INDIPEX 2011 - Mahatma Gandhi Khadi Stamp

To commemorate INDIPEX 2011,India Post has brought out two sets of stamps in 2010,one on Heritage post Offices and one on old pre independence era stamps of India States. A set of six stamps on six legendry actresses of Indian Cinema will also be issued during this exhibition. 

INDIPEX 2011, World Philatelic Exhibition 12.2.2011

India Post organized INDIPEX 2011, World Philatelic Exhibition at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 12^th to 18^th February, 2011.  The exhibition is being organized in collaboration with the Philatelic Congress of India under the auspices of the Federation Internationale de Philatelie and the Federation of Inter-Asian Philately.  India first held such an exhibition in 1954 and the last one in 1997.  This is the sixth time that such an exhibition is being held in India.  INDIPEX 2011 was inaugurated by  the President of India.

The aim of the exhibition is to promote philately and provide a forum for interaction between philatelic stakeholder’s viz. collectors, dealers, stamp designers and printers and postal administrations. The exhibition will showcase some of the best collection of stamps, stationary and philatelic literature from all over the world in different categories.  There are 595 collectors from 70 countries who will be participating in the exhibition apart from 28 philatelic dealers and 31 postal administrations.

INDIPEX 2011 marks the centenary of the world’s first airmail flight.  To commemorate the occasion, India Post will issue a set of stamps on 12^th February 2011.  The Indian Airforce will operate a special flight on 12^th February 2011 between Allahabad and Naini and carry First Day Covers with the commemorative stamps and a special postmark recording re-enactment of this historic flight.  These stamps and covers with the special postmark will be much sought after by collectors and will be available at the exhibition.

INDEPEX 2000 ASIANA, Calcutta - Natural Heritage of Manipur and Tripura 31.3.2000

(Rs3.00) The Shirui lily or Siroi lily (Lilium mackliniae) is0 a rare Indian species of plant found only in the upper reaches of the Siroi hill ranges in the Ukhrul district of Manipur, India, at an elevation of 1,730–2,590 metres (5,680–8,500 ft) above sea level. It is located near the boundary of Myanmar to the east, Shiroi village in the west, Choithar village in the south and Sihai village in the north. This shade-loving lily has pale bluish-pink petals but has seven colours when observed through a microscope. In the wild it flowers in the monsoon months of June and July.

(Rs3.00) The sangai is an endemic, rare and endangered subspecies of brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur, India. It is also state animal of Manipur. Its common English name is Manipur brow-antlered deer and the scientific name, Rucervus eldii eldii  McClelland. It lives in the marshy wetland in Keibul Lamjao about 45 km from Imphal. Its habitat is located in the southern parts of the Loktak Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in eastern India. It is also one of the seven Ramsar sites of international importance. The habitat of the sangai is now protected as the Keibul Lamjao National Park. The sangai is also the state animal of Manipur.

(Rs3.00) Guavas singular guava are common tropical fruits cultivated and enjoyed in many tropical and subtropical regions.

(Rs15.00) Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates which make up the genus Nycticebus. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India.  

The World Philatelic Exhibition - INDEPEX '97 (5th Issue) 15.12.1997

The World Philatelic Exhibition - INDEPEX '97 will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 15th December to 22nd December, 1997. It is being organised by the Department of Posts, Government of India, in cooperation with the Philatelic Congress of India (PCI) under the patronage of Federation Internationale de Philatelic (FIP).

INDEPEX97 (4th series).- Rural Indian Women 15.10.1997

Another set of four stamps on "Rural Indian Women" was released on 15th October, 1997 in the ongoing series of stamps on INDEPEX97. The rural women depicted in these stamps are drawn from the North, South, East and West of India. The golden thread of Indian unity of culture and tradition is discernible in them through the rich diversity of dress/jewellery and ethnic purity of rural Indian women.

INDEPEX-97 - International Stamp Exhibition, New Delhi (3rd Issue) Beaches of India 11.8.1997

The third in the series is a set of four stamps portraying the serene beauty of the Beaches of Indiawhich were released on the 11th of August, 1997. Depicted on them are the Bogmalo Beach and Anjana Beach in Goa, Kovalam Beach in Kerala and Gopalpur-on-sea in Orissa.

(Rs2.00) Gopalpur-on-Sea (Orissa). Gopalpur (Berhampur) is a town and a Notified Area Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district in the southern part of Odisha, India. Once a commercial port, it is now a famous sea beach and tourist destination around 15 km from Berhampur.  

