Issued by Bangladesh

Issued on May 2, 2021

Issued for : Bangladesh Post has issued 01 (One) Commemorative stamp of Tk. 10 (ten), 01 (one) First Day Cover of Tk. 10 (ten), a Data card of Tk. 5 (five) and a Special Canceller on this issue.

Designer  : Mr. Sumanto Kumar

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

No. of Stamp : 01 (One) Pcs

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination of Stamp : Tk. 10/- (Ten)

Size of Stamp : 32 mm x 48 mm

Perforation of Stamps : 12.5

Qnt of Stamps : 1,00,000 (One Lac) pcs

Process of Printing : Offset

Printer : The Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Ltd., Gazipur-1703

Name : Satyajit Ray (Manik)

Born on May 2, 1921 at Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in West Bengal, India]

Died on Apr 23, 1992 at Calcutta, West Bengal, India

About : 

• May 02, 2021 is the birth centenary of the Oscar winning Indian world famous filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Satyajit Ray was an Indian film director, script writer, art director, documentary filmmaker, author, book cover designer, lyricist, magazine editor, publisher, calligrapher and music composer and music director. He was also graphics designer, writer and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest film makers in film history.
• Satyajit Ray was born on May 02, 1921 in an intellectual and affluent family in the then Calcutta, Bengal Presidency in British India [Now Kolkata, West Bengal, India]. He was son of the famous author Sukumar Ray who might still be considered one of the best authors in Bengali literature who before Tagore received the Nobel Prize in 1913, gave a talk at the East and West society in London about Tagore’s songs, by reading the essay – ‘The Spirit of Rabindranath’. His mother was visionary Kalinarayan Gupta’s granddaughter Suprabha Das. His grandfather Upendra Kishore Ray was a distinguished artist, Musician, Music composer and Printing pioneer.
• Satyajit Ray studied at the University in Calcutta and later came to Shantiniketon in 1940 and joined Vishva Bharati university of Rabindranath Tagore to study art. He began his career as a commercial artist. He founded Calcutta’s first film society in 1947. Bijoya Ray was the wife of Satyajit Ray. Bijoya and Satyajit were first cousins. After long courtship, they were married in 1949.
• Satyajit Ray made his first film Pather Panchali (1955, Song of the Little Road) while working at an advertising agency. On August 26, 1955, Pather Panchali was finally released in Calcutta where one of its billboards designed by Satyajit Ray portrayed Apu and Durga running in a Vast landscape of dark monsoon clouds which gave the film an exquisite illusionary allusion as if a visual manifestation of any wonderful epic episode of any unprecedented and remarkable legend displayed in a billboard!
• There was a screening of Pather Panchali for Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India who was on a visit to Calcutta. Nehru was moved by the film and ensured that Pather Panchali was entered in the Cannes Films Festival, 1956. The film won the special jury prize for “The Best Human Document”. Pather Panchali went on to win a dozen odd prizes at home and film festivals abroad, including Best Actress for Chunibala for her role as Indir Thakrun at Manila.
• Pather Panchali with his Aparajito (1956, The Unvanquished) and Apur Sansar (1959, The World of Apu) are known as ‘Apu Trilogy’. His later films include Jalsaghar (1958, The Music Room), Kanchenjunga (1962), Charulata (1964, The Lonely Wife), Ashani Sanket (1973, Distant Thunder), The Chess Players (1977), (1984, The Home and the World), Ganashatru (1990, Public Enemy) and Agantuk (1991, The Stranger). The success of Pather Panchali gave Satyajit Ray total control over his Subsequent films.
• Apart from being an incredible filmmaker Satyajit Ray wrote numerous books for children and even illustrated some of his characters. ‘Feluda’ and ‘Professor Shonku’ are his remarkable creations in Bengali literature. His books have also been translated in English, German, Polish, French, Spanish, Italian and other Indian languages.
• Satyajit Ray received many noticeable awards and gained a prestigious position over his life time. In 1978, he was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University. He received Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1985. He was awarded the legion d’honneur (Legion of Honour) by the President of France in 1987. The Government of India honoured him with the Bharat Ratna, its highest civilian award in 1992. Satyajit Ray received Academy Honorary Award in 1992, becoming the first Indian to receive an Honorary Oscars. He received the Award for Life time Achievement.
• Satyajit Ray died in Calcutta (Now Kolkata), West Bengal on 23 April 1992 (aged 70). His wife Bijoya Ray died in Calcutta (Now Kolkata), West Bengal on 02 June 2015 (aged 97). Their only son Sandip Ray is also a celebrated film director.
• Satyajit Ray was a humanist and poetic naturalist artist filmmaker. The influences of the Ajanta and Ellora style of paintings are seen in his arts and works. Satyajit Ray the legendary Indian filmmaker and among the dozen or so great master of world cinema, is known for his humanistic approach to cinema. Satyajit Ray’s life in Shantiniketon and its Surroundings where he experienced the rural life of Bengal that reflected in his films like Pather Panchali (1955, Song of the Little Road) and Apur Sansar (1959, The world of Apu).
• Satyajit Ray the towering figure in the world cinema and remarkable filmmaker left behind an eternal legacy of a perpetual inspiration of inquisitiveness, cultivation of science, love, respect, kindness and humanity. His artistic legacy will live on forever through his classical cinema’s calligraphies, illustrations, book covers, books, arts and literary works.
• Narrator: Shafiee Billah Jabber
  Son of Martyred Intellectual Abdul Jabber of Bangladesh Liberation War and
  Author of the Trust: Martyred Intellectuals Memorial Trust, Bangladesh.
  Editor and Publisher: The Daily Asian Express and Fortnightly City of Joy.
  

