Great stories by Great authors….

 

The U.S. Postal Service will honor the 150th anniversary of the birth of O. Henry with a 2012 Forever stamp. The design of the stamp is beautiful. Here I just wish to share his most famous story “The Gift of Magi” and  famous  Hindi film ‘Raincoat’ based on this story……The great story by great author….This is all in this Post….Have a Nice Time !

O. Henry is the pen name of writer William S. Porter, 1862-1910. The O. Henry drawing is based on a photograph of the author as a young man. The background image is the elevated rail in New York City, where many of O. Henry's stories were set. O. Henry wrote nearly 300 stories, including "The Gift of the Magi," "The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Cop and the Anthem." O. Henry has an annual anthology named after him, The O. Henry Prize Stories. The O. Henry stamp will be the 28th stamp in the Literary Arts series by USPS.

A postage stamp on O Henry was also issued by then USSR in 1962,

 O. Henry (1862-1910) was a prolific American short-story writer, a master of surprise endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City. A twist of plot, which turns on an ironic or coincidental circumstance, is typical of O. Henry's stories. O. Henry’s real name was William Sydney Porter and he was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862. At age of 20 (1882) he moved to Texas, where he had various jobs.

In 1894 while working for First National Bank in Austin, Porter was accused of stealing $4000. He went to prison in Columbus, Ohio for 3 years eventually.While in prison Porter first started to write short stories and it’s believed that he has found his writer’s pseudonym there. After Porter was released from the prison in 1901, he changed his name to O. Henry and moved to New York in 1902.From December 1903 to January 1906 o. Henry wrote a story a week for the New York World magazine, and published several short stories in other magazines.O. Henry’s short stories are famous for their surprise endings and humor.O. Henry's wrote such classic short stories as The Ransom of Red Chief, “The Gift of the Magi” and “The Furnished Room”.In his last years O. Henry had financial and health problems.  O. Henry died on June 5, 1910 in New York City. 

"The Gift of the Magi" is a popular Christmas story about love and sacrifice. The work is one of the most famous stories by O. Henry.

"The Gift of the Magi" is a short story written by O. Henry , about a young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret Christmas gifts for each other with very little money. As a sentimental story with a moral lesson about gift-giving, it has been a popular one for adaptation, especially for presentation during the Christmas season.

 

Young married couple Della and James "Jim" Dillingham Young are very much in love with each other but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to their very bad economic situation. For Christmas, Della decides to buy Jim a chain for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father's father. To raise the funds, she has her long, beautiful hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoiseshell and jewels for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Although each is disappointed to find the gift they chose rendered useless, each is pleased with the gift that they received, because it represents their love for one another.

Read full orignial story….

Raincoat is a 2004 Hindi film directed by Rituparno Ghosh, and starring Ajay Devgan and Aishwarya Rai. It tells the story of two lovers, separated by destiny, who meet again one day. This encounter allows each to realize the truth about the lives they are living. It is an adaptation of the short story The Gift of the Magi (1906) by O Henry .

The story begins with unemployed Manu (Ajay Devgan), from Bhagalpur in search of money to finance his new business as he has lost his earlier job at a jute mill. On his quest, he visits Neeru (Aishwarya Rai) in Calcutta, to whom he was engaged six years ago. During the rainy evening, the couple reminisce about their former love and how each ended up in their current situation.

Neeru pretends to lead a happy and prosperous life. She gestures to her former lover during various instances, particularly when the door bell rings and she persuades Manu not to open the door. They go on talking about their past and present with multiple flashbacks.

The raincoat comes to play when Neeru wears it to fetch some food. The landlord speaks of the real situation of the household, and prompts Manu to give his borrowed money as rent for the house. Manu leaves a letter under the bed sheet explaining things. When Neeru returns he does not say anything about his encounter with her landlord. After some time Manu leaves. Later, when he puts his hand inside the pocket of his raincoat, he finds a pair of gold bangles that belonged to Neeru, along with a letter saying that she had a lot of money and he should have told her about his financial situation. She had actually read a letter that was inside the raincoat that informed her about Manu's condition.

