Stamp collecting on the postal theme

There are millions of stamps printed all over the world every year, and it isn't possible to collect them all. Many collectors select a theme and limit themselves to that. Flowers, birds, cars, trains, famous people, flags -- these are but a few of such popular themes. Here's another interesting theme -- postal items and events. The world post day is celebrated on Oct. 8 every year and provides a theme in itself.

Photography

This may not be the decisive moment but, as I had been sitting there for a long time in the verandah, camera in hand, waiting for something to happen on a desolate rainy day, this felt close to it. There was a moment of jubilation when this couple riding a bicycle, a common enough sight in Sri Lanka, passed my view in the viewfinder. The lamp post looks ugly but I always believed in candid photographs in being, well, candid. This is  a slice of life as it is. The bicycle is framed firmly between the car and lamp post, and it would have passed the car in another moment. So I guess this was the exact moment to click the shutter.

Camera Canon FTbm lens Canon FD 28mm, film Fuji neopan SS100

Motorcycles

This is the Indian version of the much-loved Italian Vespa (vasp). I thought India no longer makes any scooters, but I'm told there is a Sri Lankan agent for this scooter, and someone riding a newly-registered one has been sighted. This old model looks a very sprightly-little machine, and was very popular in Sri Lanka until the Indian motorcycle invasion started in earnest in the late 1990s. . I don’t see any of the early models running around now, but I do hope some enthusiast somewhere is preserving one. 

Pets and other creatures

Another of those cats. This fellow is now sick and survives only due to constant medication. He has a special place in our cat family tree because he is the only surviving offspring of the grand old female mentioned elsewhere in this blog (called Maha Poosi or the Matriach).

Sudu Pusi (white cat) was a neighbourhood stray who took a liking to three cooked meals a day and settled permanently in our garage about three years ago. Soon afterwards, she gave birth to these two kittens. The one on the right got run over by a vehicle but the upright one next to mom showed every sign of growing up into a sprightly cat. Soon after this photo was taken, I saw both mom and son sitting under the street lamp outside our gate one night. Sudu Pusi has a habit of nocturnal walks. There was a thunderstorm late that night and, the next morning, she returned alone. I looked for the kitten all over the neighbourhood without any luck. He must have followed her out and got separated from her in the rain. Very sad.

After this, I got Sudu Pusi sterilised. She's still a permanent guest in our garage.

Philately

It is with infinite sadness that I learn about the death of Mr. Francis Gunasekara, Sri Lanka's foremost philatelic journalist since the 1950s to date. He was 87 when he died.
A man of boundless energy and always passionate about stamps, Francis was the penultimate stamp collector, collecting everything under the sun and always keen on handing over the flame to the next generation -- children.

The news of his death surprised me since it never occurred to me he could die one day. Such people are truly immortal.

The picture shows a booklet he published for children.

Crafts, jobs and working people

This man ekes out a living sharpening knives. He lives in Wellampitiya, a suburb of Colombo, and cycles 20-30 km every day, looking for work. With the grinder attached (an extra 20 km at least) it must be very hard work.
He charges about Rs. 50 to grind a kitchen knife.
On rainy days, he survives by doing manual labour and odd jobs.

The close up picture shows the hammer he uses as a support when operating the grinder, as the bicycle has no stand.

Pets and other creatures

"Chooti Poos" (little pussy cat) was the latest addition to the household cat family. Very sadly, he didn't last long, having been killed by a hit-and-run driver a week ago.

I picked him down the lane one night about five months ago. He must have been a month old then, and was sitting quietly under a tree, looking so forlorn that I didn't have the heart to leave him there. As my wife has forbidden me to bring in any more strays (not unreasonably, since we are feeding at least eight already) I sneaked him in and locked him up in my 'junk yard' room, which has all my books, newspapers and junk.

CP was an amazingly quiet little kitten but the secret was out when he miaowed plaintively one night. I got severely lectured, but I kept the kitten and cured him of the flu he was suffering from. About a month passed and, what do you know, CP managed to steal everyone's hearts.Soon, it turned out that neither my wife nor my daughters had ever seen a nicer, cuter kitten, and he began getting right royal treatment.

But I had a sense of premonition. CP spent a lot of time outside, and he had no regard for traffic. So, my worst fears came true one afternoon.

This photo was taken the day before CP died by Hiruni, my elder daughter with a Canon 3.8 megapixel camera.