COVER N. 716 - INDIA

Postmark: Ahmedabad G.P.O. 38000 Philatelic Bureau 24.04.2026

Posted on the 24th April ; received on teh 12th May, 2026

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Once again I am humbled by the perfect handwriting on the address line of this cover from India, graced with quite an interesting two stamp souvenir sheet dedicated to what must be a quite complex, yet fascinating theme: India's cultural heritage.

 आपका बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद, Dilip. 

The souvenir sheet featured on the cover, comprising two stamps (5 and 20 rupee) bearing images of two Indian temples, was issued on 11APR2013.

I will, of course, not discourse on the theme these stamps are meant to illustrate, given my absolute ignorance of it, but I think it is pretty safe to say that religion in its many declinations, plays a very important part in India's Architectural heritage.

Furthermore, the sense of impotence that ignorance motivates is easily enhanced when one tries to find some information that will at least provide a tiny beacon so as to where begin, when the first paragraph your search returns is

"Srikurmam is the only Indian temple in the world where Vishnu is worshiped in his Kurma avatar. Initially dedicated to Shiva and referred to as Kurmeswara temple, Ramanuja is said to have converted Srikurmam into a Vaishnavite temple in the 11th century AD. Since then, the temple was regarded as an important centre of Vaishnavism in the medieval period along with Simhachalam." (source: Srikurmam Temple, Srikakulam – The Abode of Lord Vishnu in Kurma Avataar – Discover India)

As a matter of fact, the 10 most context significant nouns in these 4 lines, are almost clueless for me, and this is one of the beauties of exposition to foreign cultures: the world is much broader, diverse and richer than our own immediate perception of it. Stamps keep reminding me of it; powerful awareness raisers they are....

Still, I managed to conclude that Srikurman temple is located in the eponymous district,  in the State of Andhra Pradesh, having been built in the 2nd Century AD and that this is the only temple where Vishnu, the God of Preservation and one of the most important deities in Hinduism is worshiped in his Kurma (tortoise) avatar.

Srikurman Temple is represented on the 5 Rupee stamp.

The 10 Rupee Stamp is illustrated with the image of the Arasavalli Sun Temple, Arasavalli being located just one kilometre away to east of Srikurman.

This all white temple is believed to have been built in the 7th century AD and  is dedicated to Lord Surya, the Solar deity.

Postage was completed with a 10 rupee stamp issued in January 2016 as part of the year's issue of the definitive series "Makers of India", featuring the portrait of Indian ruler  and founder of the Maratha Empire, Shivaji Bhosle, (1630-1680), whose royal title was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj 

Postmark from Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat, the fifth most populous city in India with almost 5.6 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area.