days, one started the hobby of Philately by collecting stamps due to its colorful appearance, attractiveness, interesting details etc. Philately in the past was deeply rooted in the postal communication. Also in the earlier days, life was slow and peaceful due to which everybody had  considerable long hours of free time along with peaceful mind conducive for  hobbies to be pursued giving self satisfaction. Generally, the primary motive to pursue philately was to fulfill one's own interest. Exhibiting and participating in competitions were secondary.

General Weakness

a.Lack of Archiving

The rich philately Literature which India had in the past has never been archived as libraries, electronic formats. Therefore, the Indian philately of the past is being forgotten. In such a scenario, the current generation is ignorant of   Indian philately of the past and they do philatelic activity as they think is the best.

b. Lack of Analytical Approach

The analytical style of writing the Philately literature was never developed. The descriptive writings have too much of unnecessary words for expressing a point.

c. Lack of Foundation & Evolution to India Philately

Philately in India could never build a "Strong foundation and consciously Evolve with time" which is a basic requirement to keep the Philately in India to be lively for a long time.

Overall there was no conscious effort from the philately community as a whole to think about the future philately who can "Uphold the richness of the past and lead the Future".

2. Impact on Philately in Modern Times (PRESENT)
Impact 1--Reduction in Postal Communication
With time, Technology has given rise to virtual communication due to which letter writing or postal correspondence has almost reduced to negligible. The Philatelic activity has reduced its scope to collect unused commemorative stamps. By just collecting unused commemorative stamps, the Philately gets disconnected from Postal Communication which is the foundation to Philately.

Impact 2--Too much focus on Philately Exhibitions.

Modern Philately is too much focused on  exhibitions and the importance and encouragement to Philately as a hobby for one's own interest and enjoyment has been ignored. This has reduced the scope and variety in Philately.

Impact 3-- Challenges of Modern Times

-- The daily life has become too fast and stressful due to which pursuing any hobby is getting difficult.
-- Many new entertainment areas have come up due to which getting new comers to philately is becoming difficult.


3. Reviving Philately(FUTURE)
Philately, in modern times has to redefine itself to suit the modern times. Peace of mind and good Leisure time is the key to pursuing any Hobby.  In today's circumstances with stressful daily life and less leisure time, pursuing hobbies are difficult and hence innovative methods and approach have to be devised to pursue Philately. Here are a few suggestions :

-- Holistic suggestions :

a. For youngsters, the approach must be to convince the school management, the teachers and the parents about the importance of hobby. With the support of school management, teachers and parents, promoting  any hobby to youngsters becomes easy.
b. For individuals other than youngsters, regular hobby seminars and workshops  to be held at various occasions.
c. Modern Philately must include various philatelic activities so as to give various choices for the philately hobbyist.

-- Specific suggestions :

a. Letter writing in an interesting way needs to be encouraged. Letter writing has its own importance irrespective of change in time and technology.
To encourage letter writing, USA Post(USPS) issued the following stamps
-- In 1980. Three stamps were issued with each stamp having one of the following phrases :

Letters Preserve Memories
Letters Shape Opinions
Letters Lift Spirits

-- In 2015, USA post issued a forever stamp to encourage letter writing with words "From ME to YOU"

b. The various  aspects of the Philately needs to be encouraged so that Philately becomes "relevant and interesting"  to the current generations. For e.g. Philately chapter in schools, seminars, booklets etc.
c. Regular philately awareness programs must be done.
d. Philately literature material in different formats must be made available in abundance.
e. The "Scope" of Philately activity needs to widen / increase. For e.g. Hand Folded Envelopes, Philately Journalism etc.

f. The concept of "Open Philately" must be explored which was discussed in the seminar held on the occasion of 75th Anniversary of Mumbai GPO. The same has been published in the proceedings. My Stamp is an example of Open Philately. "My Envelope" is one such suggestion for "Open Philately"
g. Bringing in many variety in philately related "Products and Services".

Conclusion
Enormous effort is required to keep the philately going in modern times for which both the Philately community and India Post will have to work together.
Secondly, Philately needs to be looked from two perspectives :
-- General interest in Philately
-- One's specialization in Philately.

Happy Philately…..