RAINCOAT: An excellent touching movie to heart with its most simplicity based on O Henry’ s story “ The Gift of Magi”

Golden Voice of yesteryears – Kishore Kumar

 

 Tributes to  Great singer – Kishore Kumar

(4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987)

Today is Birth Anniversary of Kishore Kumar, the most popular and versatile  singer of Indian Cinema… Philatelic Tributes to the legend  who will  never be forgotten …

Everlasting golden voice of Kishore Kumar…..

 

Kishore Kumar was the most versatile artiste of Indian Cinema.  He was a  film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter. Kishore Kumar sang in many Indian languages.

Kishore Kumar played hero in the Bombay Talkies film Andolan (1951), directed by Phani Majumdar. He starred in Bimal Roy's Naukri (1954) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s directorial debut Musafir (1957). Kishore Kumar starred in films New Delhi (1957), Aasha (1957), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Half Ticket (1962), and Padosan (1968).

Music director S. D. Burman is credited with spotting Kishore Kumar's talent as a singer, and advancing his singing career. During the making of Mashaal (1950), Burman visited Ashok Kumar's house, where he heard Kishore imitating K. L. Saigal. He complimented Kishore, but also told him that he should develop a style of his own, instead of copying Saigal. Kishore Kumar did not have a formal training in music.He kept Burman's advice in mind, and eventually developed his own style of singing, which featured the yodeling..S D. Burman recorded with Kishore for Dev Anand's Munimji (1954), Taxi Driver (1954), House No. 44 (1955), Funtoosh (1956), Nau Do Gyarah (1957), Paying Guest (1957), Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967), Prem Pujari (1970), and Tere Mere Sapne (1971). He also composed music for Kishore Kumar's home production Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958).

Read More…

A voice to be remembered always…..

Philatelic Tributes to Munshi Prem Chand and Mohd Rafi ..

 

 

Today is Birth anniversary of Munshi Prem Chand, greatest writer of  Hindi – Urdu literature and Death anniversary of Mohd Rafi, finest singer Indian Cinema . Philatelic Tributes to great legends of Literature and Music.

Munshi Premchand  (July 31, 1880 – October 8, 1936) was a famous writer of modern Hindi-Urdu literature. He is generally recognized in India as the foremost Hindi-Urdu writer of the early twentieth century. He wrote novels, stories and dramas. He is known as "Upanyas Samrat" which means a great emperor among novel writers.

His real name was Dhanpat Rai but he is famous with his pen name of Premchand or Munshi Premchand. He was born in Pandepur , a village near Banaras (now Varanasi). His early education was in a madarasa under a Maulavi, where he learnt Urdu. In 1919, while he was a teacher at Gorakhpur, he passed his B.A., with English, Persian and History.

He pioneered the new art form - fiction with a social purpose. He wrote of the life around him and made his readers aware of the problems of the urban middle-class and the country's villages and their problems. He supplemented Gandhiji's work in the political and social fields by adopting his revolutionary ideas as themes for his literary writings. Premchand was a prolific writer.

Premchand wrote about three hundred short stories and fourteen novels, as well as many essays and letters, plays and translations. Many of Premchand's stories have themselves been translated into English and Russian.

Godaan (The Gift of a Cow), his last novel, is considered one of the finest Hindi novels. The protagonist, Hori, a poor peasant, desperately longs for a cow, a symbol of wealth and prestige in rural India. The story depicts the human beings' deep-rooted beliefs, and their ability to survive and uphold these beliefs despite great misery

In Kafan (Shroud), a poor man collects money for the funeral rites of his dead wife, but spends it on food and drink.

Premchand died in 1936 and has since been studied both in India and abroad as one of the greatest writers of the century.Three of his novels have been made into films.

Mohammed Rafi

 

Philatelic Tribute to the Legendary Indian Playback Singer, Mohammed Rafi  whose rich melodious voice,  attract the older and the newer generations day by day.

Mohd Rafi was one  the most versatile singers of Hindi Cinema. He was born at Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab. Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, started singing by imitating chants of a fakir in his village. . Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.

Rafi's first public performance came at the age of 13, when he was allowed to sing at a concert in Lahore featuring K. L. Saigal. In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam Sunder, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye nee, Heeriye nee" with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (the film was released in 1944). In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them. He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941 film Gul Baloch and the Bombay film, Gaon Ki Gauri, the following year.

