COVER N. 778 - 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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Some more mail from Ravindra in Sri Lanka, with  nice stamps on the envelopes, as usual. Bohoma Sthuthi, Ravi!

According to a statement on The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Pakistan website, "Relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan are rooted in decades of close friendship, mutual respect, and strong diplomatic engagement. Since the establishment of formal ties in 1948, both countries have maintained regular high-level exchanges and cooperation across multiple sectors. Pakistan has consistently supported Sri Lanka in international forums, while Sri Lanka has reciprocated with equal diplomatic goodwill, reinforcing a partnership built on trust and shared regional interests."

1948 being the year when Sri Lanka became independent,(although still under British rule) as the Dominion of Ceylon (while Pakistan had reached the same status a year before, in 1947) it can be said that diplomatic relations between the two countries go back to their own establishment as States.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of  diplomatic relations between the two countries Sri Lanka Post issued on 08OCT2026 the two stamp set (50; 110 Rupee) on the cover, which I presume would be a joint issue, although I cannot find trace of the Pakistani counterpart having been already issued.

The 50 Rupee stamp features a photo of The Rankoth Vehera stupa at Alahana Pirivena, a massive 12th-century monastic university and religious complex located in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka, which was awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO. 

The 110 Rupee stamp is illustrated with a photo of the ruins of Takht-i-Bahi, an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Being also a  UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is  considered among the most important relics of Buddhism in all of what was once Gandhara.

The Gandhara Civilization existed in what is now Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan from the middle of the 1st millennium BCE to the beginning of the 2nd millennium CE. Although multiple major powers ruled over this area during that time, they all had in common great reverence for Buddhism and the adoption of the Indo Greek artistic tradition which had developed in the region following Alexander's invasions into India. (cf. World History Encyclopedia)

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