New issues from other Countries

Australia

21 February 2017 – Australian Jetties



Many of the countless jetties and piers that punctuate Australia’s coastline and waterways were originally built to moor vessels transporting goods and passengers.
While some have since fallen into disuse, others are still popular for recreational fishing, diving, snorkelling and other tourist activities.
Busselton Jetty, located on Geographe Bay in Western Australia, is the longest wooden jetty in the world, originally built for the transportation of timber. A railway now carries tourists to an underwater observatory at the end of this historic jetty.
A jetty at Tumby Bay on the Spencer Gulf in South Australia was first constructed in 1874 to facilitate the shipping of anticipated supplies of copper from nearby Burrawing Mine. The current jetty was constructed in 1908–09 and is now a well-known fishing spot and scuba diving destination.
The picturesque jetty on secluded Shelley Beach lies near the resort town of Portsea on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. The small jetty near Kincumber, New South Wales, is situated between Kincumber and Davistown on the Brisbane Water, an estuary in the Central Coast region north of Sydney.
Croatia
20 February 2017 : Children's World - Pets - Terrarium


GREEN IGUANA
Iguana iguana
Iguana is native to Central and North America and is found in various colors, depending on the site, but the basic and most common is green. During the 19th century, sailors began to bring them to Europe as exotic animals, and in the 20th century they were very often kept as pets.
Iguana is a herbivore and eats virtually all kinds of vegetables and fruits and cooked rice, corn and polenta. Only when they are young, ie. during first months after hatching, it' is advisable to feed them with worms or insects and boiled egg as a supplementary food from time to time. In addition, they should occasionally get calcium and vitamins for the reptiles. It can grow up to 1.5 meters in length, and reach up to 10 kg of weight. The difference between the sexes is in the size of the head and spines on their backs, with males being larger.
As a pet is not too demanding when it comes to food and care, but requires a lot of space, a terrarium should be 2 times longer and 3 times higher than its size. A pair of thick branches should be put inside the terrarium because it enjoys climb them for sunbathing. Sun should be replaced with special lamps that can emit UV rays which are important to it. Also terrarium should be heated because iguana enjoys the temperature between to 20 to 30 ° C, provided that the daytime and nighttime temperatures must differ by 10 degrees. We can adjust temperature for our pet by getting thermostatic heaters which are available at stores.There should also be a water container in the terrarium for bathing because iguana likes to dip when it needs to change its skin.
When purchasing iguana, it is advisable to get a young animal because it adapts much easier to people and the environment, and can be trained to get on a hand, and to respond to the name we give it.
At last, it is a favorite pet for reptile lovers who have enough space and time to devote  because for every moment of dedication it gets, it returns several times more with its behavior and joy when surrounded by human friends..
VEILED CHAMELEON
Chamaeleo calyptratus
Just like its name says, its homeland is western Yemen, as well as the southern part of Saudi Arabia. It lives in mountain area and feeds on insects.
During the 20th century it was adopted in Europe and has been successfully raised or kept as a pet for years. It grows quite large for a chameleon, so males are about 50 cm and females up to 35 cm in length. It has a casque on its head which is called a helmet, and wens on its legs. Both of them are used for determining gender of the pet. The male has a spur on its feet, and his helmet is larger compared to the female's one. Chameleons are very protective of their territory and it is not advisable to have more of them as pets, unless we raise them. In that case, they must not see each other because if they do, they will not feel well and will constantly be under stress.
Chameleon can be kept in the glass terrarium, but also in a metal cage with plasticized grids. Just like other reptiles, it is cold-blooded animal so we must provide it with heating, as well as with the light that radiates UVB rays which it needs in order to be able to synthesize vitamin D that it is important for its proper growth and development. It feeds on crickets, cockroaches, locusts, various kinds of worms, and when it gets larger we can feed it with the baby mice, so called "Pinkies". All the food we give to it should be sprinkled with supplements based on calcium at least twice a week because chameleon needs it for proper development. Unfortunately the food we provide it with must be live because chameleon catches the prey  with its long sticky tongue with incredible speed. Chameleons take water from the dew drops and that can be provided by sprinkling the interior of the cage or terrarium. This can also be achieved with fogger for chameleon likes it especially when it needs to change skin because  it makes its skin moist and easier to shed.
