Reflections

Hello everyone! 

My theme for my eighth AtoZ challenge was 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. But I do love plants and feel sad about the 'plant blindness' that is so common. I hoped that my posts will encourage readers to look around them as they move around in their cities. Notice the trees/herbs/climbers their leaves, flowers and how the plants change with seasons. 

In this process, I was introduced to the world of stamps and found it is extremely fascinating. Even though I kept myself restricted to India Post stamps, during my research, I saw many lovely stamps from around the world. I learnt that there are stamps on gold/silver foil, 3D stamps, scented stamps, stamps on wood, fabric... Wow!  

Philately is indeed a wonderful hobby. It can also be a tool to introduce children to various topics. 

Several scholarly articles have been published that use stamps (from all over the world) to study other subjects like Palentology, Fossils and Minerals. I am sure this can be extended to Animals, Architecture, History etc. Just needs some creativity on part of the teachers.

I was a bit apprehensive if my readers would enjoy my posts and I tried to strike a balance between plant and stamp information. Idea was that all visitors would find the post interesting. 

Dear readers, a big Thank You for all your feedback! And encouragement! Most of you (and I) remember having collected stamps at some point as was evident in your shared thoughts. 😌

Some comments really stand out .. In my Q post, Timothy S Brannan commented that stamps were 'like tiny history lessons'. So true!! 

Viyoma has creatively used info from my posts which she commented on in my V post. I am so happy she found the post useful. 

Arlee Bird who has been collecting stamps for 60 years had most encouraging comments. In my B post he said, "In my years of stamp collecting I never acquired many stamps from India. This is a beautiful example of stamp art. A nice addition to any collection." 

A big Thank You to Afshan Shaik who has commented on every post!  

There were a couple of queries which I shall try to answer. 

In the T post, Radhika and Pradip Nair had commented about denomination of stamps. I consulted Dr Ajit Vartak - a famous geologist and stamp expert and Secretary of Maharashtra Vruksha Samvardhini in Pune. According to him, the denomination is based on prevalent postage rates. 

Jayashree had asked if Ashwagandha is used in Tea. Yes indeed. Apparently Ashwangandha Tea has huge health benefits but should not be consumed in case of immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women. Here is an article on this topic. 

Some other info about my theme. A general search on the Colnect site showed over 100 stamps by India Posts featuring plants. Of these more than 40 had botanical names on them, 30 had local names of the plants. I found 7 stamps with Roses and 3 with Jasmine. Other stamps had plants or flowers or fruits as part of overall stamp design. 

This is not a complete count.. there will be stamps that I have overlooked. 

There are many stamps that I could not include in my posts. These include many Orchids, Roses and medicinal plants. Stamps featuring trees like Cochlospermum religiosum , Chinar, Parijat, Coconut, Cotton, Coffee, Wild Guava also could not be included. 

Maybe I should showcase them in another post. 

Denominations have varied over the years. In my selection, 25INR was the highest in the Z post. 

Here is a cover that I have and been saving for the last post. It features the 2013-issued Round Leaf Asia Bell flower and is 5INR denomination. Its the only plant stamp that I possess. The plant is a native climber that grows in the Himalayas at 188-3600m elevation.

Codonopsis rotundifolia of the Campanulaceae family

Special Cover ' Mission Devrai' 

So that's curtains on the 2022 April AtoZ. I reconnected with 'old' AtoZ blogger friends and made new ones too! This year saw some awesome blogs. You can catch up on all the 2022 AtoZ bloggers here. 

Stay Happy folks! Stay Healthy! 

A ready reckoner for my previous AtoZ journeys:

2020 Experiences Of A First Time Grandma

2019 Caring For The Care Giver

2018 Contemporary AtoZ

2016 Herbs

2015 Gardens in Pune

2014 Exercising for Fitness

2013 Mixed Bag