India : Script Query.

Lovely cover, one of many donated by Mr. Tony MacG.

In the address, there is " Hide Aruthdar"
anybody have an idea on any significance?

Thanks.

where do you see that rod?

ok rod write the whole thing for me typewritten here (address)

write fro the to

i cant read what the guy has written in his handwriting.

I can read the Urdu on the stamp, but I'll translate it when I get home.


The address of what I can make out is:

Shaikh Mohamed Alidool Pazza
Ndidu Aruthdar
Calaralah, Cothi No 37
Calcutta

M. Alidool Wahalg
---- Road Chauyareo--
Cacunoporu

well I will need an exact reading if we want to go further

ndidu cant become hide and vice versa

cothi is acuallu kothi

which means bunglow no 37

and the place is kalra (pronounced) most probably

sheikh is the guy who it was written to

now if we can get the hide and aruthdar sorted out

we can go further.

all right next case for dr spock

Thank you gentlemen, very much.

I have several covers similar, some IIRC going to
"Russellkonda" (Russell Hill) or now known as Bhanjanagar.

At the time of the covers there was a Tannery employing 45
people.

Hide...Tannery I wondered if mere coincidence.

Rod, I think the sender was in 'Cawnpore' = Kanpur, and the recipient's name was probably Razza(k), but I'll be happy to await someone else tackling the Urdu ...

Ok reading it in Urdu, the envelope is ripped. The name is Shaikh Mohammad Razzaq who was sent to Calcutta and it was send from Cambelpur (sp?) from Abdul Wahab

Thanks again,
I was rather tickled to see "Kothi"= bungalow.

When one stays at our Buddhist Monastery in Perth
we have "Kutties" as well for the guests.

Another, perhaps clearer cover just FYI.

Tony/all, any idea why the sender has written "stamped" ?
I always thought this was an ant-theft device written across
the stamps. Perhaps this indicates it is not, and has some other meaning.

Rod, the 'Stamped' does sometimes appear elsewhere on the cover. It's still an anti-theft precaution: it still indicates that the cover was stamped when it left the sender. If the stamps have disappeared by the time the letter reaches the post office, then we all know who to blame ...

Ah yes, that makes sense. Thanks Tony.
and a fine example of "theft prevention" for my collection.
I recall I think you sent me those covers for that very reason.

there is nothing to be tickled about Rod in my salad days we had four kothis 3 of which were in calcutta. sigh

I do not understand the sigh, your Spockness.
Is it, that you have disposed of real estate?, began eating red meat ?
You must try to be more explicit with your commentary.

Rod, I did a quick search to see whether you had created a specific anti-theft marking thread, but couldn't find one. Decided then to slot this one in here.

Not prevention of theft of the stamps, this time, but of the contents. Maybe the servant was given the money and the envelope to take to the post office, where the stamps were attached.



Jaipur State, SG 9 and 11a - dated 27 June '7(0?) - which would work out to about 1913

In case you were wondering why they didn't put the stamps on the front of the cover ...



The large scrawl at the top left on the front of the cover is actually another, and far more powerful, anti-theft device, the number '74'. The explanation is rather lengthy, but Rod at least, may find it interesting to read through ...

From Frits Staal's The Stamps of Jammu & Kashmir, pp124-125:
'Envelopes even more than single stamps are often marked with scribbles, lines, dots, or other symbols that are supposed to prevent them from being taken away or opened by unauthorized outsiders. A similar practice adopted by Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir, Indore, Jaipur, and so on is to write: //74// at the beginning of the address to insure safe delivery of the letter. ... Professor Bruce Pray has drawn my attention to a story translated from the Hindi in Linguistic Survey of India, vol. VI, pp48-49 about the miraculous powers of song. The singer Tan-sen sang with such force that all the lamps at the court of Emperor Akbar lit themselves, and Tan-sen himself burst into flames and fell down dead. Earlier, he had warned that if such a thing would happen, he could be brought to life only by Queen Kamla of Chittaur. The Emperor therefore attacked Chittaur and a terrible battle ensued. Seventy-four and a half maunds (one maund being equal to approximately 80 lbs.) of sacred threads were collected from the corpses of the slain. Queen Kamla was taken prisoner, and when ordered to sing, she sang with such force that her soul burst its way through her skull and went to heaven, leaving the audience with their mouths open in astonishment. The number 74½ is still written on letters as the strongest of seals, for "the sin of the slaughter of Chittaur" is thereby incurred by all who violate the letter.'

Yikes.