Rafi also did brief roles in movies like Laila-Majnu (1945) and Jugnu. In Laila-Majnu, he was seen singing ‘tera jalwa’ as a part of the chorus.In a career spanning about 40 years, Rafi sang over 26,000 film songs. His songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans, and from slow melancholic tunes to fast and melodious fun filled songs. He sang in many Indian languages.

 

More stamps on Tarzan..

 

Hi ! Here are some more stamps, miniature sheet and Cover on Tarzan. After  publication of my last Post about Tarzan Stamp by USPS, I received information from Dr Eli Moallem of Israel about some more stamps on Tarzan issued by other postal administrations. The stamps are just wonderful. Thanks to Eli for sharing these nice stamps here  on my Blog ! Well Tarzan is a name which fascinates everyone, especially during school days through comics or films….Just enjoy the stamps and have a Nice Time !

 

 

New Stamps from Slovenia..

 

 

Date of Issue 27 May 2011

Posta Slovenije (Post of Slovenia) issued a new stamp on 27 May 2011, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the premiere of the first Slovenian full-length (partially) acted film, In the Realm of the Goldenhorn. On the same day a set of two stamps was also issued on EUROPA 2011 theme “Year of Forests”.

Date of Issue : 27 May 2011

Permanent Pictorial Cancellations

Tamil Nadu

Permanent Pictorial Postmark – 15 - Hasthampatti

Date of Inauguration of PPP - January 30, 1997

Hasthampatti is a neighborhood in Salem City. Mahatma Gandhi, during his visit to Salem on February 14, 1934, stayed as a guest at the residence of  Landlord Natesa Pandaram. The Government of India acquired this building in the '80s and the Hasthampatti Post Office is functioning in this building. The room in which Mahatma Gandhi stayed is converted into Mahatma Gandhi Philately Museum inaugurated on January 30, 1997, and philatelic stamps, first day covers, stationery issued by India as well as other countries are in display.
Cover illustration shows bust of Gandhiji and post office building at Hasthampatti. The postmark shows the Charkha / spinning wheel and text 'Bapu' in Tamil and Hindi. The photo below shows Mahatma Gandhi working with Charkha.

 

 

Charkha - The charkha was both a tool and a symbol of the Indian independence movement. It is a small, portable, hand-cranked wheel, ideal for spinning cotton and other fine, short-staple fibers, though it can be used to spin other fibers as well. Mahatma Gandhi brought the charkha into larger use with his teachings. He hoped the charkha would assist the peoples of India achieve self-sufficiency and independence, and so used the charkha as a symbol of the Indian independence movement and included it on earlier versions of the Congress Flags.

: Kasinath R.- Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu)

Blog : My Watercraft Philately

 

 From our Readers…….

Sandeep Chaurasia of Gorakhour shares here an article published in Bhartiya Rail a prestigious magazine of Indian Railways. Mr Chaurasia is a thematic philatelist and collects on Railway theme. Sandeep Chaurasia may be contacted at email : sandeepchaurasiagkp@gmail.com

Published in 'BHARTIYA RAIL' (March-April 2011)

Legendary Heroines of India …Maxim cards

Legendary Heroines of India

Here are some magnificent Maxim cards and private first day covers on Legendary heroines of India prepared by Mr John Emanuel Boben of Trivandrum . Mr Boben may be contacted at e-mail : annakutty.03@gmail.com

Private First day Covers

: John Emanuel Boben , Trivandrum

New stamps from India..

 

 

Legendary Heroines of India

India Post Issued  on 13th February a set of 6 postage stamps and a Miniature Sheet on legendary heroines of India during INDIPEX 2011.

