First Day Cover - Inauguration of Dacca Railway Station (1969)

As I made a mention in one of my earlier posts that I only collected stamps, while one my elder brothers collected the first day covers. However, the one above is the only first day cover that someone sent me and I kept it as my only FDC.

The stamp was issued on the inauguration of the new railway station of Dacca, east Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The date of issue was April 27, 1969, and today when I share this FDC, it has been 42 years since this stamp and FDC was issued. A small possession, that is more than four decades old.

PS: Please don't send any mail to me on the address written on the FDC as the house was sold out some three decades later.

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Genealogy as a hobby

Tracing one’s ancestors is one of the most likable, intuitive, interesting and digging hobby around the world. It is really exciting to find out one’s roots, who one’s ancestors were, from where did they come and how they shaped the character of the family. Tracing the family tree can be very interesting and has been a popular practice since ancient times. A family tree also helps in reunion of family members who get separated when they move out to other lands or countries seeking new avenues for life. The technological advancements have now tools and softwares that assist us in compiling our genealogical tree, most often called as the family tree, or Shajra-e-Nasb, as it is called in Urdu.

Like many others, I also take genealogy as a hobby and have been able to draw my family tree backwards for centuries. My late father assisted me in collecting data; rather he was the driving force behind an innocent request from me to help conserve our genealogy. He knew the right people in our family who had been keeping a track of our family tree from the very beginning. I will share my family tree in my next post.

Family tree can be traced both ways; the descendent chart method or the ascendant chart method. Both are almost similar but it is how one wants to connect the leads. Normally the ascendant chart method is easier and favourite as it allows readily available leads to start with, starting from the near and dear ones.

But usually the best method is to start from yourself – this is the easiest jump point where you know the complete data related to you and your parents. And from here one can start to build his own family first, brothers, sisters and brothers and sisters of father and mother. This provides the base and from here one can move in any direction, whether expanding the tree horizontally first or vertically shooting up in one’s father genealogical ancestral lineage. If one has time, horizontal working is easier as the data is almost readily available, rather than bogging down vertically up as soon the reservoir dries up and one has to spend endless hours in libraries and family history books linking torn links together and making a sense out of tons of photographs and family records.

Another useful aid is the digital cameras of today. These tiny and handy devices should be carried whenever visiting relatives and take photographs of everyone that matters. Even the video recording facility should be used to interview the old to create logical links.

All one needs to gather is enough determination to trace back one’s ancestors or link the broken links. I persisted in my efforts and with the help of my late father, I was just in time to complete the entire linkage before my dear father parted from us forever.  

I have already shared in skeleton form my genealogy in one my earlier posts “Generations” in my other blog JahoJalal. I am now in the process of writing the complete tree and would share it some day.

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Grilled Chicken

Making houses is easy, but making it a home is much more difficult and tedious. It is only dedicated and loving wives that can do it. We shifted into our new house almost a year ago, eleven months to be exact, but add ons continues. One of the recent add ons was an oven we had been wanting for long. And the moment it arrived, the cooking instinct of my wife took a new turn. She started off with mouth watering pizzas and cakes (unfortunately I could not preserve what came out of the oven), and latest was her grilled chicken.

So yesterday I went and bought chicken for grilling and it was at night that the preparations started for its grilling. The marination and its refrigeration commenced in the evening and finally it was time to skewer it in the turn-strip and place it inside the oven. Then we all watched it slowly moving in the feint oven light as seen above. I shot the chicken in the oven by my cell phone and waited for it to be roasted and served.

Finally it was time and there it came out - steamy and sizzling hot with its beautiful aroma that made it simply irresistible. But before it could vanish into our hungry tummies, I just had the time to snap it when it was being trollied into the dinning room. Thereafter, it was only bones in our plates as it was devoured instantly, served with hot brown baked potatoes. 

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My collection of very old stamps of Egypt

The stamps of Egypt in my collection date back to 1884 - the two stamps in the left column from the bottom showing the Sphinx were issued in 1884 and onwards.This makes them one of the oldest stamps of my collection.

The stamps bearing head of King Fouad, called the Second Portrait Issue (above bottom right four stamps) were issued between 1927-1937. The top left stamp in this group of four stamps was issued in 1953 with the abolishing of the kingship with three three horizontal bars unceremoniously overprinted till new stamps were issued.

