Bangalore Postcards set

When you get a notification from Google Photos about your day this day, don't you want to have a look at all the pics of that day and then some related pictures too?

I did the same when I was notified of some pictures taken in the parks of Bangalore. Since I have been bitten by this new hobby of Postcrossing, I decided to make them into a couple of cards. Again, Canva made this possible. I have taken a print of these cards. Not in bulk; each postcard is unique. I find this the best alternative for the boring stock picture postcards that are found in all the tourist places.

Meanwhile, I am also making a couple of cards with photos taken from various places I visit. Also, the sky photos from the apartment I live in Bangalore are worth some postcards! 

Do have a look at the postcards of Bangalore here, for now :)

Please click on the image to view the larger image.

 

Postcard 05 - From Malaysia

The third card I received on Nov. 28, 2021, was from Malaysia.

The card is a collage of pictures of Masjid Jamek, Kuala Lumpur's oldest mosque, colourfully lit Thean Hou Temple and the Murugan temple at Batu Caves. Many things Malaysia. And this card reached me in 26 days, which is early on the normal postal standard, I guess.

This card from Chu Yeong has lovely Diwali wishes too! 

The stamp bears the picture of Paphiopedilum lowii, a variety of orchids unique to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. 

I like to take time to know about the pictures in the postcard. It helps me appreciate the choices my fellow Postcrossers make to send postcards to people known to them only through the information available on their profile.

Thank you, Chu, for the beautiful card and the wishes!

Postcard 04 - From The Netherlands

On the same day, Nov. 28, 2021, I received another postcard from Cécile from the beautiful place Sint Odiliënbergi in The Netherlands.

The card has pictures of the typical dutch tourist attractions and lots of tulips. The picture of Keukenhof, a famous garden, known for its tulips is lovely. A windmill and a couple of Amsterdam houses and canals make this multipicture postcard a grand one. 

We had been to Amsterdam and Eindhoven and on short trips to Rotterdam, The Hague during our recent visit to our son's place in Eindhoven. We loved every bit of the Dutch countryside whenever we were on a road trip. The card from Cécile made me look at it repeatedly. We had seen a lot of windmills there. I have a picture of mine with Kinderdijk windmills in the background :)

Cécile had taken a lot of effort to decorate the card. The hand-drawn weather icons, a sticker with a bunch of roses and a long strip of cameras, the golden wave border, the airmail sticker, all go to say how much she loves sending a postcard to someone unknown! A true postcrosser, she is!

The beautiful stamp of Überseequartier metro station, Hamburg, which is designed to give a feel of being underwater, is also one that I like about this card!

Thank you, Cécile for this lovely card, I will cherish this card for a long time!

Postcard 03 - From Finland

 I received three postcards on Nov. 28, 2021! 

The front desk at my apartment called me to inform me that I have received 3 picture postcards. While I went to collect the cards, the person at the desk was also curious to know about the cards I get! Wow, indeed!

Ritva sent me a beautiful card from Finland showing what winter looks like in northern Finland. Her handwriting can make a font type; such beauty!

She said she lives in the southern part and the climate is different from that of Lapland, the northern part of the country. The picture mostly bathed in blue is of snow and a streak of northern lights. 

I had a glimpse of the northern lights through the son, who captured the scenes while he visited Norway. This card reminded me of those times and I could go back in time and reminisce those days!

I must talk about those stamps too. Four stamps of different denominations of Euros - 1.20, 0.50, 0.20, 0.05 pasted horizontally had a flower, feather, bird and sea! All of them have the Finnish name of the country - Suomi, along with Finland. (Just like Bharat for India) The large feathers of a flying Melanitta fusca, also called velvet duck or velvet scoter on one of the stamps is interesting.

Thank you, Ritva for this lovely postcard with your beautiful handwritten message on it!

Postcard 02 - From Russia

A picture postcard with pink flowers travelled 5608 km for 32 days and reached me on Nov. 18, 2021. Our area post office stamped it on Nov. 10, 2021, though!

This postcard sent by Iya came from Nizhny Novgorod in Volga, Russia. The temperature was at 10° C. She specifically mentioned it as + 10° C. In India, especially in the southern part, we do not experience 10 degrees, irrespective of it is plus or minus. Bangalore, the place where I live sees 14 degrees, I mean +14 degrees as the lowest and my second home, Chennai aka Madras never goes below 20 degrees!

She says that her city is an ancient one and is beautiful with many parks, temples and folk artists who make beautiful produce. 

She sent it with a beautiful stamp issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Gokhran of Russia. 

Iya had mentioned that she has not been sending many postcards of late owing to personal reasons. Hope all gets well with Iya very soon. Prayers from people unknown should work! 

Thank you, Iya for this lovely card and the precious stamp.

The first card I received!

This is the first-ever postcard I received through Postcrossing!

Believe me, it was a new experience for me! I read every bit of the information on the card and the lovely message from Gary.

This is a beautiful painting of a Cotswold Village. The stream, the church and the green spaces render a beautiful feel.

Gary, by the way, said that he had never been to India and asked me what's it like! Well, I don't think any country can be described in a paragraph and India is such a beautiful country where the language spoken changes every 15-20 kilometers. The weather and geography are unique in all its parts; the oceans on the three sides give beautiful beaches and the history, tradition and culture are timeless! 
Hope he gets an opportunity to visit India someday soon!

Here is the postcard. Thank you, Gary, for the wonderful card!

Postcards. A new found hobby, though late :)

In June 2019, when the world was under extreme pressure of staying inside, being unable to lead a normal life due to COVID-19 pandemic, I became a member of Postcrossing. 

The idea of sending postcards to people you do not know sounded interesting. I thought it was going to be a long journey when I requested two addresses to send postcards to. I received the addresses of two people - one in the Netherlands and one in Germany. Cards were ready with me, but stamps weren't. I had to venture out to go to the nearby Post Office, which was next to impossibility at that time. So, the addresses remained in my diary for long. In a week's time, disturbing news from close relatives about the infection reaching them put this postcard journey of mine on the back burner.

I received a gentle reminder from Postcrossing exactly after a month that my postcards had not yet reached the addresses I had requested earlier. Of course, they would not have; I had not sent them! And then a year went by. But I had an urge to restart my journey from wherever I had left. But my account with Postcrossing was deactivated.

This time, I was determined.

I reenrolled as a member once again in September this year. And requested addresses to send postcards. Got five at one go! But this time I did not have postcards as well as stamps. I decided to make the postcards all by myself. I took a photo of our own celebration of a festival at our home - Navaratri, a festival of dolls arranged in steps and of the finale, Saraswati Puja, when we place books and musical instruments, and worship them along with the Gods. And added two more photos from the neighbourhood and a festival.

I turned to Canva for designing the cards; placed them all in a single sheet. I took a printout of the sheet, cut them into four postcards, walked down to the post office, bought stamps and posted them. A wonderful feeling, at last. 

But, I started to wait for the postman to arrive at my doorstep from the very next day, for my cards! 

Yes, that is the new me!