COVER N. 779 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O.Colombo Mail 13.10.2026

Posted on the 13th October;  Received on the 21st October 2026

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Thanks to Ravi, Sri Lanka ranks as one of the most represented origins in this blog. Here's another of his frequent and very appreciated letters. Bohoma Stuthi, Ravi!

- The London Buddhist Vihara was the first Budhist Monastery to be established outside of the Asian continent.

Founded in 1926 by Anagarika Dharmapala, it has continued, from its inception up to the present day - with the exception of the 1940s due to World War II - the task of disseminating Buddha’s teachings, known as Dhamma, with resident bhikkhus (monks) from Sri Lanka.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of  London Buddhist Vihara Sri Lanka Post issued the 70 rupee stamp on the cover, graced with  the portrait of the founder of the institution, Anagarika Dharmapala,(1864 - 1933) and an illustration of the Norman Shaw designed building it occupies in Bedford park, Chiswick.

- The Universal Postal Union was created in 1874, in Bern, Switzerland, where it has been headquartered ever since, as the General Postal Union, with a view to harmonising international mail delivery. As of  1878 it changed its name to the current designation, Union Postale Universelle or Universal Postal Union, and in 1948 it became a body of the United Nations.

During its 1969 congress held in Japan, the Indian delegation proposed that the anniversary day for the Union - the 9th of October - should thenceforth be declared World Post Day. 

The proposal having been accepted, the 9th of October has become synonymous with celebrating postal services and their relevance, all over the world.

Honouring this date, many postal administrations issue yearly or episodically commemorative World Post Day stamps and /or cancellations.

Sri Lanka is one such case and on the cover we have this year's issue on the theme, with a face value of 70 rupee,  issued on the 9th October 2026 illustrated with UPU's official branding and motto for World Post Day:  "One Postal Network, Infinite Possibilities".

The last stamp on the cover was already mentioned on this blog in the previous post:  it is the 70 Rupee stamp issued on 09OCT2026, celebrating World Children's Day, a day of action by children, for children, which takes place on the 20th November.

World Children's day was established by UNICEF and was first celebrated in 1954

Postmark from the Sri Lanka Post Headquarters at Colombo, as usual.