The stamps with head of Young King Farouk (Investiture) Issue, above left column two stamps, were issued between 1937-1946.

The second stamp from the left in top row is that of Farouk I, issued during the 1940s.

The Service Stamp, second from the left in bottom row, was issued in 1951.

Related: The Kingdom of Egypt 122-1953

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Stamps of Rhodesia

There were many countries in the 50s and 60s that are no more now or they exist under different names. The present day Zimbabwe and Zambia are two of such countries that were once associated with the British and were called Rhodesia and referred to as Northern Rhodesia, that included the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, besides the Southern Rhodesia. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was also known as Central African Federation (CAF) that existed from 1953 to the end of 1963. The Rhodesia and Nyasaland issued its own stamps, while the Southern Rhodesia issued its separate stamps as shown above.

In 1964, the Northern Rhodesia proclaimed independence and renamed itself as Zambia. Since Northern Rhodesia became extinct, the Southern Rhodesia renamed itself simply Rhodesia. The following stamp of Rhodesia is of this period.

The status quo continued till 1979, when Rhodesia again fell back to the colonial rule in 1980 and was continued to be called Southern Rhodesia by the British, as for the British, they had never recognized the independent status of Rhodesia. However, the Rhodesian always wanted an independent status and in April 1980 became an independent state of Republic of Zimbabwe.

The above stamps are from my stamp collection and are just a memory of the bygone days now.

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The Jinnah Gold Coin

On the eve of 100th birthday celebration of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan (born 25th December 1876), a gold coin with a face value of Rs. 500 was issued by the Government of Pakistan.

Weighing 4.5 grams, the gold content of the coin was approximately 91.7%. The obverse side of the coin had Government of Pakistan inscribed in Urdu (the national language of Pakistan) with the motto given by Mr Jinnah for the newly created state of Pakistan in 1947. The reverse side had the portrait head of Jinnah with an Urdu inscription "100th birth anniversary celebrations of Quaid-e-Azam," a title with which Jinnah is most commonly known in Pakistan. 

The coin with a diameter of 19 mm was issued on 22 February 1977.

Related Reading: Muhammad Ali Jinnah - the founding father of Pakistan (Pakistanpaedia)

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My collection of stamps - Czechoslavakia

Awhile ago, I posted the first page of from stamp collection of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia and its postal history. Today I am posting the second page. In time I will post more pages as I have quite a healthy collection of the country that is no more today.

related Link: The stamps and postal history of Czechoslovakia

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Young Stars in the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud

Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, WISE Team

Dust clouds and embedded newborn stars glow at infrared wavelengths in this tantalizing false-color composition from WISE, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. The cosmic canvas features one of the closest star forming regions, part of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex some 400 light-years distant near the southern edge of the pronounceable constellation Ophiuchus. After forming along a large cloud of cold molecular hydrogen gas, young stars heat the surrounding dust to produce the infrared glow. Stars in the process of formation, called young stellar objects or YSOs, are embedded in the compact pinkish nebulae seen here, but are otherwise hidden from the prying eyes of optical telescopes. 

An exploration of the region in penetrating infrared light has detected emerging and newly formed stars whose average age is estimated to be a mere 300,000 years. That's extremely young compared to the Sun's age of 5 billion years. The prominent reddish nebula at the lower right surrounding the star Sigma Scorpii is a reflection nebula produced by dust scattering starlight. This view from WISE spans almost 2 degrees and covers about 14 light-years at the estimated distance of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud.

Source: Astronomy picture of the day (NASA)

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White Lillie in the darkness

Just today our White Lille blossomed and gave out beautiful flowers. A bunch of three is simply adorable and I could not resist taking a shot even when it was almost dark. The result came out to be exciting and awesome. I was simply fascinated and I thought to share with my viewers. 

I will share more of these tomorrow. I have also shared this at Flickr (Jalalspages)

Labels: | Photography | Gardening |

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Baked Alaska

I do not know why people call it so, but I guess as Alaska is a very cold place and so is this dessert which has ice cream over it, which makes it resemble like Alaska. And of course when you bake it, it seems like baking Alaska, I mean the ice cream covered cake.

