Antarctica's Penguins to Make Their Journey to India via Exclusive Postcards from India Post & NCPOR
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Mumbai/Goa, Dec 9 (NationPress) In an extraordinary venture, the India Post, Maharashtra & Goa Circle, has organized for a gathering of Penguins – the most easily identifiable native residents of the Antarctic region – to travel to India on a series of exclusive postcards, officials announced on Monday.
The flightless birds equipped with flippers - the only aquatic species that inhabit and reproduce on ice – are regarded as the emblem of the frozen 14.2 million sq. km landmass surrounding the South Pole.
The India Post's color picture cards showcase at least three of the 18 species that inhabit Antarctica – the regal 'Emperor Penguin', the noble 'King Penguin', and the adorable yet smaller 'Adelie'.
Union Ministry of Communications Secretary (Posts), Vandita Kaul, unveiled the Penguin postcards in the presence of Chief Postmaster General Amitabh Singh, PMGs Suchita Joshi (Mumbai) and R. K. Jayabhaye (Pune), along with top officials, staff members, and philatelists at the General Post Office Mumbai today.
“These postcards, with 250 of each image, totaling 1,500, will be carried by the 44th Antarctica Expedition, organized by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), set to depart from Goa around Dec. 13,” stated Assistant Post Master General Sudhir Jakhere to IANS.
NCPOR Scientist Ravi Mishra, who is leading the 44th Antarctica Expedition, will also serve as the designated special Postman this year and will return with the coveted postcard collection on the return journey scheduled for late next year.
Depending on the journey and weather conditions, it is anticipated that the postcards will reach the Indian stations in Antarctica: Dakshin Gangotri (the first established in 1983, now defunct since 1990), followed by Maitri (established in 1990) and Bharati (opened in 2015).
This same expedition will retrieve them after being stamped there, with a designation of: ‘Bharati Branch Office’ and ‘Maitri Branch Office’, both under NIO, Dona Paula, Goa, sharing a common PIN Code – 403004, explained Jakhere.
The postal stamp signifies India’s sovereign presence in those territories, and these items will receive a special postmark stamped there, which will be brought back to India, he clarified.
The Bharati Branch and Maitri Branch, which share the same PIN Code, are the only two overseas post offices of India and hold strategic significance, Jakhere added.
In addition to India, over 30 countries including China, the U.S., Russia, France, the U.K., Argentina, Brazil, Japan, and Australia maintain permanent or temporary research bases there.
This marks the 125th anniversary since the first base was established during the Southern Cross Expedition in 1899 – 12 years prior to the South Pole being conquered by the Norwegian explorer Ronald Amundsen on December 14, 1911.
Incidentally, just three weeks later, British explorer Robert F. Scott also reached the South Pole but perished during a severe blizzard that struck the region on his return journey.
Jakhere indicated that India Post initiated the tradition of special postcards in 2020, with previous annual themes including: Antarctica flora-fauna, Icebergs, Aura of Aurora, the Bharati Station, and now the Penguins.
Kaul also released a permanent pictorial cancellation of ‘Strawberry at Mahabaleshwar Post Office, Pune’, commemorating the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the state’s cherished winter fruit, alongside a slogan cancellation with a mascot and tagline of “Collect, Connect, Celebrate’, for the Festival of Stamps during Mahapex-2025, taking place on Jan. 22-25 next year, and reviewed the ongoing renovations of the GPO Heritage Building.
(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: qnajmi@gmail.com)