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Issued by India

Issued on Sep 30, 2015

Issued for : The Country is celebrating the 125^th Birth year of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and the Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp on this occasion.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC : Brahm Prakash
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : Wet Offset

Printing Process : 500 Paise

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Born on Apr 14, 1891 at Mhow, Central Provinces, British India [now in Madhya Pradesh, India]

Died on Dec 6, 1956 at Delhi, India

About : 

• The life of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, born on 14^th April, 1891 in a Mahar family, was marked by struggles but he proved that every hurdle in life can be surmounted with talent and firm determination. The biggest barrier in his life was the caste system adopted by the Hindu society according to which the family he was born in was considered ‘untouchable’. After graduating from Elphinstone College Bombay in 1912, he did his higher studies at Columbia University, USA where he was awarded Ph.D. Later, he joined the London School of Economics and Political Science and obtained the degree of D.Sc. (Eco) and was eventually called to the Bar from Gray’s Inn.
  
• In 1927, Dr. Ambedkar led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from a public tank. This marked the beginning of his crusade against the practice of discrimination in the society. The temple entry movement launched by Dr. Ambedkar in 1930 at Kalaram temple Nasik is another landmark in his struggle for human rights and social justice.
  
• On 24^th September 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which came to be known as the Poona Pact. The Pact carved out a clear and definite position for the downtrodden on the political scene of the country. It opened up opportunities of education and government service for them and also gave them a right to vote.
  
• Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and each time, forcefully projected his views in the interest of the ‘untouchables’.
  
• Dr. Ambedkar, organized the Independent Labour Party, participated in the provincial elections, and was elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
  
• In 1947, when India became Independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. However, Dr. Ambedkar had differences of opinion with the Government over the Hindu Code Bill, which led to his resignation as Law Minister.
  
• On August 29^th 1947 Dr. Ambedkar was appointed the Chairman of the Drafting Committee that was constituted by Constituent Assemble to draft a Constitution for Independent India. Dr. Ambedkar played a seminal role in the framing of the Indian Constitution. He used his vast experience and knowledge in drafting the Constitution. In his capacity as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, he hammered out a comprehensive workable Constitution. He gave free India its legal framework, and the people, the basis of their freedom.
  
• Ambedkar was a champion of fundamental rights, and Part III of the Indian Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights to the citizens. Some of the fundamental rights contained in Articles 15(2), 17, 23 and 24 are also enforceable against individuals as they are very significant rights relating to the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth etc. The text prepared by Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and protections for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens, including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and outlawing all forms of discrimination. Dr. Ambedkar argued for extensive economic and social rights for women. Dr. Ambedkar‘s social democracy comprised politicians, political parties with high standards of political morality, honesty and integrity and strong and highly responsible Opposition party or parties committed to the cause of the downtrodden and depressed classes. The Preamble of the Indian Constitution echoes the principles of parliamentary democracy.
  
• In 1948, Dr. Ambedkar completed the draft of the Constitution and presented in the Constituent Assembly. In November 1949, this draft was adopted with very few amendments and came into force on January 26, 1950 marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India. Speaking after the completion of his work, Ambedkar said: “I feel the Constitution is workable; it is flexible and it is strong enough to hold the country together both in peace time and in war time“.
  
