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The bloom on our stamps
IS THE kurinji flower due to bloom next year, carpeting the hills of Kodaikanal and Yercaud with its lilac hue? The kurinji blooms once in 12 years, is what most people believe. But they've been known to bloom anywhere from seven to the generally accepted 12 years. But whether they bloom on the hills or not next year, they are likely to bloom within the next one year on our stamps.
O. (for orchid) T.(for trees) Ravindran, the Madras-based horticulturist, botanist, plant lover, journalist and artist, scored with two sets of paintings he did for the `Orchids of India' and `Trees of India' series of stamps, that illuminated the Indian philately scene a few years ago. Now, he is all set to brighten up a slowly improving stamp scene with a painting he has done of the kurinji in bloom for a new stamp.
For four years, O.T. has been trying to get the postal authorities interested in featuring the legendary flower of the hills; now that he's been asked to send a design, he's at last hopeful that his idea will see the light of day.
Indian postage stamps these days are looking much more attractive than what they were just a few years ago. But they still have a long way to go before they can become world class.
O.T. is confident that with a focus on flora he can take India at least part of the way. And to that end, he's now started working on designs for a three-stamp series on the `Medicinal plants of India'. As much as wanting to make Indian stamps more colourful, O.T. wants to make the world aware of the wealth of medicinal herbs India has. A recent issue of Time magazine had an article titled `Asian Herbal Medicine'. ``Do you know there wasn't a line about India in it?'' says an outraged O.T. And that's when he got down to work on the medicinal plants series.
I hope his kurinji stamp will beat a track the medicinal herbs can successfully follow. They'll not only make the Indian philately scene more colourful, but they'll also go some way towards creating a greater awareness about what India can offer the world in medicine.
S. MUTHIAH
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