Let me also confide with you that this is the best dessert I have ever tasted in my life. If you haven’t tried it so far, do it now, lest this heavenly dessert escapes your wish list for some other “worldly” desires.

It requires expertise that comes through practice as it involves actually putting ice cream on a cake covered with egg whites into a preheated oven in its final stages of baking.

Ingredients:

2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

8 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

Method:

Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch round mixing bowl or deep square container with foil. Spread ice cream in container, packing firmly. Cover and freeze 8 hours or until firm. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x8 inch pan.

Prepare cake mix with egg and almond extract. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven according to package instructions, until center of cake springs back when lightly touched.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar, salt and sugar until stiff peaks form.

Line a baking sheet with heavy brown paper. Place cake in center. Turn molded ice cream out onto cake. Quickly spread meringue over cake and ice cream, all the way to paper to seal. Return to freezer 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Bake the Alaska on the lowest shelf, 8 to 10 minutes, or until meringue is lightly browned.

SERVE AT ONCE – and eat it hurriedly too, lest Alaska melts – I mean the ice cream.

The secret of ice cream not melting: The meringue is an effective insulator, and the short cooking time prevents the heat from getting through to the ice cream.

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Roses are not always red ...

In January earlier this year, I talked of planting rose samplings as January is the month (January is the rose lovers' month) when rose saplings are generally planted, specially in Pakistan. My wife brought over a dozen varieties of roses that included bedded, pedestal and double pedestal roses. Well now all the saplings are flowering and our entire beds are full of rose, beside the multi coloured flowers of the spring plantation. Some of these give beautiful smell, typical of roses that make our garden a part of the heaven.

See some of the beautiful fully grown roses of our garden and enjoy the gift of nature.

The single pedestal and double pedestal roses are budding and I will share their photos when these are in full bloom.

Labels: Roses | Gardening |

Related link: January is the rose lovers' month

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Pepper Steak (by simmering technique)

Simmering is a different technique, often confused with boiling. A few know the thin line between simmering and boiling. Having differentiated the difference between the two in my earlier post, let us prepare a simple steak through simmering technique.


Simmering Steaks are steaks served stew-style - these cook earlier than ordinary pot roasting technique.

Ingredients:

1 lb. steak,  cut into strips

2 tbsp. oil

1 env. onion soup mix (many do not know how to measure an envelope - it is in fact 2 1/4 tsp)

2 cup of water

1 medium green pepper. For colourful display, you may substitute 1/3 part each red, green and yellow pepper

2 tsp. soy sauce

1/2 tsp. ginger

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Hot cooked rice

Method:

Fry the steak till brown in light oil, preferably in a large skillet. Stir in onion soup mix and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Stir in ginger, soy sauce and pepper. Simmer again for 15 minutes or until meat is tender.

Mix cornstarch in remaining water and add to mixture, stirring continuously till the sauce is thickened. Serve over hot rice. 


Remember, if you have replaced the green pepper with the three coloured peppers, you would now find the difference as these multi-coloured pepper would give an exciting look of your steak. 

Serves 4

Label: Simmering | Pepper Steak | Recipes |

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My collection of stamps of the Great Britain

The postal history of the Great Britain is the oldest in the world of philately, dating back to 1840. It also established one of the most efficient postal system ever laid out in the world. The Great Britain also introduced the same system in all its colonies and protectorates, where it is still functioning as efficiently as it is in the Great Britain today. It may be mentioned here that the first ever stamp of the South Asia was printed in 1852 from Karachi, Pakistan (then part of the British Empire) and was known as Scinde (Sind) Dawk.

Four major eras of the British postal system can be best described as the Victorian, King George V, King Edward VIII and the present Queen Elizabeth II. The Penny Black series of the Victorian times is the most famous that also includes the world’s first postage stamp in the shape as we know it.

My album starts from the King George V era and the stamps in the left lower column bear the portrait of King George V, issued in 1912s onwards. These are followed by stamps bearing portrait of King George VI, issued in 1930s (stamps in the left column over the King George V stamps and the second column from the left).