• On October 14, 1956 Baba Saheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. The same year he completed his last writing ‘Buddha and His Dharma‘. On 6^th December, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar attained ‘Mahaparinirvan’.
  
• In 1990, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of our Constitution, was bestowed with Bharat Ratna.
  
• Text : Based on the material provided by the proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on May 3, 2013

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Kamleshwar Singh
Cancellation : Nenu Gupta

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paisa

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Kumudlal Ganguly

Born on Oct 13, 1911 at Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency, British India [now in Bihar]

Died on Dec 10, 2001 at Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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Issued by Sri Lanka

Issued on May 7, 2011

Issued to Commemorate the 150^th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian poet.

Picture : A Portrait of the Poet, Rabindranath Tagore

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Watermark : No

Colour : Multicolored

Denomination : 5.00 Rupee

Name : Rabīndranātha Thākura

Born on May 7, 1861 at Kolkata, India

Died on Aug 7, 1941 at Kolkata, India

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Issued by India

Issued on May 7, 2011

Issued for : India Post is feeling proud in releasing the set of stamps to commemorate 150 years of Rabindranath Tagore birth anniversary.

Design : The design of the stamps depicts; Tagore‘s writing – background shows Upasana ghar at Santiniketan; Tagore performing in his play ‘Valmiki Pratibha‘ and a painting by him.
FDC : Tagore inset against one of his paintings.
Brochure : Some doodles & scribbles of Tagore.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise each

Stamps Printed : 0.6 Million each (0.3 million for normal distribution and 0.1 million for e-post office to be sent to Sansad Marg HO, 0.2 million for proponent to be sent to Sansad Marg HO)

Miniature Sheets : 0.2 Million (0.1 million for normal distribution and 0.1 million for e-post office to be sent to Sansad Marg HO)

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : India Security Press, Nashik

Name : Rabīndranātha Thākura

Born on May 7, 1861 at Kolkata, India

Died on Aug 7, 1941 at Kolkata, India

About : 

• The fourteenth child of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, Rabindranath Tagore was born on 7 May 1861 at Jorasanko, Kolkata. His creative genius was nothing short of epic-poet, essayist, writer of fiction and drama, musician, performer, educator and builder of institutions. His work has a universality that marks the triumph of humanism and creativity with a social purpose. Dropping out from formal education, he set up two unique school : Patha Bhavan and Siksha Satra and an international University Visva Bharati and Santiniketan.
  
• He wrote his first drama ‘Prithvirajer Parajey‘ in 1873 but today no copy of this exists. The next year his poem ‘Abhilasha‘ was published in ‘Tattwabodhini Patrika‘ and in 1875 he made his first public appearance to recite his patriotic poem ‘Hindumela Upohar‘. His study of Law at the University College of London remained incomplete as he returned in 1880. His writing of prose, verse, drama and music was prolific. Through the years of marring to Mrinalini Devi, birth of five children and the ups and downs of his personal life, he continued to write and involve himself in the social and political problems of India.
  
• His first book, ‘Sandhya Sangit‘, was published in 1880 and in 1881 he wrote his first musical drama ‘Valmiki Pratibha‘. He advocated education in the mother tongue, critical of the prevalent system of English education. He started a Swadeshi store in Kolkata and a jute pressing factory in Kushtia to promote indigenous goods and employment for youth. He read a paper ‘Kantharodh‘, reacting to the arrest of Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1898.
  
• Moving to Santiniketan with his family, Tagore revived Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya‘s monthly journal ‘Bangadarshan‘. The nucleus of Santiniketan was begun in 1901 but the foundation stone was laid in 1918. He advocated a policy of constructive non-cooperation against the British through his articles and essays, but withdrew from the ‘Swadeshi‘ movement disillusioned over the political exploitation of the Hindu-Muslim conflict.
  
• ‘Gitanjali‘, his magnum opus, was first published in Bengali (1910). A meeting with the British painter, William Rothenstein, led to the publication of ‘Gitanjali‘ in English by the India Society of London, with an introduction by W.B. Yeats. Macmillan, London, also published ‘Gitanjali‘ along with ‘The Gardener‘, ‘Crescent Moon‘ and ‘Chitra‘ and in 1913 Tagore became the first Asian recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Knighted in 1915, he also met Gandhi the same year at Santiniketan. He renounced his Knighthood in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1930.
  
