India’s first perfumed stamp out

NEWDELHI:13 is consideredan unlucky number bymany, however, December13 would be etched in goldenwords in the history of Indian philately as the day that saw the launch of the country’s first-ever perfumed postage stamp in the capital.

The stamp, which smellsof sandalwood and comes in the denomination of Rs 15,was released by Communication Minister DayanidhiMaran at a special functionhere, making India one ofthe few nations globally to have released a perfumedstamp.

Mr Maran indicated that it was the first of several other stamps which would have a scent of its own. “Iam sure that Indian fragrances can be a continuing theme for stamp issues inthe coming years,”he said. Printed at the Government of India Security Press at Nasik, the stamp is 29mm x 39mm in dimensionand its fragrance will last for over a year.Bhutan ranks as the first country to have issued aperfumed postage stampway back in 1973.Countries like Thailand and NewZealand have brought outstamps smelling of Roseand Jasmine,while Switzerland has a chocolate shapedwhich smells like chocolate.

Speaking at the launchceremony,Minister of State for Communications Shakeel Ahmad said it would beahit not only with the existing philatelists but also among the general public. The stamp was printed in three stages to give it the perfume. In the first, it was printed as is done in thecase of any normal stamp.In the second stage, a special sandalwood based ink, imported from the UK, was applied into the cells of 30 to 40 microns depth, in the cylinders used for photogravure printing and thestamps were then rolledonto these cylinders.By this process, they were transferred onto the stamp paper. At the last encapsulation stage, microcapsules of the ink are injected and these get permanently embedded in the stamp. It is these microcapsules which hold the fragrance. Whenever the stamp is rubbed, the microcapsules break and emit the fragrance of sandalwood.