(Rs6.00) Kovalam is a beach town by the Arabian Sea in Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, India, located around 16 km from the city center. Kovalam has three beaches separated by rocky outcroppings in its 17 km coastline, the three together form the famous crescent of the Kovalam beach:

(Rs10.00) Anjuna (Goa).  Anjuna is a village in Goa, one of the twelve Brahmin comunidades of Bardez. Anjuna is world famous for its trance parties held on the beach during the tourist season.

(Rs11.00) Bogmalo (Goa). Bogmalo Beach is a small beach-side village in Goa, India. It is situated in a small bay with around a mile of curving sandy beach. The beach is located about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from Dabolim Airport and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the port town of Vasco da Gama.

Inpex-93, Indian National Philatelic Exhibition, Calcutta 25.12.1993 and 27.12.1993

Inpex-93, Indian National Philatelic Exhibition, Calcutta.

Two attractive FDCs with 2 different Commemorative stamps were issued in 1993 to mark the ‘Indian National Philatelic Exhibition, INPEX-93’ held at Calcutta. The stamps depict a Speed Post Letter & Custom House, Calcutta. 

The cover below has a photo of The Victoria Memorial (illuminated) in Calcutta.

India 89 World Philatelic Exhibition at New Delhi 20.1.1989

India 89 World Philatelic Exhibition. The Department of Posts has issued four sets of stamps in 1987 and 1988. This 5^th and last set of four stamps commemorating the World Philatelic Exhibition at New Delhi are on the following topics:-

(60P) This stamp is on stamp collecting, a hobby requiring very little introduction. The hobby must have begun soon after issue of the Penny Black (1840). Confined initially to school-boys and enthusiasts, by 1863 it had attracted serious interest. People find in stamps, apart from their illustrative and pictorial value, sufficient interest to justify the study of their specialities. Each design's history was worth tracing through various mutations of sade, paper, watermark and peforation. Thus stamp collecting moved towards a systamatic study and grouping of stamps. It also acquired a new name, "Philately' (Greek 'Philos' meaning 'fond of' and 'Atelia' meaning 'exempt from tax').

(Rs1.50) The  stamp shows a Traveller's Coach and Post Office, better known as Dawk Gharee (mailcart). The first wheeled cart was used in 1841 in Meerut by one Mr. Smith. Thereafter post offices hired whel carts. In 1842, the service was introduced between "Mynpooree" and "Allyghur" and later from Aligarh to Delhi and Meerut. the illustrated Dawk Gharee belonged to Mr. Beacon of M/s. Greenway and Company, Calcutta. The Company held a licence to carry the Rayal Mail/Foreign Mail between Calcutta, Diamong Harbour and Barrackpore. They also carried mail and passengers on the Calcutta-Banaras-Patna route. The coachman announced his approach whirling his bell-studded whip and sounding his bugle.

(Rs5.00) The stamp is a reproduction of the Travancore Anchel Stamp of 2 Chuckrams denomination.The former Idian Sate of Travancore had an independent postal or Anchal System with a mail transport service including a boat mail service and the Railway Anchel Service. The first adhesive Anchel Stampwas introduced on 16-10-1888 in denomination of 1,2, & 4 Chuckrams (1 Chuckram = 3.57 paise) in ultramarine, red and green printed on laid paper bearing a large sheet watermark showing a conch shell surrounded by "GOVERNMENT" in an arch with "OF TRAVANCORE" below in a straight line. These were the earliest feudatory stamps surviving till 1953.

(Rs6.50) The stamp depicts Early Philatelic Magazines. Phiatelic literature, especially periodicals, played a vital role in disseminating news and information and bringing togather philatelists. A few early efforts, such magazines as "The Philatelic World" and "The Indian Philatelists", both started in 1894, were short lived. 'The Philatelic Journal of India', issued by the Philatelic Society of India, was first published at Calciutta in 1897 and is still current. 'India's Stamp Journal' has seen over 50 years of publication and 'Signet' and 'Ind Dak', a decade. Other magazines like 'Top Phil', 'Stamp World', 'Digest', etc. are steadily contributing their efforts to Phiately. The stamp depicts the mast heads of some of the early philatelic magazines.

India-89 World Philatelic Exhibition (4th Issue) 20.12.1988

India-89 World Philatelic Exhibition As a prelude to India-89, World Philatelic Exhibition, the Department of Posts has been issuing a series of stamps. This, the fourth set, carries two cancellations, one of the RMS and the other of the DLO.

