I am participating in the April AtoZ Blogging challenge and my theme is Plants featured on Indian Stamps. This is my eight attempt at the AtoZ and the focus is on plants.
My theme is inspired by an online talk by Daniel L Nikrent - of Cornell University, USA held by Maharashtra Vriksha Samvardhini about Parasitic Flowering Plants featured on Stamps.
I am not a stamp collector nor a fan of stamps. Hence almost all my posts are purely based on research on the internet. I have tried to cross check the info before posting here. Please do share correct info and links to the same in case of discrepancy.
India Post has a very strong network reaching deep deep into the interiors of the country and I depended on it for news from home when we were posted in far away places. In this age of smartphones, Internet, how many of us really write letters - snail mail as they are now called? Despite this , I find that new stamps are being issued and we have stamps on diverse topics including Armed Forces, Films, Personalities, Wildlife, Handlooms, Handicrafts and so on.. It is amazing!
Nelumbo nucifera or the Lotus of the Nelumbonaceae family is India's national flower. It can be seen in several art forms like paintings and woven into saree borders. Lotus flowers are also offered in worship. In addition, its stem is edible so are its seeds. The flower and its leaves rise above the water level wherein they grow. It is common to see the Water Lily being sold as Lotus especially at times of festivals when the Lotus is used as Pooja offering.
Here a couple of images from my collection.
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| Lotus fruit |
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| Lotus leaf |
Our national flower is on a India Post stamp of denomination 25nP issued in 1977.
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| Post of India, GODL-India <https://data.gov.in/sites/default/files/Gazette_Notification_OGDL.pdf>, via Wikimedia Commons |
The India Postage Stamps website has a complete catalogue of stamps. Please click the link to see many many wonderful stamps.
Colnect is a comprehensive portal for Stamp collectors. It gives detailed information about every listed stamp. Click here for detailed info about Stamps - what is a stamp, types, formats, water marks, perforations and much more.
We meet on Monday after the weekend for yet another beautiful plant and its stamp!Till then, Take Care and Stay Happy!
4 comments:
I love this topic. Stamps have such interesting artwork.
I have this phobia I don't know what u call it but that lotus fruit instantly made my ears and neck itchy! :) :)
Dropping by from a to z http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.com/
Indeed yes. In my research, i found that the artists have also been named.I don't know if they specialise in this type of work -small size with so many details incorporated. Thank you @Live and Learn !
@Afshan Maybe its an allergy of some kind.. maybe you should just avoid Lotus fruit!! Thanks for stopping by!
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