POSTCARD N.176 - SRI LANKA

Postcard sent on the 11th February, received on the 18th January 2025.

Postcard image: Post Office at Nuwara Eliya 

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Lately, my friend Mr. Postman has been acting rather thriftily  in what concerns visits to my letterbox, on top of that, I have been in bed for the last few days with the worst case of flu I had in recent years, so the last postcard I got from Ravindra was quite a cut in the monotony of coughs and sneezes and body aches that have been filling my days. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravi!

With each new Postcard that Ravi sends, the desire to visit his land grows, so many are the points of interest that Sri Lanka has to offer. Just have to wait until my companion of 42 years finally retires so that we can travel in the best time of the year to visit the beautiful Island of Taprobana.

And I'm sure that on seeing a sight such as the one on the postcard below, all those reading these lines will follow me in this desideratum...

The Tudoresque Nuwara Eliya Post office building was built by the British in 1894, and since that date it has been open to the public what makes it one of the oldest Post Offices in Sri Lanka.

As I read in Wikipedia, the postmaster's living quarters were converted into  tourist accommodation in 2012, and in 2017, the United Postal Trade Union of Sri Lanka went on a 3 day strike to stop the conversion of this amazing Post Office and also those at Kandi and Galle Fort into hotels... some things are better left unchanged, it seems.

The 20 Rupee stamp featuring a Schumacheria alnifolia, a critically endangered member of the Dilleniaceae family endemic to Sri Lanka, was issued on 07OCT2016 as part of a 12 definitive stamps issued in two minisheets (1x 8 and 1x4) themed on the Flowers of Sri Lanka.

Smal as the stamps from this particular issue are, I find them rather beautiful.

The 50 Rupee stamp is one that Ravi has already used before, part of a set of four (2 x 50 Rupee + 2 x 110 Rupee) dedicated to the UNESCO WHS of Sigiriya, issued on 15JUN2023.

As usual with Ravindra's covers and postcards, the postmark indicates expedition through the PO Headquarters of Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.