Philatelic memories with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

 

 

In this post I am sharing here memories with Dr Kalam of  some distinguished philatelists and readers of Rainbow Stamp Club. I thank Mr Abhai Mishra, Dehradun Mr Vijay Deshpande, Mumbai and Mr Pradeep Jain, Patna and Mr Prashant Pandya, Vadodara for this Post.

 

APJ - Philatelic Tribute

- Abhai Mishra

There is no second opinion that, APJ was a great man loved by all. After his demise many has shared their experience with him. I am writing this particular piece to elaborate his association with DRDO and Dehradun. He was born on 15 October 1931 at Rameshwaram, Tamilnadu. Since childhood he had an intense desire to become Air Force pilot. He completed his degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. He came to Dehradun in 1957 to appear for the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB).

He finished ninth in the batch of 25. Eight were selected for commissioning. He was highly dejected as his childhood dream was shattered and took a bus to Rishikesh. There he met Swami Sivananda, who told him "Accept your destiny and go ahead with your life. You are not destined to become an Air Force pilot. What you are destined to become is not revealed now but it is predetermined. Forget this failure, as it was essential to lead you to your destined path. Search, instead, for the true purpose of your existence. Become one with yourself, my son! Surrender yourself to the wish of God."

He initially joined Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in 1958 and then joined ISRO in 1963. The story of his joining DRDO again is very interesting. DRDO has a laboratory named Defence Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL) in Dehradun. In 1981 Dr. EB Rao was the Director of DEAL. In June 1981 he invited Dr. Raja Ramanna who was DRDO chief at that time and Dr. Kalam who was working as Director in ISRO HQ, Bangalore to DEAL, Dehradun for technical discussions. On 13 June 1981, Dr. Raja Ramanna asked Dr. Kalam to join DRDO in the very office of Director DEAL at Dehradun. Dr. Kalam said that Dr. Satish Dhawan will have to decide on it who was then the ISRO chief. Exactly after one year of the offer

Dr. Kalam joined DRDO as Director DRDL, Hyderabad. Out of his initiative was born the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), which is the most successful Indian military research task to date. He also headed other prestigious projects, such as the MBT Arjun and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) projects. He was the DRDO chief from July 1992 to December 1999. He took DRDO to greater heights during his tenure. He was also appointed as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the GOI. Dr Abdul Kalam was a strong advocate of self reliance in defence technology. A connoisseur of classical Karnatak music, he played veena in his leisure.

He was very humble in nature. His affinity with DEAL, Dehradun was very intense and visited the lab several times. I joined DEAL in 1996 and was very young at that time. During one of his visits, I was allotted two minutes to give my presentation. In my enthusiasm to apprise him with all my work, I started speaking at such a pace that it became almost impossible for him to understand. He smiled, sat beside me and said "Do not be in hurry, I will sit as long as it is required but speak slowly". He was eating oranges at that time. He offered me some but I politely refused. While leaving he asked for the dustbin which was not in the room. He put the oranges peel in his pocket and quietly walked away. Such was the humility of this man who was SA to RM at that time.

During his tenure as DRDO chief, a stamp was issued on 26 Jan 1999. The flagship IGMDP program was commemorated by the issue of stamp on Agni-II missile on 01 Jan 2000. During Aero India 2003, stamp featuring LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) was issued.He visited Dehradun after becoming President also. The then Governor of Uttarakhand Sh. Sudarshan Agarwal asked me in 2005 to design a special cover for Him Jyoti Foundation which basically caters for the schooling of the under-privileged children. Dr. Kalam was very fond of children and had been with the children of Him Jyoti couple of times. In the cover I included Dr. Kalam interacting with the children of Him Jyoti school.

DRDO celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2008, during which a special cover was released at DEAL Dehradun. Dr. Kalam was also instrumental in the joint collaboration of Brahmos missile with Russia. It is still one of the most deadliest missile with Indian Navy. In 2008 only, Brahmos was commemorated with a stamp.

Dr. Kalam has inspired millions of young minds and will always remain a guiding energy for the generations to come.

- Abhai Mishra – Dehradun : email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

Abhai Mishra is an amateur philatelist from Dehradun. He has designed many special covers and cancellations for the Deptt. of Posts. and has written books on stamps and covers of Uttrrakhand and covers related to Antarctica Expedition. Professionally he is a scientist with Defence Research and Development and presently working at DEAL Dehradun.

In Mumbai, soon after the Pokhran Test II

- Vijay Deshpande, Mumbai

Pradip Jain with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam while releasing Mr Jain’s Book ‘ “ Indian Airmails Development and Operation ” ( 1911 – 1945) at Raj Bhawan, Patna on 30^th May 2014.

