Import export

1990 marked the 25th anniversary of Queen's Award for Export and Technology when these two PHQ stamp cards were issued.  It was originally known as the Queen's Award to Industry, became for Export and Technology in 1975, and then in 1992 Environmental Achievement was added too.

I also found this stamp from India, for the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade

which I thought fitted in well with the theme.

I'm continuing to tiptoe around with a poorly computer and, to make things more exciting, an unrelated unreliable internet connection.  Maybe by next week I'll be all singing, all dancing again. Maybe.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, in its new home at See it on a Postcard!

Shri Nemi Nathji temple

Mount Abu, Rajasthan, in north east India, was once the summer retreat for Rajasthani royalty.  Five Dalwara temples were built between the 11th and 13th centuries, and this card shows one of them, the Luna Vasahi or Shri Nemi Nathji temple.

In the central dome there is a huge ornamental pendant, around it are 72 seated figures or Tirthankara, and below them are 360 monks.  All the marble is so intricately carved that in places it looks transparent.

The Sun Temple in Konarak

.

A more distant view of the Sun Temple in Orissa state in India.  The earlier one I posted in April shows a close up and some detail of the carving.  This one gives a better idea of what it looks like as a whole.  If you can pick out the small spots of colour on the far left, you will have an idea of the scale of the temple - those are people. From the back of the card:

This temple was built in the 13th century in the form of a chariot on which the sun rides through the sky daily.

The stamps show two Indian breeds of horses, the Manwari and Zanskari.

The Sun Temple of Konarak

The spelling of Konarak on the card seems to have become Konark in Wikipedia, and Konârak on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. But that's beside the point when you realise that this is a temple built in the 13th century in the shape of a giant chariot for the Sun god, Surya. It can be found in the state of Orissa, on the east coast of India by the Bay of Bengal.

The card shows one of the 24 wheels, and the whole is pulled by six horses. It is covered in intricate and complex carvings, many of which are erotic and that, of course, is what most people remember about it.

This card was sent to me, with the most beautiful stamps, on 3 February 2010.



They may be ordinary stamps, I don't know, But I think they look wonderful. I find it so hard to find attractive stamps for my postcards.

A Week of Cathedrals: 2 - Se Cathedral, Old Goa, India.

Postmark Mumbai, dated 16 June 2009.
Velha Goa: Se Cathedral (16th cent.)
The Portuguese Viceroy in Goa ordered the cathedral to be built, in 1562, to display the grandeur of Portugal.  It was dedicated to St. Catherine because in 1510 Goa was conquered on St Catherine's feast day.

It is the largest church in Asia and took over 50 years to build the shell.  The altars were not completed until 1652.  It originally had two towers but the southern one collapsed in 1776 and was never rebuilt.  The remaining one houses the "Golden Bell", so called because of its rich tone.

Along with the other churches and convents in Goa, the cathedral is listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

Hampi, India

Postmarked London, though with Indian stamps. Dated 31 December 1980.

Rock charriot - Humpi (Karnataka)
[The spellings are not mine but copied from the back of the card]

Hampi was once the capital city of the Vijayanagara empire which covered several states. It was laid waste by invading Moghuls. The ruins of Hampi of the 14th Century lie scattered in about 26 sq. km area. It is now a World Heritage Site.

This is another of the postcards sent to my father by a merchant seaman. I find the messages interesting:

Once again on my travels, round India - Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Chittagong. Should be back in England by the end of February if all goes well. The weather is very hot now. On the way to Madras we hit the tail end of a cyclone. A bit rough. Christmas will be quiet, still I hope it's the last one deep sea for me.

Bombay, Madras and Calcutta have all since changed names to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata respectively.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Hampi: Glory of ancient India

Ellora Caves, India

Another from the person who worked aboard ship, so postmarked London, dated 29 May 1981.
No. 141 Ellora Caves, Ellora. (India)

Ellora Caves are another UNESCO World Heritage site. They are actually rock-cut architecture excavated from the mountainside. The 12 Buddhist (caves 1-12), 17 Hindu (caves 13-29) and 5 Jain caves (caves 30-34), built in close together, demonstrate the religious harmony prevalent during this period of Indian history.

Again, I find the message on the card interesting:
"We are at anchor in Bombay harbour unloading into barges. Should leave here next week for Sri Lanka.We had a fire in No 2 hatch but not too serious. It will soon be monsoons around here, so hope we leave before it starts."