• In 1916 he began his journeys to countries in Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and the USA, writing and speaking on nationalism, education and culture and also raising funds for the Visva Bharati University. He was often invited for Lectures at Universities. Doodles on his writings led to this emergence as a painter in 1924. Performing in his plays, holding exhibitions of his paintings, delivering lectures, writing and publishing his works, expanding Santiniketan, leading a protest against the High Detention Camp shooting incident – Tagore‘s life was a multi-coloured fabric in which not a single thread was wasted.
  
• In 1940 Oxford University conferred a Doctorate on him. His last lecture was read out at his eightieth birthday. He breathed his last on 7^th August 1941.
  
• Text : Based on the material provided by the proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on Jan 31, 2009

Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp on Bishnu Prasad Rabha.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Brahm Prakash
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 0.4 Million

Printing Process : Wet–offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

Name : Bishnu Prasad Rabha

Born on Jan 31, 1909 at Dacca, Bengal Presidency, British India

Died on Jun 20, 1969 at Tezpur, Sonitpur district, Assam, India

About : 

• Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the doyen of Assamese culture, endearingly called as ‘Kala Guru’ was the son of Gopal Rabha, his ancestral home was in South Kamrup district of Assam. He was born on 31^st January, 1909 at Dhaka, where his father served as Subedar Major in the British Army.
  
• Bishnu Prasad Rabha had his primary education at Dhaka and passed Matriculation from Tezpur High School in 1926 in first division. He did I.S.C. from St. Paul’s College, Kolkata in 1928, could not complete his B.Sc., though he studied in Rippon College, Kolkata; and Victoria College, Rangpur. As the Indian freedom movement caught momentum Bishnu Prasad had to bear the repressive measures by the British Govt. to crush the movement. As a consequence, his academic career suffered and ended in 1931.
  
• The philosophy of the life of Bishnu Prasad Rabha finds its clear expression in his multifarious activities and his writings transcend his significance as the foremost cultural rebel-thinker of his times. He is, above all, an epitome whose artistic and literary bend of mind rightly focused in the contemporary Assamese culture.
  
• Bishnu Prasad Rabha was a versatile genius. He touched all the media of communication like painting, dance, drama and music, cinema, gramophone records, news papers et al and proved his ability in all the fields. His dancing prowess mesmerized the audience. He was bestowed the title Kalaguru by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan at Varanasi following a recital of the Tandava dance. His poems are valued as revolutionary contributions that have brought new spirit to the youth of Assam. His musical tunes, and their lyrical contents were basically of Assamese tradition brilliantly used in art form.
  
• Bishnu Prasad Rabha made valuable literary contribution to the Assamese literature. His numerous writings on Assamese culture are scientifically based on historical and anthropological facts. He was in favour of educating the masses through artistic and cultural activities.
  
• Bishnu Prasad Rabha realized the power of mass media and worked for fostering it fraternal feelings amongst the various races, dialects etc., of undivided Assam.
  
• In 1967, Bishnu Prasad Rabha was elected as Member of Assam Legislative Assembly from the Tezpur constituency.
  
• He passed away on 20^th June, 1969.
  
• Text : Based on material provided by the proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on Oct 27, 2004

Issued for : The Department of Posts honours the memory of Svetoslav Roerich through issue of this commemorative postage stamp.

Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma

Type : Block of 4 Stamps, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Print Quantity : 0.6 Million

Printing Process : Photogravure

Printer : Indian Security Press, Nashik

Name : Svetoslav Nikolaevich Roerich

Born on Oct 23, 1904 at Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire

Died on Jan 30, 1993 at Bangalore, Karnataka, India

About : 

