Revisit 10 iconic stamps featured by India Post in the past few decades

1 Birth Centenary of Legends 2025 ON the birth centenary of five icons from the golden age of Indian cinema stamps of the denomination of five rupees were released with portraits of the legends to pay tribute to their legacy Among them were the first female superstar of Telugu cinema P Bhanumathi Bengali auteur Ritwik Ghatak Hindi actor and filmmaker Guru Dutt musician Salil Chowdhury and director Raj Khosla Pics CourtesyIndia Post Wikimedia Commons2 Embroideries 2019 Kantha from West Bengal Tripura Odisha and Bangladesh Kamal Kadai from Andhra Pradesh Phulkari from Punjab Chikankari from UP Kasuti from Karnataka Toda from Tamil Nadu Shamilami from Manipur and Kashmiri embroidery mdash all above feature in stamps issued in celebration of the intricate embroidery work done by artisansThe stamps highlight diverse handicraft arts of India3 Handicrafts of India 2018 During the year several handicrafts were featured on the stamps Karnataka bronzeware Blue pottery of Jaipur Sikki grass products of Bihar Maddalam of Palakkad and Kutch embroidery These corresponded to specific geographical locations In 2002 a few others mdash such as cane and bamboo thewa Patanrsquos patola and dhokra mdash had been recognised for their techniquesThe postage stamp honouring the Gaiety Theatre Complex Shimla4 Gaiety Theatre Complex Shimla 2014 Known as a cultural landmark in India the Gaiety theatre complex is among the oldest performance venues It was designed by the English architect Henry Irwin in the Gothic style in 1887 From Rudyard Kipling to Prithviraj Kapoor several English and Indian personalities have performed at this venue The stamp was issued to celebrate its completion of 125 yearsPostage with Warli right and Shekhawati paintings5 Warli and Shekhawati Paintings 2012 As India Post participated in the World Stamp Exhibition at Jakarta in 2012 it added two stamps with Warli and Shekhawati paintings which represented cultural practices of Maharashtra and Rajasthan In 2000 MadhubaniMithila paintings from Bihar had made it to the stamps Collectively they give a glimpse of the diversely rich artistic practices in IndiaClockwise from left Stamps honouring Devika Rani Kanan Devi Meena Kumari Leela Naidu Savithri and Nutan6 Legendary Heroines of Indian Cinema 2011 Commemorating contributions by pioneers of cinema a series of stamps were released featuring actresses like Kanan Devi Meena Kumari Nutan Savitri and Leela Naidu Most importantly it celebrated the First Lady of Indian cinema Devika Rani who was not only one of the most pioneering actresses but also along with her husband Himanshu Rai was a founding partner of Bombay Talkies The studio brought a global language to Indian cinema in the 1930sRabindranath Tagore7 Jnanpith Award Winners 2003 The first Jnanpith award the highest literary honour was awarded to the Malayalam poet and writer G Sankara Kurup for his poetry collection The Bamboo Flute Three stamps were issued to celebrate Kuruprsquos work alongside that of two other award winners with contributions in Malayalam literature SK Pottekkatt and Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai Eminent writers in regional languages including Mahadevi Varma Ramdhari Singh lsquoDinkarrsquo Firaq Gorakhpuri Sumitranandan Pant Rabindranath Tagore RK Narayan etc can be found on stamps issued over the yearsFrom left Postage stamps featuring Allah Jilai Bai and Lalan Fakir8 Folk Music series 2003 Baul poet and singer Lalan Fakir and Rajasthani Maand singer Allah Jilai Bai were added to the stamps in celebration of their legacy to folk music The same year also saw stamps featuring golden voices of yesteryears Hemant Kumar Mohd Rafi Kishore Kumar and Mukesh from Hindi cinema and Ghantasala from Telugu cinemaAnnabhau Sathe9 Annabhau Sathe 2002 Folk poet writer and social reformer Annabhau Sathe has been known as the founding father of Dalit literature having written about 35 novels several plays ballads and short stories in Marathi He was known to have incorporated folk styles like Lavani and Powada in his writing The stamps honoured his vast contribution to literature and social reformsA Panchatantra stamp with detailed illustrations from the story of the Lion and the Rabbit10 Panchatantra 2001 Even in the 21st Century Panchatantra stories which are among the oldest tales in Sanskrit literature continue to be popular among children With the coming of the new century two scenes each from four fables were featured in the postage stamps The Lion and the Rabbit the Tortoise and the Geese the Monkey and the Crocodile the Crow and the SnakeMumbai Special 1982 JJ School of Art celebrated its 125th anniversary 1989 Bombay Art Society completed 100 yearsDavid Sassoon Library and Reading Room 1998 David Sassoon Library and Reading Room completed 150 years