Lighthouses of India, India

One of the few beautiful covers I received yesterday from India...

this set of two lighthouse stamps was issued by India Post on 23 December 2012, featuring the Alleppey (face value of Rs 20) and the Mahabalipuram lighthouse (face value of Rs 5).

The Alleppey (or the Alappuzha) Lighthouse is situated in the coastal town of Alappuzha, Kerala. It was built in 1862 and is a major tourist attraction. It has been opened to the public since 2007 and visitors are allowed between 15:00h and 16:30h on weekdays. The admission fee is 10 rupees.


The Mahabalipuram lighthouse is located in Tamil Nadu, and has been opened to tourists since 2011. The first light was commissioned in 1887, while it became fully functional in 1904. It has a circular masonry tower made of natural stone. India's oldest lighthouse, built around 640 AD by Pallava king Mahendra Pallava stands next to this modern structure.

Thanks a whole lot to Jinesh for this one!

Easter, Poland

Hello Sunday Stampers, and everyone else...and Happy Easter to all you celebrating it this weekend (here Easter will be at the end of April)

For today's Spring/Easter theme, I've chosen this FDC from Poland with one of the three Easter stamps that were issued in 2012 (the other two come with a face value of 1.55 and 1.95 Zł.

Personally I prefer such cute Easter bunny stamps to the religious ones.
As for this issue, surprisingly, I couldn't really find some additional information...


For more spring/Easter motives, visit today's edition of Sunday Stamps.

Modernisation of Rail Transport, Malaysia

I don't know how come I have never posted anything from Malaysia before, so it is time to change that....

Malaysia issued this set on October 10, 1998, to promote the modernisation of their railway transport.

And there are 3 stamps here for that occasion, where on the first stamp with a face value of RM 1, you can see the KTM Komuter, which is a commuter rail service brand in Malaysia operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu. It was introduced in 1995 to provide local rail services in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley suburban areas.
Nowadays it is the most profitable passenger service offered by KTM, with approximately 46.957 million passengers per annum.

The middle 50 sen stamp shows the Star LRT - a light rapid transit (LRT) system network in Klang Valley, operated by Rapid Rail, a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia. It is the first standard gauge light rail transit network in Malaysia which commenced services in 1996.

The last, 30 sen stamp shows the Putra LRT, which is its former name and is now known as the Kelana Jaya Line. It was opened in 1998. Operated by Rapid Rail as well.


I often wonder how come that even in 2016, our railway transport is not even close to what some countries had decades ago.

Ferns, USA

Today's Sunday Stamps theme is 'green'...and I honestly couldn't get any greener than this...

The USPS issued this set of fern stamps on March 6, 2014.
Ferns are considered a favourite with gardeners and florists and range from tiny moss-like plants to giants as tall as trees. The ferns featured on the stamps are five of the approximately 380 different species found in North America. Here we have five of them, starting from left to right - Painted fern, Goldie's wood Fern, Autumn fern, Soft shield fern, Fortune's holly fern.
I love the nice clear postmarks on this one...thanks a bunch to Bryon for sending this to me :)

And for more of this eyes-soothing colour, check today's edition of Sunday Stamps.

The 130th Anniversary of the Moldava-Saxony Railway, Czech Republic

Last year my mailbox was delighted to receive this awesome surprise from the kind Radim.
And this is one of the very few FDCs that were actually mailed to me ON the actual date of issue :)

It was issued on 6th of May 2015, to commemorate the 130th Anniversary of the Moldava-Saxony Railway. Designed by A.Absolon who used a 1884 photograph as the basis of his design.

From the website of the Czech post office:

The Moldava Railway, also known as Ore Mountains Railway or Teplice Semmering, is a railway connecting Most and Moldava in the Ore Mountains. It used to connect Moldava with Freiberg in Saxony and although it lost its international significance, it continues to belong to the most beautiful local railways in the Czech Republic.

Between individual stations the train passes through a couple of tunnels and crosses a valley on the third viaduct on the route. Although the times when fast trains from Prague travelled on the railway and continued further from Moldava on their way to Saxony are gone, less traffic does not detract anything from the beauty of this romantic railway. There is no shortage of attractive views on the forty-kilometres-long route.

The railway was built by Prague-Duchcov Railway Company whose main objective was to enable coal exports to the neighboring Saxony. Although the first projects to connect the Most coal basin to Saxony originated as early as the 1860s, the construction was delayed due to financial and technical difficulties. The Most-Hrob section was opened on 15 May 1877; the Hrob-Moldava section had to wait until 6 December 1884. The cross-border connection line to Freiberg in Saxony was opened on 18 May 1885.


(btw, Moldava is a village and municipality in the Czech Republic - and it has nothing to do with Moldova, even though my eyes often keep reading it as such).

Thanks a lot lot to dear Radim for this most awesome FDC with the great First Day postmark too!!

The 100th Anniversary of the Theory of Relativity, Macedonia

On this day, March 14th, 1879, the genius called Albert Einstein was born. Which means that today he would have been 137 years old...if my math is right..

