ANANT CHATURDASHI: A PHILATELIC TRIBUTE! Dr M R Ramesh Kumar

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ANANT CHATURDASHI: A PHILATELIC TRIBUTE! Dr M R Ramesh Kumar

Ananta Chaturdashi
Ananta Chaturdashi is a festival dedicated to Vishnu, observed and celebrated by Hindus. It is marked on the 14th day of the moon’s waxing phase during the Hindu month of Bhadrapada. According to the Agni Purana, the Ananta (Shesha, the divine serpent) manifestation of Vishnu is venerated on this occasion to free adherents from sins.
Ananta Chaturdashi is also marked as the last day of the 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival and is also called Ganesh Chaudas, when devotees bid adieu to the deity Ganesha by immersing (visarjana) his idols in water.
The spirit of celebration of Lord Ganesha’s birthday as a community festival was promoted by freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, to bring unity among members of society in Maharashtra. Lord Ganesha symbolizes wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. Even though the festival is celebrated throughout India, grand festivities are seen in mostly the western states of Maharashtra and Goa.

(Titles for Figures 1 and 2) A private picture postcard with the Lord Ganesha, Place Pictorial cancelation of Tiruchirapally. Ucchi Pillayar temple is a 7th-century Hindu temple, one dedicated to Lord Ganesha located a top of Rockfort, Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India. According to legend, this rock is the place where Lord Ganesha ran from King Vibishana, after establishing the Ranganathaswamy deity in Srirangam. Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort is also fondly called as Malaikottai in Tamil. A beautiful place cancelation of the Ganesha temple cancelation of the picture postcard is also shown. This cancelation was way back in December, 1974.

(Title for figure 3) A First Day cover on Lord Shri Ganesha which was released by the Department of Posts, Thailand with a Bangkok cancelation of the year 2014.
`My Stamp’ is the brand name for personalized sheets of postage stamps of India Post. The personalization is achieved by printing a thumb nail image of the customer’s photograph and logos of institutions, or images of artwork, heritage buildings, famous tourist places, historical cities, wildlife, other animals and birds, etc, on a selected template sheet having postage stamps.
‘My Stamp’ was first introduced in India during the World Philatelic Exhibition — INDIPEX-2011. This scheme is available in selected philatelic bureaux and counters/ important post offices/post offices situated at tourist places.
A My Stamp with the most famous temples of Lord Ganesha, from the Shri Varasiddhi Vinayak temple, Prabhadevi, Mumbai is given below.

(Title for figure 4) A MyStamp issued by the Department of Posts, Govt of India from Shree Siddhi Vinayak Ganapati temple, Prabhadevi, Mumbai. The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shri Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November, 1801. It is one of the richest temples in India. The temple has a small mandap with the shrine for Siddhi Vinayak (“Ganesha who grants your wish”). The wooden doors to the sanctum are carved with images of the Ashtavinayak (the eight manifestations of Ganesha in Maharashtra). The inner roof of the sanctum is plated with gold, and the central statue is of Ganesha. In the periphery, there is a Hanuman temple as well. The exterior of the temple consists of a dome which is lit up with multiple colors in the evenings and they keep changing every few hours. The statue of Shri Ganesha is located exactly under the dome. The pillars are carved out with the images of ashtavinayak.

(Title for Figure 5) A greetings cover with embossed stamp of Lord Ganesha prepared by the Department of Posts, Govt of India. Ganesha is the God of knowledge and elimination of troubles. He has more than 108 names, worshipped in all parts of India, also overseas. Almost all Hindu religious ceremonies begin with an invocation to Lord Ganesha in the form of a recital. He is most popularly known the elephant god of India across the world for children, their parents and seniors. Ganesh Chaturthi commemorates the birth of Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha’s clay murti privately in homes and publicly on elaborate pandals throughout India and are kept from 11/2 days, 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, 9 days…etc.
Sarvajanik Ganeshas are kept for a longer period of time say 15 days and some even 21 days too.

(Title for Figure 6) Ganesh Pol in Amer Fort, constructed 1611 and 1667, by King Jai Singh II is located in the main palace of the Amber Fort. There is a total of seven main gates like Ganesh Pol in the Amber Fort but Ganesh Pol has most important among all due to its unmatched architecture and strategic location. As the name suggests, Ganesh Pol has a magnificent idol of Lord Ganesh which is splendidly coloured in different colours. A stamp on Ganesh Pol was released by the Department of Posts, Govt of India, way back in 1 January, 2017.

(Title for Figure 7 ): A stamp on Lord Ganesha which was released by the Department of Posts, Government of Nepal.

(Title for Figure 8) A Nepalese Rupee 5 stamp on Lord Ganesha was released by the Department of Posts, Govt of Nepal, way back in 2003. There are four Binayak temples in Kathmandu or four Ganesh Mandirs in Kathmandu, they are Ashok Vinayak, Chandra Binayak, Surya Binayak and Jal Binayak. Lord Ganesh is believed to be the son of divine couple Lord Shiva and Parvati. Ganesh has numerous shrines throughout the Valley but four are particularly sacred.

