Common birds from INDIA 2010

This is one of the MS from Som that I like most. It illustrate common birds, but in a special way. They first arrived on cover :) and traveled about a month, that´s why they look so exhausted.

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general speaking the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. In ornithological practice, there is a tendency for "dove" to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation between the terms "dove" and "pigeon." This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. Young doves and pigeons are called "squabs".

The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), or Rock Dove, illustrated on top right, is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The species includes the domestic pigeon (including the fancy pigeon), and escaped domestic pigeons have given rise to feral populations around the world.

The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) illustrated in the lower right corner, is a species of passerine bird of thesparrow family Passeridae. It occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia. It has also been intentionally or accidentally introduced to many parts of the world, making it the most widely distributed wild bird. It is strongly associated with human habitations, but it is not the only sparrow species found near houses. It is a small bird, with feathers mostly different shades of brown and grey.

The maxicards and FDC are also lovely:

Read more about these birds at All about birds.org :
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/house_sparrow/id

Title: COMMON BIRDS
Date of Issue: 9 July 2010
Country: India
Denominations: 2 x 5r
Source: http://www.stampsofindia.com

INDIA - MEXICO 2010

After over a month travel, finally received a letter from Som with nice MS and stamps. Thank you very much. They are all lovely. Here is one of them.
India Post released a set of 2 stamp and a Miniature sheet on 15th December 2010 to commemorate 60 years of India - Mexico diplomatic relations. The stamps  depicts the Kalbelia dance of Rajasthan, India and Jarabe Tapatio, the national dance of Mexico.

India 2010 (have this)

Mexico 2010 (want this)

Kalbelia Dance of Rajasthan is a famous dance in Rajasthan, India. 
Kalbelia dance is of the kalbelia tribe of Rajasthan, the snake charmers. Kalbelia community’s occupation being catching snakes and trading snake venom in Rajasthan. Dancers dress traditional black swirling skirts during this dance. Women and girls dance on the rajasthani folk music during this dance.  This is a unique dance of kalbelias. Two or three women sing traditional rajasthani songs and others play musical instruments.

Here is a kind of documentary movie about this dance.

Jarabe Tapatio, The National Dance of Mexico

The Jarabe Tapatío, known in English as the Mexican Hat Dance, is the title of the musical piece and the dance that accompanies known as the “national dance of Mexico”. The musical piece, a medley of Mexican folk music, was composed in the 19th century by a professor of music in Guadalajara, Jesús González Rubio.

It serves as a symbol of the national pride and honor of the Mexican people. I did not find yet a good quality video for it, but it´s nice: 

The dance tells the story of love and courtship. It can be performed either by a couple or a group of couples. A charro, dressed in the traditional charro suit, a three-piece suit composed of a vest, jacket, and pants bearing silver buttons down the seam, makes initial courtship gestures to la china (wearing the traditional China Poblana outfit). They flirt throughout the beginning of the dance, during which time the man attempts to woo the woman with his zapateado (stamping and tapping) and his machismo.

Just as he has impressed the woman, he becomes drunk with glory, and is shooed away as a borracho (an inebriate), but ultimately, he succeeds in conquering the china, throwing his hat to the ground and kicking his leg over his partner’s head as she bends down to pick it up. The two do a triumphant march to a military tune called a diana, and the dance ends with a romantic turn or the couple hiding their faces behind the man’s sombrero in a feigned kiss.

Title: INDIA-MEXICO: JOINT ISSUE 2010
Date of Issue: 15 December 2010
Country: India
Denominations: 2000p, 500p

Source: http://www.stampsofindia.com

Country: Mexico
Denominations: $ 7.00 x 2