Friday, October 06, 2006

Madras in Stamps - 2

A series of five images that show a collection of commemorative stamps on topics that directly relate to Madras and Chennai. Starting from 1957 with the stamp of the Senate House of the University of Madras (Check out Stamp of Chennai - 8), which I think was the first on a Madras subject post-independence, up to the stamp on L.V. Prasad, the founder of Prasad Studios.
They are all here - Educational insitutions, academics, religious leaders, philosophers, politicians, actors and industrialists, and stamps of statues, buildings, monuments and industries - and the list will grow.
Apart from this there are also the special commemorative covers, which I will post at some later date.
If any more stamps need to be added please point out the ones left out.
These images will be the topics I hope to post in the Stamps of Chennai series with pics and additional information.
Madras in Stamps - 2 Posted by Picasa

Stamps and year of issue (L to R). ROW 1: C. Rajagopalachari - taking oath as Governor General, 1978; Rajah Annamalai Chettiar - banker and educationist, 1980; Bicentenary of Madras Sappers, 1980; Map of South East Asia showing Madras and Penang linked by the Indian Ocean Commonwealth Submarine Cable, 1981; Durgabai Deshmukh - Social Reformer, 1981; Madras Medical College, 1985; Bicentenary of Madras General Post Office, 1986.
BLOCK of four stamps shows early congress leaders.
ROW 2: S. Satyamurti - Congress leader, Martyr, 1987; Madras Christian College, 1987; J. Krishnamurti - philosopher, 1987; Rukmini Devi & Dancer - exponent of art and culture, educationist, 1987.
ROW 3: Dr Rajah Sir Muthiah Chettiar - educationist and philathropisy, 1987; B.N. Rau - architech of Indian constitution (and a genius mathematician), 1988.

3 comments:

Just.Cliking said...

Hi Balaji.
New stamps are released but not used in pratical. why is it?

Anonymous said...

Sathiyan, one reason is that people use the postal service a lot less than they used to a few years back.
Also, these are commemorative stamps that are available in post offices with philatelic bureau, usually the Head Post Office (in Chennai it is the one in Anna Salai though you can get some occasionally in the Pondy Bazaar PO). Only people with interest in philately buy them to collect or to use them in postage.
Commemorative stamps will only be sold for a few weeks or months before new ones are released. So they will go out of circulation fast.
All other post offices and stamp counters sell the definitive stamps. The small less colourful ones -- they are also of interest to philatelists. In the days when letter writing was common you would have seen only the the definitives on envelopes.

Anonymous said...

Emm.. OK
Sathiyan S