The bulk of my stamps are of the King Elizabeth II era, starting from her coronation in 1952 till date. I will continue to share pages from my stamp album of British stamps in days to come. 

Labels: Europe | UK |

Related Links:

The First Stamps

The Scinde Dak

Pakistan Post commemorating the Scinde Dawk centenary 1852-1952

A page from my stamp album - Lundy (UK)

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Collecting Record Jackets

When talking of collecting things as a hobby, jackets of LP covers also comes to mind. Although with the advent of CDs the use of records and listening of these on the turntables has diminished to a great extent, those who love listening to records still continue to dig in old stores to find LP (long playing) records to add to their collection and listen to these on their turntables.

In fact collecting LP jackets is same as collecting old books and adding to one's LP library. I, as an avid fan of the Beatles, the famous British musical group that rocked all charts in the 60s, have still a number of Beatles' LP jackets as part of my library. And whenever I see these, it reminds me of the days when these were put to sale and how all us five brothers pooled money to buy these LPs.


I remember the day how excitedly I had gone to the Hall Road, Lahore to buy the Sgt Pepper. The LP had come in double jacket, though had one LP but its colourful jacket and full size uniformed photos of the Beatles was really fascinating. Likewise I remember the day when I bought the Let it be. Rodney Hope, a college friend of my elder brothers, had a wide collection of English songs, specially the Beatles and the Ventures. We would usually trade-off each others' collection. 


While I was in Iran, I had befriended with an Iranian family. The couple was issue less but were very jolly and lively. They had a large collection of records, mostly in Persian and were disposing ff their belongings as they were migrating to Italy. One day while I along with my family was visiting them, I saw Beatles' Rubber Soul going in waste. I requested for the LP and the family was too pleased to gift the LP to me. I still have the LP and it reminds me of the couple with whom I lost contact when they went out to Italy.

The Beatles are perhaps one of the most heard and remembered musicians of all times, even when two of the Beatles are no more and the remaining two carry on their lives independently. The Beatles included John Lennon (guitar), George Harrison (guitar), Paul McCartney (bass) and Ringo Starr (drums). 

The group traces back its history to 1957 when the two main pillars of the group, Lennon and McCartney, started playing together in The Quarrymen in 1957, England. Later George Harrison and then Ringo Starr joined the group to what became to be known as the Beatles.

Most of the songs were written by John and Paul, while most of the songs were dominated by Paul for his melodious voice, followed by John. Harrison and Ringo sang a few, but mostly concentrated on their instruments. The group hit the main charts all over the world, especially in the UK with their “Love me do” in 1962. In 1963, “She loves you” became the biggest ever hit in the UK history. Their memorable visit to the USA in 1964 would be remembered and cherished by all those who saw them coming down from the plane, and playing.

Besides songs, they took to movies and their A Hard day’s Night (1964) and Help a year later broke box office records. Whatever they sang became instant hits and they ruled the charts for as long as they played. In the late 60s, their music became more sophisticated and animated with their release of the Sgt Pepper and the Yellow Submarine.

But at the same time, their popularity and cooperation within was waning. And as expected and predicted by many, the group was dissolved in 1970, when Paul brought a lawsuit to dissolve the group.

After their dissolution, John, Paul and Harrison continued their solo music while Ringo was more inclined towards the corporate world. John’s tragic murder in 1980 and the death of Harrison in 2001 left Paul and Ringo as the remaining Beatles.


Related Link: Commemorative stamps - John Lennon

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50 Years Ago: Yuri's Planet

Credit: ISS Expedition 7 Crew, EOL, NASA
On April 12th, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alexseyevich Gagarin became the first human in space. His remotely controlled Vostok 1 spacecraftlofted him to an altitude of 200 miles and carried him once around planet Earth. 
Commenting on the first view from space he reported, "The sky is very dark; the Earth is bluish. Everything is seen very clearly". His view could have resembled this image taken in 2003 from the International Space Station. Alan Shepard, the first US astronaut, would not be launched until almost a month later and then on a comparatively short suborbital flight. 
Born on March 9, 1934, Gagarin was a military pilot before being chosen for the first group of cosmonauts in 1960. As a result of his historic flight he became an international hero and legend. Killed when his MIG jet crashed during a training flight in 1968, Gagarin was given a hero's funeral, his ashes interred in the Kremlin Wall. 
Twenty years later, on yet another April 12th, in 1981, NASA launched the first space shuttle.
Source: NASA Astronomy picture of the day
Related Links:Yuri Gagarin commemorative coinsPostage stamps commemorative Yuri Gagarin's space mission 

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Old stamps of Singapore

Singapore, the smallest country of the Southeast Asia, is located south of Malaysia, some 137 km north of equator. The country has seen many handshakes with intruders since 14^th century and had been an important seaport since.

