Tropical Fruits in The World of Philately With Special Reference to SAARC Countries

Philately is the hobby of collecting and studying postage and revenue stamp, first day and special cover and other postal stationery and souvenir. The term was derived from the Greek words Philos (=love) + a(=negative) + telein (= to tax) and was coined by M. G. Herpin in 1865 to mean the postage stamp which permits the letter to come to the recipient rendering it untaxed. Since inception of the first postage stamps in England in 1840 numerous philatelic items have been issued throughout the world. The Indian philatelic history started in 1852. Philately may serve as a pivotal role in communication. It highlighted country's cultural heritage, folk life, flora, fauna and various other aspects of national life from time to time. The postage stamps of the SAARC countries viz. India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Srilanka and Maldweep have carved a secure niche for themselves. While we travel in the riches of philately of those countries, we can get the essence of tropical fruits like Banana, Citrus, Mango, Papaya, Sapota, Ber, Pomegranate, Custard Apple etc. The reason is that the maximum area of those countries lie under tropical zone, immediately north and south of the equator. The authors of this treatise have made an attempt for studying the topical and thematic philately in the perspective of tropical fruits within the SAARC countries.