(Title for Figure 9) A stamp on Lord Ganesha was released by the Department of Posts, Republic of Indonesia, with a value of 700 rupiah (Indonesia) way back in 1994; the Indonesian people too associated Ganesha him with education and learning as can be seen from the stamp.

(Title for Figure 10) Festival Cuisine: Gujhiya. Gujhiyas are prepared in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Bihar regions of India, during Holi and Diwali festivities. In Goa, Goans prepare a similar sweet on the occasion of their festivals: Hindus for Ganesh Chaturthi and Christians for Christmas, the sweet is called “nevri” or “neuri” (plural “neureo”).

(Title for Figure 11) Bhog Prasad : “Prasad” is typically a vegetarian dish that is served as an offering to God in temples. It is usually offered to the divine deities during the beginning of puja and once the puja is over it is distributed among the devotees. According to religious texts, it is believed that the prasad which is offered to god is first tasted by him. Following this, it is given to devotees as a sign of goodwill to share the blessings of God. Whenever, I think of Bhog Prasad, there are a few which comes readily to my mind, they are the “modak” which are made during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
Modak is an Indian sweet dumpling popular in many Indian states and cultures. According to Hindu belief, it is considered one of the favourite food of Lord Ganesha and is therefore used in prayers. The sweet filling on the inside of a modak consists of freshly grated coconut and jaggery, while the outer soft shell is made from rice flour or wheat flour mixed with “khava” or maida flour. Modak is bhagwan Ganesha’s favorite sweet and made in many Hindu homes during the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The most popular variety of modak that is made is “ukadiche modak” (steamed modak) which is from Maharashtrian cuisine. The south Indian variation of modak is “kozhukattai” or “kolukattai” which is made during Vinayaka Chaturthi in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There is another variant of modak recipe where the outer crust is made from whole wheat flour and fried – fried modak.

(Title for Figure 12) A mint miniature sheet on Lord Shri Ganesha along with the Brihadeeswara Temple of Thanjavur which was released by Tajikistan in 2020. It is also called Big Temple.

(Title for Figure 13) A registered commemorative cover with a special cancelation on the Ganesh festival which was available only in Maharashtra Circle (including the state of Goa) during the Ganesh festival 2022 period, with an excellent cancellation of Lord Ganesha and his carrier the “mooshika” with a stamp with Lord Ganesha from Pune of September 1, 2022. The credit of celebrating Ganeshotsav in public, in a large-scale way, is given to Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Tilak thought, that instead of home, why not celebrate Ganeshotsav in a public place. It instilled a sense of unity amidst the freedom struggle. Lord Ganesha’s vehicle (“vahana”) is the large Indian bandicoot rat, which symbolizes Ganesha’s ability to overcome anything to get what he wants. Like a rat and like an elephant, Ganesha is a remover of all the obstacles in life. Also an important philatelic accessory, namely a Magnifying Glass is also a part of the special cancelation, which plays an important role in the life of a Philatelist.
Dr M R Ramesh Kumar, former President of Goa Philately and Numismatics Society, Goa mentioned that more stamps, Special covers on Shri Lord Ganesha needs to be prepared by the Department of Posts, Govt. of India as several foreign countries such as Tajikistan, Nepal, Thailand, Indoensia, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, Singapore and USA have released stamps on him. Did you know that only one country has Lord Ganesha picture on their currency notes and it is not India. A picture of Lord Ganesha is inscribed on the 20,000 Rupiah note of Indonesia, Dr Kumar further mentioned.

(Title for Figure 14) A 20,000 Indonesia Rupiah Currency Note with the image of Shri Lord Ganesha.
Dr M R Ramesh Kumar started his collection on the theme of Shri Lord Ganesha only a few years back. He got most of his philatelic materials from friends, fellow philatelists, internet sources such as Ebay, Amazon, etc, and also from philatelic dealers.
Some more postcards, picture postcards, meghdoot postcards and commemorative covers with cancelations of Lord Ganesha with Panaji cancelations too are given below.
An ordinary 50 paisa postcard with the “Philately King of Hobbies” and collect Indian postal stamps with the Panaji Place cancelation.
A picture postcard of Mahadev (Father of Lord Ganesh) temple at Tambdi Surla, along with an excellent Panaji place cancelation.
A Postally used Meghdoot postcard of Goa@60 and 75 years of Indian Independence and Commemoration of Diamond Jubilee Year of Liberation of Goa with Ganesh Festival 2022 Panaji place cancellation too.
Postally used cover with the stamp of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhara Tilak, who started the idea of Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav and Panaji cancelation.

(Dr M R Ramesh Kumar was a Former president of the Goa Philately & Numismatics Society of Goa)