The festival of Diwali that celebrates the victory of good over evil and has a special significance for the Hindu community across the globe will now have a special stamp dedicated to it in the United States.
While Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is a good two months away, the United States Postal Service has made an announcement that has delighted its Indian-American population.
Last year in September, Ranju Batra who is at the forefront of the Diwali Stamp Project, had updated PM Narendra Modi about the decade-long effort to get the USPS to issue a Diwali stamp when he visited New York. Batra announced that PM Modi had promised to write to US president Barack Obama requesting the same. The USPS is said to have also received thousands of signed letters from Indian-Americans in this regard. Dozens of US lawmakers also wrote to the postal service.
A year later, in an official release on its website, the USPS has said that it will "commemorate the joyous Hindu festival of Diwali with a Forever stamp. The Wednesday, Oct 5, first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony will take place at the Consulate General of India, New York."
The stamp promises to bring out the spirit of the festival in all its richness. Going with the obvious choice of a Diya, or a traditional Indian oil lamp, the stamp will have a glittering gold backdrop and rose petals signifying opulence of the festive season the words 'Forever USA 2016' written below.
The stamp is a 'Forever' stamp. These special stamps can be used for First Class letters irrespective of the postal rate, which means they are nondenominational.
Here is how it will look:
The Diya is photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce of New Milford, CT and the stamp has been designed by Greg Breeding of Charlottesville, VA while William J. Gicker of Washington, DC is the project’s art director.
The stamp has already brought joy to the 3.1 million strong Indian community in the US and many more that will celebrate Diwali from late October to early November in 2016.
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