Stamping heritages in postal ink

Rafique Aziz

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

As part of the National Tourism Day celebrations and to mark a philatelic exhibition, the Department of Posts (DoP), through the Head Post Office (HPO), recently released two special Permanent Pictorial Cancellations (PPCs) depicting a Jain cave at the World Heritage Ellora Caves complex and the royal mausoleum, Bibi ka Maqbara.

Deputy Superintendent of Posts (DSP) Masoom Patel said, “A permanent pictorial cancellation is highly sought after by stamp collectors for its aesthetic and historical value. This year, we released two PPCs. One, titled ‘Indrasabha’, represents a Jainism monument at the Ellora Caves complex and was released on January 31. The second, titled ‘Tomb of the Lady’, depicts the city’s monument, Bibi ka Maqbara, and was released on February 1. These special PPCs highlight the significance of our rich and diverse heritage monuments.”

Patel explained that PPCs obtained on the day of their release carry high philatelic value. “We received requests from philatelists across several states, including Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Goa. We received 175 bookings for ‘Indrasabha’ and 156 for ‘Tomb of the Lady’. The bookings were made through electronic money orders (EMOs) and emails. The PPCs will be dispatched via Speed Post, with the name and address of the requester printed on the cancellation,” he said.

Pleasant surprise to DoP customers

Patel also noted that recipients of regular mail dispatched on these two days would be pleasantly surprised to see the imprints of the two heritage sites. “This helps popularise the monuments and encourages recipients to preserve the mail as a memento,” he added.

Emphasising their long-term value, the DSP said that PPCs released on a specific date acquire greater philatelic importance and gradually gain antique value over the years.

Special Covers

A philatelist pointed out that the ‘Indrasabha’ PPC is available only at the Ellora Post Office, while the ‘Tomb of the Lady’ PPC is available exclusively at the Head Post Office (Juna Bazaar). “Although these PPCs were released on January 31 and February 1 respectively, any cancellation obtained on a later date will merely serve as a souvenir and will not carry philatelic value,” the philatelist said, expressing hope that the DoP would also release special covers for these monuments, as was done earlier for Kalaram Mandir (Nashik) and Sindhudurg Fort (Malvan, Konkan).

Box

PPCs released by the HPO so far

Chand Minar (Daulatabad) — January 1977

Six-Tusked Elephant (Ajanta Caves) — November 1991

Deep Stambh (Ellora Caves) — November 1991

Panchakki (Watermill, City) — January 2025