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New Stamp from India

 

 

100 Years of  Patna High Court

Date of Issue : 18 April 2015

President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the centenary celebration of Patna High Court on 18th April 2015 at Patna. To mark the occasion a commemorative stamp on Patna High Court was released by President in presence of the Governor of Bihar, Shri Keshari Nath Tripathi, the Union Minister for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Law & Justice, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, the Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar and the Chief Justice of India, Shri H.L. Dattu.

Patna High Court was established on 3rd February, 1916 and later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915. The foundation stone of the existing high court building was laid on 1st December, 1913, by the then Viceroy of India, Lord Charles Hardine. After the building was formally opened by Lord Hardine on 3rd February, 1916, the court started functioning with a chief justice and six judges. Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier was the first chief justice of the Patna High Court. India's first president Rajendra Prasad and the first president of the constituent assembly, Sachchidanand Sinha, also had practiced at the court.

Courtesy – Indian Philately Digest

Club News

Veteran philatelist of Bangalore passes away..

Veteran Philatelist of Bangalore Shri  T.N. Prahlad Rao passed away today, on18th April 2015. He was a noted Olympic Philatelist and  member of Karnataka Philatelic Society. He won many awards for his collection on Olympic Games.  He was an active philatelist and had  won award at the age of 82 in Olymphiex 2008.Rainbow Stamp Club expresses its deepest condolences . May his soul Rest in Peace.

Read article “Philately a hobby  for every age group by TN Prahlad Rao “ in Rainbow Stamp News at following link :

http://rainbowstampnews.blogspot.in/2008_12_01_archive.html

 

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Club News

 

Lifetime Achievement Award to  Noted artist and  philatelist Shri Dipok Dey by Department of Posts

Renowned artist and philatelist  Shri Dipok Dey was honoured with ‘Life time achievement award’ by North Bengal Postal Circle of India Post for promoting philately in North Bengal. During ‘Depex-2014’ district level philatelic exhibition held at Darjeeling the Life Time Achievement Award’ was conferred to Shri Dipok Dey but he could not attend the function held on 30th November 2014 at Darjeeling as he was attending Assampex-2014, state level philatelic exhibition held at Guwahati as a member of Jury. On 28th February 2015, Shri Suvash Darnal, Superintendent of Post Offices, Darjeeling Division presented the award to Shri Dipok Dey at his residence in Kolkata.

We, the philatelists are proud of Shri  Dipok Dey and wish him a long life to continue his services to philately. Thanks to North Bengal Postal Circle of India Post for recognizing the philatelic services of Shri Dey and giving this honour to him. I am sure other Postal Circles of India Post will come forward and give recognition to the deserving persons, working for the promotion of philately. I am pleased to share here a Post on Shri Dipok Dey published  about 3 years back.

The Day of Dipok Dey

http://rainbowstampclub.blogspot.in/2011/12/day-of-dipok-dey.html

 

Kolpex-2015, District Level Philatelic Exhibition to be held at Newtown, Kolkata from 11th to 13th March 2015

Kolpex-2015, District Level Philatelic Exhibition will be held from 11^th to 13^th March 2015 at Nazrul Tirtha Kendra, Rajarhat, Newtown, Kolkata.

During the exhibition two special covers, one on "Howrah Bridge" and another on "Core Banking Solution” will be released on 11th March and 13th March respectively. Philatelic quiz, drawing competition and a power-point presentation on philately has also been organised during this three day exhibition.

Philatelists are requested to attend the said exhibition to make the event a grand success. For participation and more information Contact: Philatelic Bureau, Kolkata GPO.

Press Clipping

- Garhwal; Post : 2 March 2014

Flower Show and Romance with Stamps

- Abhai Mishra

The heading of this article may seem a bit peculiar. What flower show has to do with stamps? At least everyone will agree that both flowers and stamps are beautiful, one is God’s creativity while the other is Men’s. I still crisply remember the early spring of 2003. Sh. Sudarshan Agarwal took over as the Governor of Uttaranchal on 08-01-2003 and Mrs. Madhu Narayanan was the Chief Post Master General at that time. There was one thing which was common in both of them, their love for stamps. The idea of having a flower show (spring festival) was mooted in Jan 2003 and it was decided that the Raj Bhawan, Dehradun will host the first flower show from 15-16 March 2003. The Governor himself being a philatelist wished to have a special cover on the occasion. The first special cover on the flower show was issued on 15-Mar-2003 on the theme of Brahm Kamal (Saussurea obvallata). During the release it was discussed to have a stamp exhibition in coming future at Dehradun. Mrs. Narayanan sprang into action and the ball got rolling. Rajesh Varma and I were more than happy to be a part of the organizing committee. On 06-Apr-2003, a painting competition was organized at Raj Bhawan for children. Again a special cover was released and the stamp exhibition named “DOONTOPEX” was formally launched by the Governor to happen on 18-20 July 2003 at SJA, Dehradun. The name “DOONTOPEX” was re-used, as in 1978; a stamp exhibition was organized at Dehradun from 15-18 January 1978 with the same name.