He did a lot of scientific research and work throughout his career, but probably the most famous and maybe most important one is his General theory of relativity, something that Im sure all of you are familiar with...if not, well then please do not ask ME to give you some explanation about it, since, you know, I am a linguist, and things like this are like science fiction to me :) I may comprehend them to a certain extent more or less, but me explaining them...now that is just impossible )

Anyways, just wanted to commemorate Einstein's birthday with this FDC issued by the Macedonian Post on 30 June 2005, commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which was published in 1915.
Face value of the stamp is 60 denars, so of course, useless, since for comparison, mailing a postcard is 30 denars, mailing a letter up to 20 grams is 36 denars......

Mental Health, Canada

A post for today's Sunday Stamps regarding the Health and Welfare theme...

For this I've chosen this great Canadian cover sent by Bryon few years ago, with this amazing semi-postal-stamps sheet issued on September 6th, 2011 for the Mental Health series - did you know that Canada issued these from 2008 till 2011, with a 10¢ surcharge that went to the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health to be used for mental-health research and patient support? The main reason they started it was to eliminate the misconceptions associated with mental illness and establishing the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health.
According to me it is a great initiative since often Mental Health is like a taboo and mental illness is something people feel ashamed of and just keep that hidden from the others... but it is just as important as the physical health...and those two just have to go together for one's own well-being.

Another interesting thing regarding this issue is that for the first time in history Canada Post invited Canadians to submit designs for a stamp, and also tasked the public to participate in the design selection process through the social media.

Out of more than 300 stamp-design entries, this was the most voted one with over 286,000 online votes..."The Puzzle" by Miriane Majeau - for this design Miriane has said that "Dealing with mental health issues can be like putting a puzzle together. As the puzzle comes together, as you find the right pieces and connect them in the right way, something beautiful and whole is revealed.”

N.B
A semi-postal stamp is also known as a charity stamp, and that is a postage stamp issued to raise money for a particular purpose (such as a charitable cause) and sold at a premium over the postal value.

ps. that other (neglected) stamp was also issued in 2011  for the International Year of Chemistry

thanks a whole bunch to Bryon for this one! :)

and for more stamps on health and welfare, check out today's edition of Sunday Stamps

75 Years since the Birth of Gagarin, Macedonia

If it wasn't for his tragic death, today Gagarin would have been celebrating his 82nd birthday...but unfortunately he only managed to get to his 34th one.....

This FDC was issued on 2 February 2009 by the Macedonian Post Office, commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Gagarin's birth....with a face value of the stamp of 50 MKD - one of the numerous stamps with simply useless values, since they are just too high to be used on either a postcard or regular letter up to 20 grams. And that is such a pity cos I am sure that many people would love to see this stamp on the mail I send, but unfortunately the Macedonian postal authorities didn't really care about it.

Anyways, just wanted to commemorate this day, won't go into Gagarin stories...you all know about him and his achievements and importance :)
It just kinda surprised me that there was no google-doodle about Gagarin today....

Because it is women's day =)

You may know that I am really not into such holidays, when there is so much fuss about it that one day of the year, like Valentine's Day for example....so much attention is being paid to it that if you don't really commemorate it with your loved one or give him/her a gift, it is as if you don't care or whatever...same here...I believe that you should show love and care to people throughout the year, not just on this day...and I also dislike it cos on such days I am kinda EXPECTED to do something, while personally I prefer surprises and buying for example flowers for my mum when she least expects it....but my mum even though she knows how I feel about such holidays, one year got really offended cos I didn't wish her Happy Mother's/Women's day...it is a kinda lost battle...

Well, today many companies give special treatment to the female employees, like taking them to restaurants, buying them gifts, letting them leave work early...even though some of those companies for the rest of the 364/365 days of the year they may treat them like crap and exploit them and all...so it is really hypocritical...

Anyways, I just thought I'd share this cover with you (which inside had one of the most amazing things ever...I wonder if the sender recalls what it was :)).
Even though these stamps were not issued to something that is related to women, I still thought I'd share it, first of all cos of the flowers....and one always kinda thinks of flowers when it comes to this day...quite a stereotype...
This set of flowers was issued on 3 April 2013, to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the naming of Florida - so see, nothing really related to women, unless you want to consider Florida as a female, since it ends in 'A'  :)

These stamps celebrate the state’s floral abundance.
During the Easter season of 1513, Spanish explorers first visited the state we now know as Florida. They named the land “La Florida” for Pascua Florida (“Feast of the Flowers”), Spain’s Easter celebration, and for the verdant display of vegetation that they could see from their ship.
The four se-tenant stamps contain a cascade of blossoms that evokes the feeling of a tropical garden. Each stamp shows a particular variety of flower: red and pink hibiscus; yellow cannas; morning glories in white, red, and shades of purple; and white and purple passionflowers.

Now on this cover there are also four other stamps which commemorate four great figures from the early days of football, each with the postage value of 37cents: Walter Camp (1859-1925), Ernie Nevers (1903-1976), Red Grange (1903-1991), and Bronko Nagurski (1908-1990). All four players are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. The photographs that appear on these stamps have been colorized for the stamp art.

