India New Year FDC

India FDC
Name: Greetings Happy New Year
Issue date: 2007 December 15th

Festivities and celebrations with thier panoramic hues and shades pass the Indian landscape in a never ending procession. A vast theatre of contrasting seasons, a rainbow of customs and traditions, a colourful garland of languages and costumes, India is a world in itself. After the monsoon clouds retreat filling the rivers, ponds and fields and the hearts of peasants and farmers with hope, joy and anticipation of a good harvest, the entire country gets into blossoming of joyous raptures to greet the new year.

While 1st of January is the New Year's Day in many parts of the world, different cultures have different interpretations of the new year depending upon the respective calendar system. India still looks at the rain bearing clouds, the solar and lunar movements, the ancient ballads and mythologies and above all the ripening of grains in the fields.

The Assamese New Yeasr is Bihu, the Bengali Nabo Varsho is 1st of Vaishakh, Gudipadava is the first day of new year in Maharashtra, Ugadi is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, Puthandu is the new year in Tamil Nadu, Pooram Vishu in Kerala and, all more or less coincide with the Vaishakh or Chaitra months in March/April. The new year is in fact one of the longest surviving festival traditions in the human history.

The ancient Babylonians observed this approximately 4000 years ago. The human tendency to greet the onset of the year can perhaps be traced to the primal joy of experiencing the first rain drops of the season, seeing the first leaves germinating from the seeds, hearing the first song of the bird that greets a new dawn, or watching a new rivulet borne out of the melting icicles.

The colourful stamps on Season's Greetings and Happy New Year have been designed to represent different elements of nature, and their synchronic interplay that sustains like on earth. This set of 5 stamps is being released to carry the good wishes for a Happy And Prosperous New Year.