Thursday, September 18, 2025

History, Geography, Culture, and Life Through These Tiny Papers!

Yesterday marked the 77th Telangana Liberation Day. On 17th September 1948, a year after India gained independence from British rule, the princely state of Hyderabad, a kingdom larger than many European countries, was liberated from the rule of Mir Osman Ali Khan of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. After a brief military action, it was annexed into the Indian Union.

Today, one can easily learn about these events through the internet. But for someone like me, born in 1952, decades before the internet, knowledge and curiosity were fuelled by books and magazines. And there was another fascinating source of learning for me, which this article is really about: Philately.

My father began collecting stamps in the early 1930s, and I joined him in a small way, starting with a few stamps I bought during a school excursion to Madras. His collection grew steadily, sourced from letters, purchases from dealers, and constant contributions from colleagues at his office who all knew of his passion.

By the early 1970s, I was able to expand our collection further through my other hobby, DXing (listening to international radio stations), which allowed me to request stamps free of cost from several countries. Later, I began purchasing foreign stamps occasionally, along with regularly buying commemorative issues from the General Post Office (GPO) in Hyderabad.

Today, our collection has grown to nearly 10,000 stamps, about 70 percent of which belong to my father’s original efforts.

As I mentioned earlier, stamps are not just collectibles, they are windows into history. For instance, I recently revisited a few stamps from Hyderabad State itself. The Asaf Jahi dynasty, which ruled Hyderabad from 1724 until its integration into India in 1948, introduced their very first postal stamp in 1869. These small pieces of paper tell stories of rulers, nations, and eras gone by, history preserved in miniature.

Information About the Stamps Depicted Above

All the stamps are bilingual, inscribed in both English and Urdu. Their details are as follows:

1. Victory Commemoration (1946)

This commemorative stamp bears the inscriptions “VICTORY COMMEMORATION” and “HYDERABAD” in English. The Urdu text above the design reads “Sarkar-e-Asafia Yaadgar-e-Kamyabi” (Government of Asafia, Commemoration of Victory). The design shows a soldier returning home to his family waiting outside a house, symbolizing the Allied victory in World War II and the end of the conflict. The stamp has a face value of “ONE ANNA” and is marked “POST & RECEIPT”, indicating its dual use for postal and fiscal (revenue) purposes.

2. Charminar Pictorial (1931)

One of the most iconic pictorial issues of Hyderabad State, this stamp features the famous Charminar. The English inscription reads “POST & RECEIPT” with a denomination of “ONE ANNA.” It belongs to the 1931 pictorial series.

3. Seal of the Nizam (1930)

This issue highlights calligraphic design representing the seal of the Nizam. The English inscription “POSTAGE” appears at the top, while the denomination “8 PIES” is noted at the bottom. The central portion is dominated by Urdu calligraphy.

4. Seal of the Nizam (Variant, 1930)

Similar in design to the previous stamp, this variant carries the denomination of “4 PIES.”

5–8. Silver Jubilee Commemorative Set (1937)

These four stamps were issued on 13 February 1937 to mark the 25th anniversary (Silver Jubilee) of the reign of Nizam VII, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Each stamp features an important landmark of Hyderabad State:

8 Pies – Osmania General Hospital

4 Pies – Unani General Hospital

2 Annas – Osmania Jubilee Hall

1 Anna – Osmania General Hospital

9. Kakatiya Arch (1947)

This stamp depicts the Kakatiya Arch at Warangal Fort, a significant piece of regional history and architecture. Today, this arch is the official emblem of the Telangana State Government. The stamp was issued in 1947 with a denomination of 3 Annas.

Monday, September 8, 2025

From My Diary, September 1983: A Chapter for the Family Archive


Happy time travel through words: My September 1983 diary for my family…

Here are a few pages from my 1983 diary that you might find interesting. Since my handwriting can be difficult to read, even when zoomed in, I am reading it aloud for you in the video below.


AUDIO NARRATION:





History, Geography, Culture, and Life Through These Tiny Papers!

Yesterday marked the 77th Telangana Liberation Day. On 17th September 1948, a year after India gained independence from British rule, the pr...