Chameleons move very slowly because by adjusting body color they blend with the environment, and with quick movements they would scare away their prey.If we want to play around with them, it is not good to catch them so we should let them climb the hand on their own and walk over it.
MILK SNAKE
Lampropeltis triangulum
As the Latin name suggests, this beautiful snake is tricolor. Namely the main color is red, with rings of black and white, yellow or orange. It originates from North and Central America and is found in various habitats. It feeds on snakes, including venomous snakes, lizards, rodents, birds and eggs of birds or reptiles. With its colours it resembles a coral snake which is its prey.
During the 20th century it was brought to Europe, where it has become a common pet with fans of snakes because of its beautiful looks and peaceful nature.
In captivity it feeds on rodents and eggs. It grows up to 2 meters and is kept in a terrarium, from which it can be released sometimes, of course under the supervision as it could crawl and hide anywhere. Terrarium should be adjusted to the size of the snake, and the longest front side should be twice longer than its length. We must also put a heater and a special lamp that mimics the sun. The container with water is required for drinking and bathing. While small, the snake sheds every month, and later on it happen less frequent, but it grows all its life and can live for thirty years. With eggs and rodents occasionally it should be given vitamins and minerals adapted for snakes. They have poor eyesight, but they have a highly developed sense of smell, so they will remember and recognize their human friends by their smell. Occasionally they can be taken out and played with, but if the opportunity occurs, it would be good to put them in the sun because it is very important for their metabolism and shedding the skin. Once a year would it would be good to lower the temperature in the terrarium to allow them go into hibernation, but at the same time we must take into account when it ate, since it needs up to two weeks to digest food. At that point we should not lower the temperature in order to avoid leaving undigested food inside the snake because it could begin to rot in it.
Finally, it is a nice pet for the fans, but not for those who would just like to boast with it  and after a while forget on it.
MUSK TURTLE
Sternotherus odoratus
The area in which this turtle lives is spread in several states in the USA and partly in Canada.
Swamp and quiet backwaters of rivers are its home in nature. It is mostly a carnivore and feeds on worms, snails, aquatic insects and small fish. As an adult it also eats water plants. It grows up to 15 cm and is one of the smaller turtles.
Since the end of the last century it is being imported to Europe as a substitute for red-eared slider since the latter had been identified as invasive and were banned for import and breeding in most EU countries. Musk turtle is not as colorful as red-eared slider, but it is smaller, has an interesting shell, it is less demanding and is much more resistant than other species. Since it is aquatic turtle, it is kept in aquatic terrarium which size for an adult should be 80 x 35 x 40 cm. It would be good to have a heater in aquatic terrarium in order to maintain a temperature at 25 ° C, filter for purifying water and lighting. The terrarium should contain bigger rocks and stumps that will allow the pet to get out in the sun and heat. Namely it is good to place the lighting lamp above the stone or stump in order to make that place warmer. When possible, it would be nice to put the turtle to sunbathe, making sure it does not take too long to avoid overheating.
We feed it with dried shrimps, small fish and a variety of insects. We can give it also  live insects (crickets, mealworms, earthworms, aquatic snails and tubifex). It is also possible to buy to buy pelleted turtle food, though it is not recommended to keep giving it the same food.
It is not recommended to put two males in the same terrarium, but it is possible to put a couple of females with one male. The sexes differ by the size of their heads and the thickness and length of their tails. Males have every part bigger but are not bigger in total size, so females are slightly larger than males.
While young, when frightened, turtle emits the scent of musk, after which it was named.
San Marino



