COVER N.149 - INDIA

Postmark: Ahmedabad Philoatelic Bureau 1-08-22 
Posted on the 1st August; received on the 12th August 2022
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A nice cover from India with a vibrant souvenir sheet. Thanks a lot Dilip.

India is not colour shy, In fact colour seems to be everywhere, so much so, that there is even a colour festival, the now famous Holi, that celebrates the arrival of the spring. 

India is also a very diverse country, in terms of geography, nature, socio-economics, culture, natural and human heritage. It thus comes as no surprise that such diversity might be transposed to a stamp to celebrate "Vibrant India". 

And this is exactly what happened in 2015 when the  India's Department of Posts launched a stamp design  competition with a view to the creation of a stamp that might highlight the Country's many facets. Of note is the fact that the rules of the competition stated that no computed generated designs were admissible. About a thousand entries were submitted and the result was the souvenir sheet that graces the front of my cover, issued on 25JAN2016, India Republic Day, containing a 25 Rupee stamp and featuring several iconic images of India such as the Taj Mahal or the country's national bird, the peacock.

With so much space on the front of the cover being taken by the lovely souvenir sheet, Dilip added the stamp need to complete the relevant tariff to the back of the envelope.

The 5 Rupee  stamp used was issued on 14JAN2013, honouring Aditya Vikram Birla (1943-1995), a prominent Indian Industrialist.