Sivaji Ganesan, Actor - Indian Stamp

An iconic presence in Tamil cinema for five decades, Sivaji Ganesan (1928-2001) is one among the most charismatic film actors of all time. He also served as a member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from 1983 to 1986. Many awards and distinctions were conferred on this multifaceted personality, prominent among them being the Padma Bhushan (1984), Chevalier of Arts title of the French Government (1995) and the Dada Sahen Phalke Award (1996).

I will always remember his performances in Veerapandiyan Kattabomman, Manohara, Thiruvilayadal, and the recent Padayappa. There are many others which i am not citing. Nevertheless, Sivaji Ganesan was one of the most brilliant and 'original' actors ever present in the Tamil Film Industry.

More about him here.

 

Date of Issue  :     01.10.2001

Balloon Stamps - Guine Bissau

Guine Bissau is a country in West Africa. To more about the country and its past and present head here.

The following are a set of 3 thematic stamps based on balloons issued by the Republic of Guinea Bissau. I guess it is a set of 7 stamps out of which i have 3.  I would love to get the other 4 from this set (do let me know if you want to swap :) ).

Dogs - Rasal Khaima

Ras-Al-Khaimah is one of the seven emirates. Ras al Khaima was the last of the Trucial States to issue its own stamps. Its first set was a definitive series that was issued on 12 December 1964. Ras al Kaimah agreed to join the United Arab emirates on 11 February 1972. More about Ras-al-Khaimah here.

 
Though the stamps feature the name as "Rasal Khaima", i guess the actual name is "Ras-Al-Khaimah".

I have not been successful in knowing more about this set of 6 stamps, but i do see that in 1971 this emirate issued a set of stamps on dogs - which are not the same as this set.

Indian Princely States - [NEW] Indian Stamp

This is a set of 4 commemorative stamps based on the erstwhile Pincely states of India, namely : Indore (Holkar) , Bamra , Sirmoor and Cochin.  I simply loved the design of the stamps and the way they are over printed.  Also, the way colors are used to showcase the heritage is notable.

A Princely State (also called Native State or Indian State) was a nominally sovereign[1] entity of the Empire of India which was not administered by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler, while the British Crown had suzerainty or paramountcy, completely controlled the state's external relations and exercised a degree of indirect rule over its internal affairs, varying in scope from one state to another. 

Out of the 560+ princely states, I hear that only 40 odd had postal systems and issued stamps.
More on Princely States of India can be read here and here.

I will be getting the miniature sheet of this soon, as i am pretty sure this would be a collector's masterpiece in the near future.

9 Pies Indian Stamp

This is probably the oldest stamp from India in my collection. It is damaged, nevertheless, i like it.
I think it is George V or George VI in it. I need to collect more from the olden pre-independence era.

Low Denomination Post-Independance Indian Stamps

Those were the days when we had the 5p, 10p, 25p and the beautiful 20p coins and the associated stamps!