As philatelist’s we were very happy to have a philatelist as Governor. In 2004, during the flower show, special cover on “Orchid” (Aerides odorantum) was released. During the release function the Governor expressed his wish to have a stamp exhibition at Nainital and generously offered the Raj Bhawan, Nainital as the venue. It was something unexpected, a stamp exhibition at Raj Bhawan !! The then CPMG Mrs. Suneeta Trivedi immediately dispatched myself and Rajesh to Nainital for the ground work. We carried scores of stamp workshops in different schools and motivated the children to prepare stamp exhibits. The exhibition was held from 18-20 June 2004 at Raj Bhawan with the Governor as host. There were more than 150 exhibits from the children of Nainital. Special covers on Naini Lake, Raj Bhawan and Aries observatory were released during the exhibition. The north end of the Naini lake is called Mallital, where Naina Devi temple is situated while the southern end is called Tallital which has a bridge having Gandhiji’s statue and Post office on its side. Very few know that it is the only post office of its kind in the world which is located on a lake bridge.

During the spring festival of 2006 and 2007 special covers were released on Bonsai and Cobra Lily. Uttarakhand has the rare distinction of having three honorable winners in the World Bonsai Contest – 2005 organized by “World Bonsai Friendship Federation” at Japan. The prize winning bonsai were depicted in the special cover of 2006. In October 2007 Sh. Sudarshan Agarwal handed over the charge of Governor to Sh. BL Joshi. But the tradition has been started and the legacy was firmly in place. The romance of flower show with stamps was in full bloom. On 08-Mar-2008 special cover on Valley of Flowers, featuring ‘Morina longifolia’ was released during the spring festival. In 2008, the then CPMG Sh. Vivek Kaul requested us to write a book on Uttarakhand stamps. The book titled “Uttarakhand-A Philatelic Journey” written by me and Rajesh Varma, published by the Department of Posts, was released by the Governor during the 2009 flower show. Continuously, since then special covers are being released featuring different flowers during the spring festival at Raj Bhawan.

Year 2015 was again special for the stamp lovers. Again an ardent philatelist, Dr. KK Paul took over as the Governor of Uttarakhand on 08-Jan-2015. The legacy was again re-lived. On 28 Feb 2015, during the flower show, a stamp exhibition was organized in the corridors of historical old circuit house. The present CPMG Sh. Uday Krishna, left no stone unturned to make it a grand success. The exhibition is unique in many senses. It displayed the stamp collection of Dr. KK Paul along with other prominent philatelist and children of Dehradun. It is for the first time that a stamp exhibition was organized at Raj Bhawan, Dehradun. The corridor of the old circuit house had been mute witness to the visit of many historical personalities. This time it has STAMPS as the visitor.

The stamp lovers of Dehradun will always cherish the philatelic association with Raj Bhawan. I personally hope, that the romance of stamps with flower show will bloom to a greater height in the years to come.

- Abhai Mishra : email : abhai_mishra@rediffmail.com

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New Special Cover

 

‘My stamp’ and  ‘Special cover’  on Rotary  issued by India Post, Bihar Circle on 5^th Dec.

A special Cover was released on  Rotary day Celebration by Bihar Postal Circle on 5th December 2014 with the release of My Stamp . The cover is based on Buddhism theme and was released by RI President Gary CK Huang.

 

- Pradip Jain – Patna : email : philapradip@gmail.com

 

Article on 1948 Gandhi Memorial Issue

An article on 1948 Gandhi Memorial Issue  by noted professional philatelist of Patna Mr Pradip Jain  was recently published in  popular International stamp magazine Gibbons Stamp Monthly. The whole story is being published into three series Nov. 14 , Dec 14 and Jan 15 issue.

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India Post on Children's Day 1957 – 2013

 

Children’s Day stamps from 1957 to 2013

 

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I am sharing here an article by Deepak Modi on Children’s Day stamps issued over the years by India Post. The tradition takes a break and there is no special stamp  issue today on children’s day. This is a special article for this  day.