• India has attracted people from all over the world. If it was for some the rich natural resources and unexplored wealth, for others it was the spiritual heritage of this ancient civilization. There were others who found aesthetic inspiration for their creative pursuit. Some of those who belong to the last category were so consumed by the Indian ethos that they decided to make it their home, though not necessarily changing their nationalities. Dr. Svetoslav Roerich was one such legendary artist who, a Russian, made India his home.
• Svetoslav was born on October 23, 1904 at St. Petersburg, Russia. His father Prof. Nicholas Roerich was known for his lofty contributions in the field of fine arts, innumerable paintings, culture, ideology and humanistic ideas. His mother Helena Roerich was also a scholar in her own right. She wrote on ethical and spiritual subjects, especially on the importance of women’s role in the new era. At the age of 12, Svetoslav painted his first portrait of his father, which was greatly appreciated. In 1919 in London, he started studies in architecture and painting seriously. He also helped his father in his work on costumes and set designs for Russian theatre artists. Soon his family moved out of England to the United States of America in 1920, where he entered the Architectural Branch of the Columbia University. He continued his education at the Architectural School at Howard University. In 1926, at an exhibition to mark the 150^th anniversary of American Independence in Philadelphia, Svetoslav won the Grand Prix.
• On completion of his studies in the USA in 1931, he left for India to live with his parents in the Kulu Valley in a place called Naggar where they have been residing since 1923. He was made the Head of the Department of studying the local pharmacopoeia, flora and fauna in the scientific institute called ‘Uruswati’ founded by his father. He married Devika Rani, a grand-niece of Poet Rabindranath Tagore, in 1945. She was the First Lady of the Indian Cinema. In 1947, after the death of Nicholas Roerich, Svetoslav and Devika shifted their residence to South Bangalore. His amiable manners, broad outlook and keen appreciation of human values won friends among the eminent personalities like Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Sarojini Naidu etc. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan Award, one of the most coveted honours of India in 1961. He also received doctorate of the University of Cyril and Methodism, Bulgaria, in the same year.
• The Indian ethos left an imprint on his aesthetics. In a majority of his canvases he painted in India, he presents a mosaic of vistas of this country, its people, its landscape dotted with high mountains, its flora and fauna, its legends and anthropological peculiarities. He was honoured Fellowship by Central Lalit Kala Akademy in 1987.
• His association with Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath was lifelong. He graciously gifted 117 works of his father and his own to the Parishath for a permanent display. The Parishath on its part built two separate galleries for the purpose. This unique display of those rare paintings has enhanced the prestige of the Parishath. This association between the Parishath and the ace Russian artist may easily be described as one of the most glorious chapters in its history. His views, opinions and philosophy of art were published by the Parishath in a book called “Humanism in Art“.
• Dr. Svetoslav Roerich passed away on January 30, 1993. Dr. Svetoslav Roerich’s contribution will keep his memory alive, as a true embodiment of aesthetic fervors and indelible union of two cultures, India and Russia.
• Text : Based on material given by the proponent.

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Issued by India

Issued on Nov 29, 2001

Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to honour this accomplished artist with the release of a commemorative stamp.

Design : The First Day Cover depicts one of the paintings of Sobha Singh. The stamp carries the self portrait of the artist.

Credits :
Stamp and FDC : Based on material furnished by the Government of Punjab.
Cancellation : Nenu Gupta

Type : First Day Cover

Colour : Four Colour

Denomination : 400 Paise

Overall size : 2.90 x 3.91 Cms.

Printing size :  2.90 x 3.91 Cms.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un w/m stamp paper

Stamps Printed : 0.4 million

Number per issue sheet : 40

Printing Process : Photo Offset

Printer : Eagle Press Pvt. Ltd.

Name : Sobha Singh

Born on Nov 29, 1901 at Sri Hargobindpur, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, British India [now Punjab, India]

Died on Aug 22, 1986 at Chandigarh, India

About :

• Investing his paintings with rare nobility and character, Sobha Singh (1901-1986) created a Sikh idiom in Indian art and brought Punjab into the mainstream of the art movement in the country.
• Though the young Sobha Singh joined the British Army as a draughtsman, he soon realized that the world of colours was his true calling. He sacrificed the security of a career in the Army to take up painting as a full time profession. His initial years as a professional artist saw him moving from Amritsar to Lahore, and further to Delhi. He made a mark wherever he went, and set up an art studio in Delhi in 1942. During this period he produced some unique paintings on Indian Railways and the Posts and Telegraphs Department. He also worked as an Art Director for some films.
• An unfortunate incident when about 300 of his valuable art pieces were destroyed by fire proved to be a turning point in his life. He moved to the sylvan surroundings of Andretta in the Kangra hills, where he established the now world famous “Sobha Singh Art Gallery” in 1950.
• His paintings based on romantic tales such as Sohni-Mahiwal, Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punnu and Mirza-Sahiban are well known. His paintings of the poets, writers, martyrs, saints and saint-warriors of Punjab as well as Sikh Gurus are also famous.
• A documentary film titled “Painter of the People” throws more light on his life and works. The British Broadcasting Corporation also made a documentary on him in 1984. Numerous awards and distinctions were conferred on him, the prominent being the title of ‘State Artist’ of the Punjab Government, honorary Doctorate of the Punjab University and the Padmashri of the Government of India.
• Text : Based on material furnished by the Government of Punjab.