: Mansoor B. Mangalore

 

 

Stamps on Legendary heroines released in a glittering  function

Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Gurudas Kamat released a set of six stamps on six legendary actresses of Indian Cinema here last evening.
These legendary heroines of Indian cinema are Kanan Devi, Devika Rani, Savitri, Meena Kumari, Leela Naidu and Nutan.
Two legendary heroines of yesteryears Asha Parekh and Vaijayantimala Bali graced the occasion and remembered the actresses and work culture of those days.
Tajdar Amrohi, the family member of Meena Kumari and family members of Savithri were also present on the occasion.
Kamat also released a coffee table book 'Pigeon to Post' by Steve Borgia on Indian postal history on this occasion.
Devika Rani was the star and late manager of Bombay Talkies, from where she dominated the first decade of the Indian sound film and set the standard for the post 1950 Hindi film heroine.
Daughter of Col. Choudhury, surgeon of Madras, and grandniece of Tagore, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Royal Academy of Music (London) and also held a degree in architecture and was a successful designer of Paisley textiles. She married Himanshu Rai in 1929.
Her first film produced by Rai and directed by Osten, was as costume designer (and probably as extra) for "Prapanch Pash"(1929). In Germany where the film was edited, Rani was able to see Fritzlang, G.W.Pabst and Sternberg at work and assisted Marlene DIetrich on the set of 'Deblau Engel' (1930).
Kanan Devi, actress and singer, started with the name Kananbala. Debuting as a child actress in Joydev, she worked under contract with Radha Films where she acted in Jyotish Bannerjee Films. P.C. Barua was unable to obtain her for his role of Paro in 'Devdas' (1935) but she played the lead in his next film, Mukti, which made her a star and launched her long association with New Theatres.
Meena Kumari was born in Bombay, one of the daughters of the Parsee theatre actor, singer and music teacher Ali Bux and dancer Iqbal Begum, Having hit upon hard time and living near the Rooptara Studios, Ali Bux sought to get his three daughters into films.
Her main persona was constructed through movies like Kamal Amrohi's 'Daera', Bimal Roy's 'Yahudi' and Guru Dutt's 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam', culminating in her most famous film, 'Pakeezah'.
She married Amrohi, who directed some of her best work. The couple eventually completed the film they jointly conceived, 'Pakeezah', in 1971 just before her death.
Nutan, top Hindi 60s star was introduced to films by her mother, Shobhana Samarth, in Hamari Beti. Her screen image was moulded by Bimal Roy (Sujata, Bandini) and by those who continued in the Roy tradition: Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Anari), Bimal Dutt (Kasturi) and Sudhendu Roy (Saudagar).
Savithri Telugu- Tamil actress and director, was born in Chirravuru, Guntur District, AP into a wealthy family. She learnt music and dance under Sista Purnayya Sastry and gave some public performances as a child in Vijayawada.
Leela Naidu was an actress who starred in small number of Hindi and English films, including 'The Householder', Merchant Ivory Productions' first film.
Selected Femina Miss India in 1954, she was featured in the Vogue along with Maharani Gayatri Devi in the list of 'world's Ten Most Beautiful Women and is remembered for her classical beauty and subtle acting style.(ANI)

Today’s Stamp

 

 Most Beautiful Stamps issued for Valentine’s Day

Legendary actresses of Indian Cinema on stamps..

 

Savitri                               Nutan                     Meena Kumari

Leela Naidu                Devika Rani                       Kanan Devi

 

India Post will release a set of six stamps during INDIPEX 2011 on 13th February, commemorating 6 great legendary actresses of Indian Cinema Savitri, Nutan, Meena Kumari, Leela Naidu, Devika Rani and Kannan Devi.The guest list for the release ceremony includes well-known heroines of the 1960s,Vyjanthimala and Asha Parekh. The stamp release ceremony will be held in Imperial Hotel Lawns. Among all these great heroines  Savitri is most adorable artiste of South India and known for her roles in 'Mayabazar',  Devadasu, Devatha and Mooga Manasulu . Nutan and Meena Kumari were the most popular heroines of Indian Cinema and Leela Naidu, Devika Rani and Kana Devi had given a big contribution to the early Indian Cinema by their great performances in a number of films.  Earlier India Post had issued had issued stamps in the honour of actresses Nargis and Madhubhala.

New Stamps on Greetings

On 27 January, 2011, An (Ireland) Post issued two stamps on Greetings.The  stamps feature colourful  balloons and flowers - typical symbols of joy and happiness, guaranteed to brighten up any greetings correspondence.

From our Readers…

 

 

Private special covers  prepared by Ashwani Dubey, Gorakhpur