 

Children’s Day and Stamps Collecting…

Children's Day is recognized on various days in many places around the world, to honor children globally. Universal Children's Day takes place annually on November 20. In India, Children's Day is celebrated on 14 November, the birthday of the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru born in 1889.

Jawaharlal Nehru, who was fondly called Chacha Nehru (Uncle Nehru) by the kids, emphasized the importance of giving love and affection to children, whom he saw as the bright future of India. This day is known as Bal Divas in Hindi.

Many functions are organized in schools, offices and other organizations. All over the country, various cultural and social institutions conduct competitions for children. Children's Day is seen as a day for the kids to engage in fun. Children take part in many sports organized for them.

India Post also celebrates Children’s Day by releasing special postage stamp every year on 14^th November. Stamps issued on this occasion are the only stamps which are not designed by professional stamp designers of India Post.

India Post  holds a national drawing competition  and the selected best entries get  place as designs of the commemorative postage stamp, first day cover and various other such items which are issued on 14^th of November by the name of that particular school student.

It was in the year 1957 when India Post issued a set of three stamps for the first time on 14^th November. First of the stamp was depicting a boy eating a Banana. The price of the stamp was 8 Paisa. The stamp was created from a candid photograph of a 8 year boy Shekhar Borker. The photograph was selected from 10000 entries. Shekhar became famous as 'Banana Boy' after the stamp was issued. Until 1966, the Children's Day stamps were created using a photograph.

In 1971, instead of using a photograph, India Post started to use drawings and paintings by children, selected from all over India.

Until 1971 the stamps were printed in single color. From 1973, India Post started to issue multicolor stamps.

1957

“Nutrition”                            “Education”                    “Recreation”

1958                       1959                            1960

“Nurse exercising Polio “Boys awaiting admission to “Equal importance to study &

Afflicted child”                    Children’s home”                      recreation”

1961                                    1962                                       1963

             

“Vocational Training”     “Passing the flag to youth”     “School Meals”

1964                                 1966                    1971

      

Obverse of 1r coin of     “Infant & Dove Emblem”       “Women at work”

                    Jawaharlal Nehru

1973                               1974                                        1975

“Children at Play                      “ “Cat”                                  “Cow”

1976                                 1977 – 1                                1977 – 2

 

“Loyal Mongoose”                    “Cats”                                            “Friends”

1978                                           1980                                        1981

                       

“Two Friends”                                “Girls Dancing”                    “Toyseller”

1982                                          1983                          1984

     

“Mother and Child”   “Women & Child at Festival”       “Forest”

1985                                      1986                                      1987

“School Girl using Computer”     “Girl Rock Climber”                  “My Home”

1990                            1991                                   1992

   

“Doll and Cat”         “Happy    Children in Colorful Dress”              “The Sun”

1993                         1994                                        1995

“I’CYP mascot Gajju & Children”     “Me & My Pals”             “Children in circle”

1996                                   1997                                 1998

“Indian Village”                “Chaha Nehru with Child”           “Empowered Girl

                                                                                                            Empowered Society”

1999                          2000                                      2001

“Let us Live Tomorrow”     “My Best Friend”     “Role of I.T. in bringing the

                                                                                                     World together”

2002                               2004                      2005

   “Holi Festival”                 “My Village”           “Vijaya Dashmi Procession”

2006                                                                               2007

“My Mythological Hero - Krishna & Karna”                     “The Magic of The Night”

2008                                                  2009

 

2010                                                             2011

“ Dolls – Kite – Pin wheels – Puppets”                    “Save the Tiger”

2012                               2013

“Future Post Office”                      “Holiday”

Design a Stamp Competition

India Post Organizes 'Design a Stamp Competition' for School children. The competition is organized at national level and  thousands of school children from every corner of India take part in it. A theme is given to the competitors and they have to design it in ink, water color or oil paint. Winning design is selected to depict on Children's Day stamp. The competition is open for the student of Standard IV to Standard XII, and is divided in 3 groups. The winning entry from each group gets its place on Children’s day stamp, First Day Cover, Miniature sheet and various such other collectables by released by India Post every year on 14^th November.

Many stamp collectors like to specialize themselves in a specific theme. Gandhi stamps are one of the most popular themes in the collectors of stamps. Now Children's day stamps also have become a popular theme amongst the collectors. It is notable thing that India post has issued a large number of stamps on both the themes.Stamps on this theme are displayed in most of the philatelic exhibitions in India.

I myself started collecting stamps in my school days and still its going on.

- Deepak Narendra Ji Modi,JALNA

email :  Modi.philatelist@gmail.com

References: Articles in various news papers, internet and from personal collection.

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