Description
The Philately Gift Set: Ajanta Panel brings together a journal, a brass bookmark and a small piece of India’s postal history.
The journal cover is hand-printed by silkscreen with artwork inspired by the Ajanta Panel definitive postage stamp, issued in 1949 as part of India’s early post-Independence postal series. Alongside it rests a brass bookmark, reimagining the same historic stamp as a lasting object for reading and memory.
Inside the box is also an actual postage stamp, carefully placed so it can be removed and added to a personal collection. A printed leaflet shares the story and significance of the Ajanta Panel stamp, its artistic heritage, and its quiet journey through letters, postcards and everyday correspondence.
A gift set for readers, collectors and lovers of Indian heritage, made to hold thoughts, mark pages and preserve stories that have travelled through time.
Gift box content:
- One journal with the Ajanta Panel postage stamp screenprinted on the front cover, and a handwoven textile spine and back cover
- One brass bookmark with the Ajanta Panel postage stamp design
- One original Ajanta Panel postage stamp that can be removed and added to your collection
- One leaflet explaining the historical significance of the stamp
- One leaflet explaining the Philately Collection by Anand Prakash
- One gift box for the above
Journal details:
- Binding: Hardbound
- Front cover: Ajanta Panel postage stamp handprinted by silkscreen
- Spine & back cover: Handwoven cotton textile
- Paper: 100% recycled, wood-free, handmade paper sourced from rural units
- Pages: 100 pages(50 leaves)
- Page type: Blank, hand-stitched
- Paper texture: Rough, handmade
- Writing: Use a ballpoint pen, pencil or gel pen
- Pages GSM: Approximately 120 GSM
- Size
- Made in India
About: Ajanta Panel Stamp
- A small piece of India’s artistic and postal history
At the heart of this gift set is an image inspired by the Ajanta Panel stamp, one of India’s early post-Independence postage stamps.
Issued in 1949, the stamp was part of India’s first definitive series after Independence, a set created for everyday postal use. Unlike commemorative stamps, which mark a special occasion, definitive stamps were meant to travel widely on ordinary letters, postcards and parcels. In this way, the Ajanta Panel stamp carried Indian art into daily life, moving quietly from hand to hand, letter by letter.
The design draws from the ancient murals and decorative panels of the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, among India’s most treasured artistic sites. Known for their Buddhist paintings, sculptural detail and graceful natural forms, the caves represent one of the great achievements of Indian art. The elephant motif on the stamp reflects this world of movement, ornament and storytelling.
This set is a tribute to the beauty of correspondence, the pleasure of writing, and the enduring charm of objects made with meaning.
A journal for thoughts. A bookmark for journeys. A stamp for stories that have travelled through time.
An Ode to Stamp Collecting
- A Founder’s Note by Anand Prakash
Long before emails, instant messages and social media, there was the quiet joy of a letter. And with every letter came a stamp, a small piece of paper that could carry a world within it.
My own fascination with stamps began as a child in Mussoorie, when I was studying at Wynberg Allen School. We had a stamp-collecting club, and I remember being completely drawn into this world of miniature art, distant countries, old histories, and careful collecting. We made collages with used stamps, exchanged duplicates, arranged them by theme, and slowly began to understand that a stamp was never just a stamp. It was a little window into geography, culture, travel, kings, queens, monuments, wildlife, flowers, aircraft, freedom movements and the stories nations chose to tell about themselves.
There was a shop in Mussoorie called The Doll Shop, and during our outings, we would often visit it with great excitement. The owner had a fascinating collection of stamps, and for us, it felt like entering a small museum. With the little pocket money we had, we would buy a few stamps every month. He taught us the value of unused stamps, and I remember carefully choosing what I could afford. I was especially drawn to old Indian stamps, while other students collected by theme. Some chose flowers, some aeroplanes, and some were fascinated by the shiny circular stamps from Bhutan.
I still have my old collection from those years. It has travelled with me through time, even though I no longer pursue the hobby with the same vigour.
In many ways, this new range of gifts and souvenirs is my ode to stamp collecting, or philately, as it is formally known. Philately is more than a hobby. It teaches patience, curiosity, observation and care. It encourages us to look closely, to ask where something came from, why it was issued, what it represents, and what story it carries. Through stamps, one learns about the world in the most charming and unexpected way.
I also feel that many of us have slowly forgotten the importance of hobbies. In a time when phones and social media fill every empty moment, we have fewer quiet pursuits that stay with us, teach us, and keep us meaningfully occupied. Hobbies are important not only in childhood, but also later in life. They give us joy, discipline, memory and a sense of continuity.
At Anand Prakash, we have always loved objects with stories. This philately-inspired collection brings together stamps, writing, paper, brass, memory and Indian craftsmanship. It is created for collectors, writers, travellers, students of history, and anyone who still finds beauty in things made to be kept.
For me, this range is not just about stamps. It is about childhood, letters, pocket money, Mussoorie outings, school clubs, old albums, forgotten hobbies, and the quiet thrill of holding a small object that has travelled through time.
For those who collect stories, not just stamps.
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