Yoga in special postal cancellations
What is a postal cancellation ? A postal cancellation was born on the same day as the first postage stamp. British Postal Department first introduced postage stamps as a "pre-paid"…
Pharmacy labels, before and after advent of food and drug administration
The first food and drug administration (FDA) was established in US in 1906. Before that pharmacies were an unregulated lot. Various products were sold in the name of medicines, and…
Uddhavdas Mehta, a Physician and a social activist from Bhopal
On evening of 1st February 2026, I was at iconic Minto Hall in Bhopal, for an India-post postage stamp release function. I already knew the building, commissioned in 1909 by…
Florence Nightingale’s lamp, that never was hers
Florence Nightingale is an iconic figure, and as a founder of modern nursing, is revered across the world. She is depicted on various postage stamps, bank notes, and many other…
Insurance for health and Universal Health Care
In 2018, India launched its state sponsored health Insurance scheme, with the name "Ayushman Bharat" which means "longevity for India". It is a fully government sponsored scheme aimed to ensure…
Ilizarov and his apparatus for healing of bone defects
Ilizarov is a name most doctors, and especially those who practice orthopedics are well aware of. However, his journey from obscurity to global fame, is not much known. He invented,…
Bohler: A surgeon who gave science and method to bone setting
Individuals with fractured leg bones, often need pins, pulleys, and plaster to hold the two ends of the broken bone, close-together. As patients with this intricate system are made to…
Dental Chair and its journey in stamps
Recently I visited a Dentist, and within minutes I was lying on a Dental Chair. With lights from the top, motorized probes and instruments jetting from the sides, and even…
War is a disease, and UN was designed to prevent it
War is a human-made disease. Any disease requires an agent, which in case of war, is weaponry. Nations, and people living in them are hosts, who bear the brunt of…
Seven medical success stories from India in stamps
Health and medicine related postage stamps from India are mostly about personalities (See a previous blog), or about institutions (Another blog here). Some other A handful of others celebrate progress…