17 January 2017 : 2017 - International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

The year 2017 has been declared by the United Nations as International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and with this, it aims to raise awareness on this issue, with special interest in promoting economic growth; Social inclusion, employment and poverty reduction; Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change; Cultural values, diversity and heritage and, finally, peace and security.
The two stamps present a similar image of prints engraved on the sand and snow respectively. Both stamps also collect the logo of this celebration, which is represented by a dandelion that begins to undo and fly through those two landscapes so desirable.

7 March 2017 : 30th anniversary of the birth of Marco Simoncelli



 
San Marino Post will issue a commemorative stamp featuring great motorbike racer Marco Simoncelli on 7th March 2017.He is a hero for all  bike lovers. Marco Simoncelli would have turned 30 on the 20th January 2017. Fate precluded him this milestone in his life on the 23rd October 2011 in Sepang, Malesia. After five years his memory lives on in the hearts and minds of many fans. San Marino, State near to his town Coriano and to the Romagna motorvalley, dedicated to Marco a philatelic set made up of a value of €2.00 with his nice portrait, while the strip on the left of the sheet shows the rider doing a wheelie on his motobike in Brno and his racing number “58”.

Switzerland

23 February 2017 : 200th anniversary of the bicycle





Bicycles are very popular in Switzerland, a haven for cyclists. German inventor Karl Drais from Baden must have caused quite a sensation on 12 June 1817 as he rode through Mannheim on his self-constructed “running machine” at around three times the speed of walking.
Patented under the name “draisine”, this new means of transport was soon forgotten, but not the idea behind it: The invention of pedals in 1866 soon led to the development of the high wheel or penny-farthing, which proved quite dangerous and was immediately banned in many places. It wasn’t until the introduction of the rear wheel chain drive in the 1880s that the modern bicycle took off.
Today the bicycle is seen as an efficient and highly ecological means of transport that enhances the quality of life. It doesn’t create exhaust or noise emissions and only takes up a few square metres of parking space. Swiss Post is also very much pro bicycles on account of their good sustainability qualities. The company encourages its employees to cycle to work and provides e-bikes free of charge. Consciously printed in black-and-white, the two special stamps both show the draisine and a modern bicycle. One stamp has the former in the foreground, the other the latter.
Lighter Side

Octogenarian Artist who Weaves Magic out of Postal Stamps  


By Tamara Mathias​


Meet the 82-year-old woman who has spent over 40 years painstakingly creating beautiful artwork from discarded Indian postage stamps and her son who passionately preserves philately. Deepa Melkote speaks at the lightening pace of a woman on a mission.

The 82-year-old homemaker is a woman of many talents, but her specialty lies in the intricate collages she has created over the last four decades. Her subjects are varied: historical monuments, dancers in colourful lehengas, brightly coloured birds and mythological figures. Each piece is comprised of vivid stamps that have been segregated, cut into tiny pieces and glued neatly onto a sketch.

“I once read in a magazine about a British woman who collected stamps and used it as wall paper for her home,” she explains. “That gave me an idea to do something with discarded stamps. The colours are what attracted me.”

Understandably, Deepa’s hobby has been culled by the scythe of modern technology. She complains that she no longer receives snail mail and, when she does, is uninterested in the monotonous stamps affixed to it, unlike the brightly coloured specimens she used to work with when she first began her artistic hobby in the 70s.

High above the treetops on Bangalore’s Raj Bhavan road extends a majestic dome atop an imposing, stone building. It has been a hallmark of the city’s skyline long before it was joined by swooping metro rails, tacky hoardings and the penthouse suites of tall, business hotels. If you crane your neck, you can just about make out the logo affixed to the front of the building: three yellow wings that zip across a red square. This is the General Post Office, an architectural and historical marvel, with a reputation for efficiency.

On the first Sunday of every month, a group of philatelists meet here to resuscitate what is quickly becoming the lost art of stamp collecting. Formally, they comprise the Karnataka Philately Society, established in 1975 to promote the hobby of philately and build and disseminate philatelic knowledge around it.

Despite dwindling interests in the art, on paper, the organisation boasts more than 500 life members. Their General Secretary is Nikhilesh Melkote, who has been collecting stamps since he was eight years old. He also happens to be Deepa’s only son, and the reason she began using postage stamps as material for her art projects.

“My son used to collect stamps as a school boy. He has many wonderful thematic collections,” Deepa says, proudly. Today, Nikhilesh works tirelessly to share the passion that changed his childhood with other young people. He began by collecting all sorts of stamps but, over time, realised that a more scientific, educational method would involve acquiring thematic collections.

At present, he has a stunning range of flag and cricket-themed stamps. He speaks warmly of how both his parents supported his hobby by buying him all the books and materials he needed to pursue philately. “I could not have reached the level I did, winning international awards and visiting foreign stamp exhibitions, without their unstinted support,” he says.

Like her son, Deepa understands being passionate about a hobby, because she has several. On a regular morning, Vividh Bharati radio is on loud at the Melkote’s Indiranagar residence. Deepa sits in her usual spot, listening to music but focusing on the task at hand, usually needlework. She first took to embroidery as a schoolgirl in Dharwad and keeps at it, 70 odd years later, stitching beautiful patterns onto tablecloths or patiently sewing geometric kasuti designs onto saris for friends.

In all her years as a seamstress, Deepa has never considered going professional. “No, no!” she says, appalled, when the question is raised. “Needlework is my hobby! I just do it for my friends.” She is also an ace at crochet work and knitting, is a club- and state-level Bridge player and never misses an Indian cricket match on TV.

Much of her adult life has been transitory. Deepa’s husband, an IAS officer, was posted in a different part of Karnataka every two or three years and the family moved with him across the state, from Gulbarga to Raichur. Despite their fluid lifestyles, Deepa and Nikhilesh always managed to pack up their stamps and continue where they had left off at their next destination.

“I hate throwing things out!” Deepa laughs. “I used to collect all the damaged and discarded stamps my son did not want and use them to make collages. At one point, all the peons in my husband’s office were instructed not to throw away any stamps but to collect them and give them to me.”