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Issued by People’s Republic of China

Issued on Jun 27, 1998

Issued for : The Paintings by He Xiangning

Picture : Three different Paintings by He Xiangning :- 1. 50 f – Tiger, 2. 100 f – Lion and 3. 150 f – Plum blossom

Type : Stamps, Mint Condition

Colour : Multicolored

Denomination : 50, 100 & 150 Fen

Perforation : 12½ Syncopated Type A (2 Sides)

Printing Process : Photogravure

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Issued by India

Issued on Jan 11, 1994

Issued for : The Department of Post salutes this Master of the art of cinema, through a setenant of commemorative stamps – one depicting a portrait of Satyajit with the Oscar and the other showing a scene from his first film Pather Panchali. These stamps are unique in using the Ray-Roman type-face for the first time on any India Postage Stamp and also for their size.

Credits :
Stamp Design : By India Security Press with material made available by the courtesy of Cine Central, Calcutta.
Ray-Roman type-face made available by the courtesy of Clarion Advertising Services Limited, Calcutta.
FDC : Dipok Dey
Information Brochure Design : Shankha Samanta
Cancellation : Shankha Samanta

Type : Se–tenant pair of 2 Stamps, Mint condition

Colour : Multicolour

Denomination : 1100 & 600 Paise

Overall size : 10.50 x 3.50 c.m.

Printing size : 10.15 x 3.15 c.m.

Perforation : 13 x 13

Paper : Imported un–watermarked adhesive photogravure coated paper in size 50.8 cms x 53.5 cms.

Type face : Ray Roman

Number Printed : one million

Number per issue sheet : 12 set

Printing process : Photogravure process

Printed : India Security Press

Name : Satyajit Ray

Born on May 2, 1921 at Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India

Died on Apr 23, 1992 at Kolkata, West Bengal, India

About : 

• Born on May 2, 1921, Satyajit Ray belonged to a lineage veined with the blood of Bengal Renaissance. His grandfather, Upendrakishore, was a renowned litterateur and illustrator, apart from being a pioneer in the world of typography. His father, Sukumar is still considered nonpareil in the realm of Bengali nonsense verse. The early grooming at home fully nurtured the artistic sensibilities of the young Satyajit.
• He graduated from the Presidency College, Calcutta, in Economics and then his artistic inclinations took him to Shantiniketan of Tagore – a friend of the Ray family. At Shantiniketan his predilections for western art and music squared up to include oriental Arts under the tutelage of Nandalal Bose and Binod Behari Mukherjee, among others. Back in Calcutta, he was employed as a commercial artist, and also began to design book jackets for an established press a pursuit that brought him instant fame.
• Film always held an over-riding attraction for Satyajit. He soon became a self-taught expert in the art of film-making. His direct involvement with Jean Renoir when he made the film, The River, in Calcutta, and seeing De Sica‘s Bicycle Thieves were vastly enriching experience for Satyajit, specially in the intricacies of making low-budget films. Pather Panchali, Satyajit‘s first film, made in 1955, was the flowering of all his artistic acumen and it came after a prolonged struggle against heavy odds. The acclaim the film received world-wide, is now part of history of cinema. It was hailed not only as a film, but as work of art, deftly dealing with basic human emotions that touched the viewer universally, cutting across the barriers of language and race. Aparajito (1956) followed, and then came Apur Sansar (1959) which completed the famous Apu Trilogy.
• This marked the onset of the New Wave in the Indian concept of film, and brought it recognition as an art-form. The film-maker was now acknowledged as an artist. It was Satyajit Ray who showed that like any other form of art, a film also needs to unfurl in its own parlance with a profusion of audio-visual details. The opus he left behind in films bear testimony to his prolific genius that also won international recognition shortly before his death when he was awarded the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement – a tribute which Satyajit himself considered the highest award that a film-maker can covet.
• The artist in Satyajit emerged at its best in his films. Being a keenly observant aesthete, he also excelled as a typographer, calligrapher and illustrator. He was a talented composer of music as borne out by his films. Satyajit, the writer penned science-fiction, mystery thrillers and short stories, which he wrote primarily for the young but won him instant fame among readers all round. His type-face designs, Ray-Roman and Ray-Bizarre, won awards in a Swiss competition.
• Satyajit Ray won innumerable film-awards at home and abroad, the Magsaysay Award for Photography in 1967 being one of these. He was conferred the Bharat Ratna, a few days before his death on April 23, 1992.
• Text : Department of Posts.

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