You may wonder what the hell they would have to do with women's day, esp. football players?? Well, nothing really, but then again, men and women just do go together now, don't day ;-)

Or to put it in other words (and a lesson on the importance of the use of commas):

- A woman, without her man, is nothing.
or
- A woman, without her, man is nothing.



=)

Heroines of Indian Cinema, India

For today's theme on women for Sunday Stamps, I decided to showcase these not so famous ones from India...and for this I chose this cover with a set of commemorative stamps showing legendary heroines of the Indian Cinema...I must admit that the number of Indian/Hindi films is really scarce and this part of the world cinema has been somewhat neglected from my side - I should really do something to change this (and I am not talking here about those Indian soap-operas they used to show here on TV, I am talking about about real great movies here).

First we have Devika Rani, born in 1908 - an actress in Indian films who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. She was widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema and had a successful film career that spanned 10 years whose persona and roles in films were often considered socially unconventional. Her awards include the Padmashri (1958), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1970) and the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1990). She died in 1994.


The middle stamp shows Leela Naidu - born in 1940, died in 2009 (and she had died on my birthday! =/)
She starred in a small number of Hindi and English films, including Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke (1963), based on the real-life Nanavati case, and The Householder, Merchant Ivory Productions' first film. She was Femina Miss India in 1954, and was featured in the Vogue along with Maharani Gayatri Devi in the list of 'World's Ten Most Beautiful Women', a list she was continuously listed from the 1950s to the 1960s in prominent fashion magazines worldwide. She is remembered for her stunning classical beauty and subtle acting style.


The third stamp in the first row shows Kommareddy Savitri (1934 - 1981) - she was an Indian film actress, director and producer. She appeared in Telugu as well as Tamil, Kannada and Hindi language films. In 1960, she received the Rashtrapati Award for her performance in the Telugu film Chivaraku Migiledi.


The bottom row starts with Kanan Devi (1916 - 1992) - an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali cinema. Her singing style, usually in rapid tempo, was used instrumentally in some of the biggest hits of New Theatres, Kolkata.


The middle stamp shows Meena Kumari (1932 - 1972 - oh, now she had died young....but there seems to be a reason for that) - she was an Indian film actress and poet. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema.
During a career spanning 30 years from her childhood to her death, she starred in more than ninety films, many of which have achieved classic and cult status today. She is regarded as one of the geatest Hindi movie actresses of all time.
Kumari gained a reputation for playing grief-stricken and tragic roles, and her performances have been praised and reminisced throughout the years. Like one of her best-known roles, Chhoti Bahu, in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Kumari became addicted to alcohol. Her life and prosperous career were marred by heavy drinking, troubled relationships, an ensuing deteriorating health, and her death from liver cirrhosis in 1972. Kumari is often cited by media and literary sources as "The Tragedy Queen", both for her frequent portrayal of sorrowful and dramatic roles in her films and her real-life story.


The last stamp shows Nutan Behl (1936 - 1991) - an Indian actress who had appeared n more than 70 Hindi films in a career spanning over four decades. Regarded as one of the finest female actors in the history of Hindi cinema, Nutan was noted for playing unconventional parts, and her performances often received praise and accolades.
She holds the record of five wins of the Best Actress Award at Filmfare, which was held only by her for over 30 years until it was matched by her niece Kajol in 2011; on the overall she is the most-awarded actress in the female acting categories at Filmfare, with six awards alongside Jaya Bachchan. In 1974, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

n.B: Filmfare is one of the oldest film events in India an is presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India.

this set was issued on 13 February 2011.

Thanks a bunch to dear Sauj for sending it to me!

For more women beauties and accomplishments check today's edition of Sunday Stamps.

Year of the Monkey, USA

Today I found this monkey hiding in my mailbox...seems it had run away from its US hosts and decided to seek for a shelter in Macedonia....maybe it was too cold in Seattle, I don't know...and you know how I feel for animals, so of course, had no heart to send it back where it came from and decided to keep it.... =)

I do not really collect the Lunar stamp issues...but some countries do have some awesome ones (Serbia for example...), and frankly, I am particularly glad to have this one, since I am a monkey actually :D
Well, that's what the Lunar horoscope says...if you take a look at the traits though I can't say I really fit into that description...just partially...but I won't reveal which of those features are typical for me..you shouldn't get to know my weaknesses so easily... :P

People born in the year of a particular animal sign are said to share characteristics with that animal. Individuals born during the Year of the Monkey are said to be clever, wise, and honest. With their keen intellect and sociability, they can easily adapt to new situations.

this last statement couldn't have been more wrong...if there is one word that is NOT used in the same sentence with me, that is sociability...you may find it hard to believe it, but Im quite anti-social...I seriously dread social gatherings and events....and funny thing, being also a Leo, I should be like the Queen of social events and the centre of attention and blah blah....but I am like the total opposite ....so don't trust horoscopes...do your best to really get to know people instead :)


Date of Issue: 05 February 2016
It is a Forever stamp.

And thanks a bunch to Bryon for this new pet in my home :)))