Nikhilesh fondly recollects similar memories of his mother. “Sometimes she would get stuck because of the lack of a particular colour. I would ask all of my collector friends and also search envelopes in my Dad’s office till we got her the right colours. During my school days, I remember watching my mother patiently and diligently cutting and pasting stamps to make her stamp craft.

She would ask me for my spare, unwanted and damaged stamps. I no doubt learnt the qualities of patience and hard work from her. These are especially required for a philatelist who wishes to excel.” Deepa is one of those people whose packrat tendencies nearly always have creative outcomes; when she’s around, even used matchsticks can be turned into crafted flowers on a tray.

Last Christmas she cleaned out aluminium foil used to wrap food and turned it into garlands that now hang from her friends’ Christmas trees. Among her creations are intricate collages of the Madurai Meenakshi Temple, the Tungabhadra Dam, the Howrah Bridge and Bangalore’s Vidhana Soudha.

“The sketching is done very quickly,” she says. “The rest depends on whether I have all the stamps I need. Sometimes I have to wait for the right colours. If I have enough stamps I can sit from morning to night and finish a piece.” The most remarkable aspect of her work is that it has remained largely hidden for 40 years, save a few exhibitions she allowed her son to display her pieces at, and the times she showed them to her friends.

“People don’t have patience with these things,” she says, referring to her craft ventures in general. “Some of my friends wanted me to teach them kasuti but after two days they said they didn’t have the patience. You have to be willing to sit quietly and keep working.” Despite the fact that she has not held a full-time job since she married – Deepa worked as a lecturer of Sanskrit at the Karnatak University Dharwad she never has trouble filling her day.

“I was a very good student!” she tells me when I ask what other Renaissance Woman surprises she has up her sleeve. “I got a First Class in all three of my degrees. I also have an LLB Law degree.” Deepa’s long-term plans don’t extend further than her evening card game at the Bowring or Indiranagar Club, but Nikhilesh is working hard to continue promoting philately. With the KPS, he travels to schools in urban and rural Karnataka to share his passion for stamps with the younger generation. The organisation also conducts workshops and helps existing collectors participate in, and develop, world class exhibitions.

Acknowledgement
Ananthapuri Stamp Bulletin February 2017
Blogs & Websites
Philatelic Clubs & Societies 

Ananthapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram
Baroda Philatelic Society -  http://www.vadophil.org/
Chandigarh Philatelic Club
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
Numismatic & Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort  http://numismaticphilavellore.site40.net/index.htm
Philatelic Congress of India - http://www.philateliccongressofindia.com/
Philatelic Society of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Rajkot Philatelic Society – Rajkot, Gujarat
Gujarat Philatelic Association - Ahmedabad
South India Philatelists Association -  http://www.sipa.org.in/
The Army Philatelic Society, Pune
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

Current Philatelic Magazines – Newsletters
VADOPHIL, Editor - Prashant Pandya and published by Baroda Philatelic Society, Vadodara. Website -http://www.vadophil.org/

ITS Stamp News - Quarterly - Editor: Suraj Jaitly Publisher: Indian Thematic Society website - http://itsstampnews.blogspot.com/

Ananthpuri Stamp Bulletin - Monthly e -stamp bulletin of Anathapuri Philatelic Association, Thiruvanthapuram

Journal of the Army Philatelic Society : Editor – Col Jayanta Dutta

SIPA Bulletin http://www.sipa.org.in/

Stamp of India Collectors’ Companion - India’s 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.

GPA News – Published by Gujarat Philatelists’ Association, Ahemadabad.

Stamps Today  Stamp & Coin Magazine edited by Vijay Seth

Courtesy - News and Image Resource to this issue :   Indian Philately Digest ,  Stamps of India ;  WOPA , Suresh R.- Bangalore, Sreejesh Krishnan – Trivandrum, Prakash Modi – Toronto Canada, Sandeep Chaurasia - Gorakhpur

Address for communication:

Jeevan Jyoti,  c / o Mr. Ajay Srivastav Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box No. 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun – 248002. 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/ Reader’s 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. 

Any material from this newsletter may be reproduced only with the written permission from the editor. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                …..Happy Collecting…………………………………………………………………            

Rainbow Stamp News is edited and published monthly by Jeevan Jyoti, from Dehradun ( Uttarakhand) India.
















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Participated in different philatelic exhibitions Wrote for philately column in The Pioneer and worked as sub-editor for U-Phil Times published from United Philatelists, Kanpur.Did Schooling from Kanpur Vidya Mandir and Post Graduation in Botany from A.N.D. College Kanpur.

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