Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival that marks the transition of the sun into the zodiac sign of Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path. It is typically celebrated on January 14th. People fly kites, take dips in holy rivers, and exchange sweets to celebrate the festival. It’s also known by different names such as “Uttarayan” in Gujarat and Maharashtra, where people celebrate it by flying kites, “Pongal” in Tamil Nadu, “Sankranti” in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, “Khichdi” in northern India, “Makara Sankranti” in the southern states and “Maghi” in Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
In this blog I will try to share my journey from planning till execution of “Makar Sankranti 2023 pictorial cancellation release from Puri”.
The story begins in the first week of December 2022, when the Maharashtra postal circle announced the release of a pictorial postmark for Christmas. As a lover of philatelic adventures, I was disappointed that I had not had many opportunities to pursue this hobby. While staying at home in Puri, I decided to propose a special postmark for the Puri Head Post Office. After some research, I found the nearest occasion was Makar Sankranti, which was falling on a weekend. I decided to design a postmark to commemorate the occasion.
After conducting some research and reading many articles online, I decided to include imagery of harvesting, farming, the sun, and kites in the postmark, as these are the most celebrated things on that day across the country. After several attempts, I finally settled on a design that looked good to me. I typed a letter to the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices (SSPOs) for the Puri division, proposing the issuance of a special pictorial postmark to commemorate Makar Sankranti. My previous experience during International Yoga Day 2022 helped me a lot. On December 17th, I sent the letter of proposal from the Puri Station Road Sub-Post Office (752002).
Within 1 week, I received a letter from the Puri division stating that my proposal had been sent to the circle office for further approval. Two weeks later, on January 2nd 2023, I was in Bhubaneswar when I received a call from the circle office. I was ecstatic as I knew that if the circle office called me, it meant my proposal would be approved. However, I learned that I had made a few mistakes in the postmark, such as using the wrong PIN code and placing English above Hindi in the inscription. I quickly corrected the errors and asked for confirmation, but was told that my proposal would be presented to the Chief Post Master General for final approval.
In the meantime, I began searching for thematic stamps to use with the postmark on the date of release. I found six pieces of Children’s Day miniature sheets that were released in 2010. I designed a cover for posting and printed a few copies for myself and my philatelic friends across India who would send me covers from their locations.
However, during the second week of January, I learned that special pictorial cancellations would be issued from three philatelic bureaus under the Odisha circle, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sambalpur, but my proposal was not accepted, so my postmark was not in the announcement. I was disappointed, but I decided to visit the Bhubaneswar GPO to post my cover on January 14th, Makar Sankranti.
Two days before the big day, I received an official call from the circle office saying my design had been approved. I was overjoyed, as this was the second time my design had been approved by the Department of Posts. I called and informed some of my philatelic friends about the approval and asked them to send me covers from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sambalpur. I had a friend in Bhubaneswar who had contacts in Cuttack and Sambalpur, so we decided to send covers to those locations as well.
On the big day, I woke up early to write addresses on the covers. I visited the head office around 10-10:30 AM and found out that the SSPOs would not be available, but the Assistant Superintendent of Post Offices (ASPOs) and other officials would be releasing the cancellation. I took a look at the beautiful 3.5cm cancellation and was impressed by the quality. My covers were cancelled with the special pictorial cancellation and I felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. It was a dream come true for me as an amateur philatelist. I was also happy to have shared this experience with my philatelic friends who also received covers with the special cancellation. It was a memorable day for me and I will treasure this experience forever.
At Puri H.O. the postmark was released in the presence of Mr. Sanjib Kumar Bhuyan, ASPO (OD) Puri Division, Mr. Dushmant Kumar Jena, Supervisor, Puri Division, Mr. Birabar Behera, Postmaster, Puri Head Post office and Mr. Amiya Kumar Jena, BE, Puri Division .
Now let me share some of the commercially used cover posted to me from different locations for future references. Hope you will like them.
Makar Sankranti 2023 postmarks
Puri H.O. (752001)
Bhubaneswar G.P.O. (751001)
Cuttack G.P.O. (753001)
Sambalpur H.O. (768001)
Postmarks released from Karnataka Postal Circle
Besides above postamarks, another postmark released at all the philatelic bureaus under Karnataka Postal circle to commemorate Makar Sankranti 2023 on 13th January, 2023.
The postmark depicts kite, coconut tree, cow, sun etc. relevant to the Makar Sankranti celebration in the state. The postmark contains the inscription “Makar Sankranti Greetings” in Kannada and English language.
Image source: Social media
With this I would like to conclude this blog. I hope the above postmarks are to your liking. Your feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated, so please do leave a comment.