My Favourite Stamps

I am a collector of stamps and here are some of my favourite stamps from my stamp collection:-

Radha - Kishangarh

• Bani Thani or Radha of Kishangarh - Bani Thani is a painting from the Kishangarh school of art. It is so far my second most favourite painting in the world.  I personally feel that it deserves the status accorded to Mona Lisa. The painting is a portrait of Bani Thani, who was a singer and poet in the court of Savant Singh - the king of Kishangarh. Artist Nihal Chandra, painted Bani Thani as Radha and Savant Singh as Krishna in several of his paintings. The reason that this painting is also called Radha of Kishangarh is because Radha has always signified impeccable beauty in the Hindu tradition. I remember a poet once describing Radha as that beauty who looked more and more beautiful as you went closer to her. Normally, a person looks pretty from far and as you get closer, you notice his or her imperfections but Radha was flawless in appearance and looked more and more beautiful as you went closer to her. This postage stamp was released in 1973 with a set of stamps on miniature paintings from India

Taming of Elephant

• Taming of Elephant - Taming of Elephant is another Indian Miniature painting that was released as a stamp in 1973. In total, 4 stamps depicting 4 miniature paintings were released - Radha of Kishangarh by Nihal Chandra, Taming of Elephant by Zainal Abidin, Lovers on a Camel by Nasiruddin and Dance Duet by unknown artist from Auragzeb's time. My stamp has got a bit torn as can be seen in the pic above but nevertheless its still pretty intact

Chittaranjan

• Chittranjan - I like this because India railways connects the whole of India and this stamp is steeped in the history of Indian Railways. This stamp shows a 2-8-2 WG class Indian Railways Good train. This steam engine driven locomotive was introduced in 1950s and many were manufactured upto the 1970s. Chittaranjan refers to Chittaranjan Locomotive Works or CLW - a production unit of Indian Railways situated in Chittaranjan near Kolkata. CLW is named after Chittaranjan Das - a freedom fighter who was also known by the title - Deshbandhu

Bhagwad Gita

• Bhagawad Geeta - This is a stamp from 1978, showing a quote from The Bhagwad Gita  - कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन (Karmanye vadhikaraste maa phaleshu kadachan).  It means keep doing your work without worrying about its result. These are words of wisdom to remember always. Sometimes we get boggled down in life with the circumstances we are in but its important to remember to do the right thing and keep doing it, without worrying about its results. Life goes on, and its important to go on doing the right thing. Everything should be done by giving it your 100%. If you pass or fail, let it be, just remember to go on and do the right thing

Lion & Palm Tree

• Lion & Palm Tree - I think this stamp is truly special. It was released in 1977 and is a stamp on a stamp. Lion and Palm Tree is one of the oldest stamps of India from the British Raj. It used to cost Half Anna. In 1977, this stamp was released to depict the original Half Anna stamp

Times of India - 150 Years Stamp

• TOI - 150 Years Stamp - This stamp was released in 1988 to commemorate 150 years of Times of India. I like it because it has RK Laxman's famous creation - The Common Man, golden ink and a stamp duty of 1.50 to match the 150 years of TOI

Forts of India - Simhagad

• Forts of India - Simhagad - This is the only stamp I have from the Forts of India collection. The Forts of India collection was released in 1984 and has 4 forts - Vellore, Jodhpur, Gwalior and Simhagad. Interestingly enough, Simhagad is the closest to me and yet I have not visited it

Raksh Lango

• Raksh Lango - Bhutan - This is a stamp from Bhutan which I like very much. It was released in 1985. I like it because I find it very fascinating and colourful. This stamp shows a Bhutanese dance called Raksha Marcham

1953 Chevy Corvette

• 1953 - Chevrolet Corvette - What can I say? Its a stamp on the 1953 Corvette. This stamp was released by USPS in August 2005

American Kestrel

• American Kestrel - Nothing special about this stamp - I just like the bird and colours

Global Forever

• Global Forever - This stamp was released in 2013 and shows a satelite rendition of the earth. Its World Enviroment Day today and what better day to share this stamp :) I like this stamp because it shows the earth and is round like the earth