The first stamp (60P) depicts one of the earliest hand stamps of the travelling post office in the 'Allahabad-Cawnpore' railway sector and this post mark was in use from December, 1864 to 1869. It was used by the travelling sorting offices between these two places. The first Travelling Post Office was established on 1st May, 1864 under a Suprintendent at Allahabad. The TPO operated on the 'Allahabad-Crownpore' and 'Calcutta-Delhi' railway sector. The circular post mark shown on the stamp has a diameter of 25 to 26 ms with "TRAVELLING" along the upper rim of the circumferrence and "POST OFFICE" along the lower rim, with No. 1 of the set, date and 'AC' in three horizontal lines in the space within the circle. This cancellation was used by the 1st set of the experimental TPO on 21st August, 1864.

The second stamp (Rs6.50) depicts the type of cancellation used by the Dead Letter Offices in 1886. The origin of Dead Letter Offices can be traced to the Act of 1837 which prescribed the treatment of undeleivered letters lying at any post office for longer than three months. Initially these were sent to the GPO of the Presidency and lists of such undeleivered letters and parcels were published in the official Gazette. They remained at the GPO for 18 months and, after a further period of 12 months, they were destroyed. The Dead Letter Offices were established somewhere in 1860s but it was only towards the end of the decade that actual marings were used on envelops and other postal material.

India-89 World Stamp Exhibition, Delhi in January 1989 (3rd Issue) - The special cancellation for World Post Day 9.10.1988

The 4.00 stamp depicts the Bangalore G.P.O. The 5.00 stamp shows the Bombay G.P.O. The first day cover carries an extract from the letter of the Court of Directors of the East India Company to the Council at Bombay dated 27th Aug., 1688. The special cancellation for World Post Day carries the logo of the Universal Postal Union.  

The present third set consisting of two stamps are on Postal buildings depicting Bombay G.P.O. and Bangalore G.P.O. as samples of early & the latest architecture herald India-89 World Stamp Exhibition, Delhi in January 1989.

World Philatelic Exhibition, New Delhi January 1989 (2nd Issue) 17.10.1987

A series of special stamps and a nice miniature sheet were brought out to herald India-89, Delhi in January 1989. The first set of two stamps in this series depicted to Logo and the venue of the Exhibition. This second set of four stamps depicts four historical monuments of Delhi, the city where INDIA-89 will be held.

(60P) The Iron Pillar, in the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in the Qutub Minar complex, is a silent tribute to the metallurgical skill of the ancient Indians. What makes it exceptional is that it shows no signs of rust despite constant exposure to the atmosphere for nearly fifteen hundred years. It has an inscription of Gupta script and is built in memory of Chandragupta II, probably in the first half of the 5th century.

(Rs1.50) India Gate was at the heart of Sir Edwin Lutyens vision of New Delhi, along with the Viceregal Palace which is now the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The foundation stone of India Gate was laid by the Duke of Connaught on 10-2-1921. It wa originally dedicated to the 70,000 soldiers who died during World War I. Today a flame burns constantly at its base as a tribute to the unknown soldiers.

(Rs5.00) The Diwan-I-Khas, or Hall of Private audience, in the Red Fort belongs to the days the magnificient Mughals. It was constructed during the reign of Shah Jahan who moved into the Red Fort in 1648 with his court. A delicately constructed pavilion of white marble with pillars of the same material, it is richly ornamented with 'Pietra Dura', inlay work in semi-precious stones. It represents the opulent architecture of the times.

(Rs6.50) Purana Qila, or the Old Fort stands on the site of the legendary Indraprastha where Humayun had rebuilt the Dinapanah. Sher Shah in his turn strengthened the citadel, calling it Shergarh during his reign (1540-1545 A.D.). It is difficult to say how much of the construction can be attributed to Humayun's or to Sher Shah's periods, but Sher Shah's reconstruction has retained for us a splendid symbol of Delhi's continuity and resilience.

The World Philatelic Exhibition in New Delhi (1st Issue) 15.6.1987

These two stamps on this cover are the first two of a series of fifteen stamps issued in connection with The World Philatelic Exhibition in New Delhi which was to be held from 20th to the 29th of January 1989. A miniature sheet and a booklet of these stamps had also been issued.

The 50P stamp depicts the logo of the exhibition, namely a stylised Swan adapted from a stone motif of the 14th Century Lepakshi temple in Andhra Pradesh. The swan has traditionally been regarded as a messenger and harbinger of good news.

The other Rs5.00 stamp depicts a artist's impression of the venue of the exhibition, namely, The Hall of Nations which is the most prestigious building in the sprawling Pragati Maidan Exhibition Ground in New Delhi.
India-89 will provide yet another occasion for the philatelists the world over to establish new contacts, renew friendships and for fostering healthy competition amongst themselves in the colourful and festive atmosphere of New Delhi at the peak of the tourist season.