The port was destroyed by the Portuguese in the early 17^th century, 1613 to be exact. The British came to this part of the world in the early 19^th century and established a trading post on the island. During the WW-II it was briefly occupied by the Japanese, but reverted to British control after the war. It was merged with the Federation of Malaya in 1963. It finally became an independent state on 9^th August 1965.

From period 1949-52, head of King George VI appeared on stamps of Singapore. Thereafter these were replaced by the heads of Queen Elizabeth II after her coronation.

During its union with the Malayan Federation, the postage stamps issued with inscription Singapore Malaya as can be seen from my collection above (left column) with the head of Queen Elizabeth II. The three stamps on the right are of the independent republic of Singapore, issued after 1965.

Related Link: My Philatelic World

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Postage stamps of Pakistan - 1957 and my stamp album

Pakistan Post issued stamps on three occasions in 1957 as seen above.

The first set of stamps was issued on 23 March 1957 on the eve of first anniversary of Republic Day. As I mentioned in my post of stamps of 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic Republic on 23 March 1957 - rather the first Islamic Republic of the entire Muslim world. The three stamps in the first and second row above were issued, depicting Orange Tree (myrtle green and orange in colour) with a face value of Rs. 10. The stamp on the left in the second row shows Karnaphuli Paper Mill East Pakistan. This scarlet coloured stamp had a denomination of two and a half ana. The blue coloured stamp on the right in the second row of three and a half ana depicted pottery, a famous handicraft of Pakistan.

A set of two stamps with Pakistani flag was issued on 10th May 1957 on the eve of celebrating the Century of Struggle for Independence. The struggle that took place in 1857 by both Muslims and Hindus of the British India to get rid of the yoke of slavery from their British masters. The struggle for independence, called mutiny by the British, was ruthlessly suppressed by the British and countless "mutineers' were mercilessly killed alive - no one was taken as prisoner.  The bronze green stamp on the left in the third row was priced at an ana and a half, while the one in blue on the right was priced at 12 ana. These stamps were withdrawn in 1958.

1957 was the year of celebration of the 10^th anniversary of independence. A set of three stamps in the last row above shows these stamps. The theme of all stamps centered around the emerging industries of the newly born country. The ultramarine stamp on the left had a face value of an ana and a half, the orange and red colored stamp in the centre had a face value of 4 ana, while the third stamp in mauve was priced at 12 ana.

My collection of these stamps is complete less one stamp of mauve colour issued on 14^th August 1957.

Related Labels and Links:

Pakistan

My Philatelic World

Struggle for Independence (Pakistanpaedia)

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See through cellular phone

Well many excited on hearing the word "see through." But sometimes see-throughs could turn out to be innovative cellular phones as photographed below. The technology is called the window phone concept. The phone with extraordinary features is in fact transparent or see-through and one can see the other side just like one sees through a ordinary plain piece of glass sheet. Say Coool!!

Source: Techzug

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Yuri Gagarin Commemorative Coins

The history made by Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on 12 April 1961 will always be remembered as one of the most extraordinary achievements by mankind in the fields of science and technology, and space exploration. Although a lot of commemorative stamps have been issued by most of the countries around the globe since 1961, the issuance of commemorative coins has somewhat been limited.

There were two commemorative coins issued in the Soviet Union to commemorate 20th and 30th anniversaries of his flight: 1 ruble coin (1981, copper-nickel) and 3 ruble coin (1991, silver). In 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, a series of four coins bearing his likeness was issued in Russia: 2 ruble coin (copper-nickel), 3 ruble coin (silver), 10 ruble coin (brass-copper, nickel), and 100 ruble coin (silver). The copper-nickel coin can be seen above.

