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!
Rhododendron arboreum locally called Buransh of the Ericaeae family is the state tree of India's Uttarakhand state. It blooms in April/May every year, painting the mountains red - a great tourist attraction. Species growing in higher reaches differ somewhat. I was first introduced to them in the book Rebecca and since then they have fascinated me. I remember going on a Garwhal trek just to see these glorious flowers. The juice of Buransh is said to have immense medicinal properties and is a must-have purchase for everyone visiting the region.
Here is an image from my collection
In 1977, India Post has issued a lovely stamp for this wonderful flower of denomination 50 np.
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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 tomorrow for yet another beautiful plant and its stamp!
Finally a name I recognise. Rhododendron looks so beautiful, must be so exciting to go on trek just to see them...
ReplyDeleteDropping by from a to z "The Pensive"
I live in Oregon, where we have our own native rhododendrons. I like them somewhere other than my garden! I don't know if your kind is the same, but the flowers on these here get sticky. Not pests, naturally.
ReplyDeleteRhododendron is something I am familiar with. Seems it is popular.
ReplyDeleteI used to see Rhododendron plants in the Great Smokey Mountains when I was living in East Tennessee. There would be dense thickets of them in certain places along the trails and it would be so much cooler in those areas. Beautiful stamp!
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
@Afshan Yes it was a wonderful trek! Thank you!
ReplyDelete@Lisa I guess that is the downside of the beautiful blooms :-( I have only seen them growing in the wild on the mountains. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDelete@Pradeep Yes I knew this flower long before I saw it!! All because of a book! Thank you.
ReplyDelete@Arlee Thank you for your encouragement.
ReplyDelete