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Sankha Samanta: A Gandhi admirer who designed the Ram temple stamps

Jan 30, 2024 07:31 PM IST

Stamp artist Sankha Samanta designed six commemorative stamps for the Ram temple consecration ceremony, featuring elements such as sand from Sarayu River

New Delhi: Veteran Postage Stamp Designer Sankha Samanta, with over three decades of experience designing stamps for India Post, faced his most significant commissions just four months before the Ram temple consecration ceremony on January 22. Tasked with designing six commemorative stamps for the event, Samanta said “This was the most important project of my career.” Samanta remembers the exact moment he received a call at 10 pm one evening saying “PM Modi likes the stamps and has approved them personally.”

Veteran stamp artist Sankha Samanta. (HT photo)
Veteran stamp artist Sankha Samanta. (HT photo)

Modi released the stamps on January 18. The 58-year-old is known for creating more than 450 stamps, including unique stamps like India's First Fragrant Stamp and First Braille Stamp, the World's first Stamp made of Khadi cloth, India's first circular stamp and several other landmark designs. He is recognised as the most prolific designer of stamps featuring Mahatma Gandhi, having crafted 43 stamps on Gandhi.

Samanta’s portfolio includes designs focused on Ramayana and on events like 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Nominated for the Padma Shri in 2019, Samanta also conducts workshops to disseminate Gandhian philosophy during his free time.

“The Ram Mandir was no longer an abstract idea, it was becoming a reality and I needed to witness it,” Samanta said. He went to Ayodhya with a delegation including Deputy Director General of Philately in the Communications Ministry, Sunil Sharma, to see the temple site and meet Champat Rai, the general secretary of Shri Ram Janm­­bhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Samanta said, “This was the first time I was able to visualise certain components of the stamp in my mind as I sat in the meeting.”

Contemplating how to conceptualise an unfinished temple, Samanta described the scene as a “war zone,” with cranes scattered and the temple floor and ceiling in rudimentary states due to ongoing construction work.

Samanta observed the carved panels lying on the ground and the “beautiful” sandstone work. Interacting with artists and workers working at the temple, Samanta could visualise what the completed temple could look like. Engaging with the artists and workers working on the temple, Samanta could appreciate the unique artistry and dedication involved in each deftly carved sandstone panels, and relief sculptures.

The delegation was set to return in a day but Samanta extended his stay to engage in discussions with scholars, almost seeing it as an academically charged project where he had to understand the epic to showcase it in his stamps.

Through “philosophical conversations” with scholars like Acharya Mithilesh Nandini Sharan, Samanta could understand what would resonate with the public. One key aspect he aimed to showcase in his design was a “continuity factor,” symbolised by the Sarayu river, which serves as a “timeless witness to the epic and continues to flow eternally.”

Upon examining the stamps, one immediately notices the absence of human depictions such as devotees. Samanta pondered extensively on this aspect, finally deciding against including devotees to maintain the perspective of a devotee and preserve the grandeur of the temple.

From a technical standpoint, Samanta explained, “If I show a devotee, the scale of the temple will diminish, and the grandeur will be lost.” Furthermore, he aimed to convey a “sense of silence and infinity” through the stamps, highlighting the “spiritual significance and timeless essence of the temple.”

Also Read: Unfinished work at Ram temple set to resume from Feb 15

Enhancing the Concept proposed by Samanta, India Post’s technical team created an innovation by incorporating sands from the banks of the Sarayu River and water from the river itself into the ink pigment to symbolise water and earth for the first time in history. Additionally, gold foil was used to represent the sun, while sandalwood perfume infused into the stamps evoked the essence of air, creating a multisensory experience. The inclusion of gold-foil diyas paid homage to the ‘Deepotsav’, an annual affair in Ayodhya, which made the Guinness World Record for lighting up over 22 lakh lamps in 2023. Samanta said that pictures of Ganesh, Hanuman, Jatayu and others were sent by the trust after which he modelled the stamps but he wanted to portray the “essence” of the characters for which he talked to several scholars on the stories in Ramayana…”I used to call them daily and talk for hours about the stories behind these characters.” For the stamps depicting Shabri, Kewat, Samanta tried to depict in a “sculptural way as if it was carved out on a stone.

Beyond visual design, the stamps incorporate sound, featuring the recitation of “Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari,” a popular Choupai, authored by Tulsidas in Ramcharitmanas. This phrase expresses reverence and devotion towards Ram as the bringer of blessings and remover of negativity. The stamps also feature "Ram Naam Jaap," chosen by Samanta as it signifies the “simplest path to salvation.” Samanta said that he had “visions” while designing the stamps even after he turned in the first draft and made changes accordingly…” We are just tools for a larger perspective” and for this reason, Samanta says, “every input was important to me, if my daughters gave an input I would think about it…it’s a collective effort just like Ram’s victory was.”

An admirer of Gandhi, Samanta said that the focus was on portraying the temple and the artwork with bhakti bhav. He explained: “In the end, this is about art,” saying that the scenes in the stamps were chosen for their “resonance with the masses” Samanta highlighted characters like Kevat, a poor boatman, and Shabri, a true devotee who “transcend religious or caste boundaries.” He said, “I don’t think [the Ramayana] belongs to any particular religion or caste or creed,” and he aimed to convey the “universal values” and “love” embodied in the epic of Ramayana through the medium of stamps. Upon sending the design, Samanta received a call informing him that Prime Minister Modi had personally reviewed and approved the designs…”The PM liked it and the rest is history.”

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