In 1981, on the 20th anniversary of Yuri's space orbital, the erstwhile Czechoslovakia issued a silver coins weighing 9 grams as seen above. The face value of the coin was 100 Czechoslovakian koruna Kčs. 

The unique coin above was issued by the Government of the Cook Islands. The the coin's obverse depicts the Raphael Maklouf effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 2008 year-date and the monetary denomination surrounding another coloured image of the Earth.  The unique construction of the coin literally ‘orbits’ around a coloured representation of Earth. The coin comprises 1oz of 99.9% pure silver with a central core made of non-precious metal.

Related Links:

12 April 2011-50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's journey into space

Postage stamps commemorating Yuri Gagarin's space mission

Coin Photo Sources:
Russian Coin (Wikipedia)
Czechoslovakia coin (Colnect)
Cook Island coin (The Perth Mint)

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Postage stamps commemorating Yuri Gagarin's space mission

12th April 1961 was the fateful day when Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut, lifted off aboard Vostok-1 and became the first man ever to have crossed the boundary of earth's atmosphere and traveled inside the outer space. His 108 minutes flight that took him into the space and also had a round around the earth's orbit was harbinger for the famous Apollo-11 mission that took men on moon.

The four stamps on the left were issued by the USSR on the occasion. The stamp by the erstwhile Czechoslovakia, that is part of my collection, was also issued in 1961. A set of two stamps was issued by CCCP / USSR in 1981 to commemorate the 20 years of the historical space journey.

In 1991, on the 30th anniversary of Yuri's first flight to space, USSR issued a souvenir set of four stamps to honour their hero as seen above.

Today on 12 April 2011, the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of this remember-able day that later paved for many manned missions to the outer space, specially the moon.

Related Link: 12th April 2011 - 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's journey into space

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The unfamiliar Far Side of the Moon

Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
We are generally familiar with the "nearside" of the moon as it is seen from the earth to the entire world. Or should we say we say we are accustomed to seeing the rather clearer, flat and crater less surface of the moon.
But the far-side of the moon, which is not visible from earth, is much more cratered, rough and battered as seen above. The above amazing and "different" or should I say unfamiliar moon face has been shot from the  Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. The NASA is of the view that the reason behind the rather rough surface of the moon is attributed to its thicker crust, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form the smooth maria.
This is indeed a treasured capture of the unfamiliar face of the moon, we are otherwise so familiar of seeing every night.
Source: Astronomy picture of the day (NASA)

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Colonized stamps of Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda

Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda were once British colonies. At that time one stamp bore the name of all these three colonies on one stamp, Kenya and Uganda on the top and Tanganyika in the bottom. No one for sure knows the why of such arrangement, but this how the stamps of these three colonies fro as long they remained under the British control. The cumulative stamp serving needs of these three colonies started in 1935 and continued till 1963, when these colonies start to get independent to shed away the yoke of slavery they collared for all these years.

The last stamp in the first column from the right is the oldest that I have. it bears the head of King George V and this stamp dates back to a period between 1935-38, thus making it almost 75 years older.

In 1938 after King George VI became the new king of the Great Britain, his head started to appear on these stamps as can bee seen in the first two columns from the left. The stamps in the first column depicts the famous Lake Naivasha in the background. 

The stamps in those days generally bore the portrait of King George with Lake Naivasha in the background. Part of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi, outside the town of Naivasha. 

The stamps in the rest of the three columns ear the head of Queen Elizabeth II are of the period after her coronation, especially 1959. These stamps continued till the three courtiers became independent in 1963.

Tanganyika on independence split in to today's Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. The two bigger colonies of Kenya and Uganda remained their entity intact and continue to be so till date.


Even after the independence, these stamps continued to be in use with the name of the country appearing as an overprint. The last stamp in the third columns from the left shows the earlier combined stamp used by Kenya with "KENYA" overprint. Since the same stamp was used for the revenue purpose, the word "REVENUE" also appears as an overprint.

Related Link:

Africa

Rhodesia, Zambia, Zimbabwe

My Philatelic World (my previous blog that focused on hobby of philately only)

Lake Naivasha (Wikipedia)

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