Though Queen Elizabeth II was just getting going at her silver jubilee, for most Royals it is near the end of his rule. That was the case with George V. Rather than just a stuffy political portrait of an old man, why not include the beauty of the empire, even where the King is not responsible. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair.
I have a real fondness for this stamp. One of the duties of George V was to lead the Anglican church. Another is to be the head of the British Empire. The obvious stamp to do would be a portrait perhaps with a map showing the vast realm. Instead there is the confidence to show views of India that really don’t have much to do with the British. In showing these type of places it implies India is a special place that George V had the honour to serve. A much more nuanced and flattering way to celebrate the silver jubilee.
The stamp today is issue A73, a one and a quarter anna stamp issued by the Crown Colony of India in 1935. The stamp shows the Jain Temple in Calcutta. The 7 stamp issue showed holy places of various religions practiced in India, none of them Anglican. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 55 cents used. It is interesting to me that now days Indian stamps in the early years after independence seem to be worth more than those of the late days of the colony. The hobby was always big in England but I think it reflects the taking up of the hobby by native Indians rather than expatriate British. As there are vastly more Indians than British, it bodes well for the future of stamp collecting.
Jainism is a religion practiced by about 5 million people worldwide. The bulk of these people are Indian. They believe in non violence, vegetarianism, chastity, meditation and being anti-materialistic. The temple in Calcutta was built by Badridas Mukeem. He was a jeweler.
The temple is really a complex of temples built on a filled in lake. It features elaborate decorations and a lamp that has been continuously lit since the temple’s completion in 1867. It is today a major tourist attraction in Calcutta. Calcutta in 2001 reverted to the name Kolkata. Kolkata was always how it was pronounced in Bengali, with Calcutta being the Anglicized version. A village named Kolkata in the area predated the arrival of the British. I believe it is then still okay to say Calcutta when speaking English, but over time we will get more used to the new pronunciation.
George V died after a long illness in 1936. He was a very traditional presence that gave him a bond with the average citizen. His long rule saw the suffering and the loss of wealth of World War I and the following depression. He also saw the rise of socialism and republicanism. Unlike many of his contemporary European royals, his rule survived. He was also a noted stamp collector and his granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II has kept and built on his collection.
Well my dink is empty and so I will open the conversation in the below comment section. If we have any Indian readers, could you let us know whether it is still correct to call the city Calcutta when speaking English. For that matter does Bombay survive when speaking English in India? Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting