Permanent Pictorial Cancellation inaugural day covers

Description: Kodaikanal is a hill station in the Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu, situated at an altitude of about 2,225 meters in the Palani Hills of the Western Ghats. Popularly known as the “Princess of Hill Stations,” it attracts tourists for its cool climate and scenic beauty. The idea of establishing a solar observatory in South India emerged in the late 19th century. In 1881, H. F. Blanford, then Meteorological Reporter to the Government of India, emphasised the need for improved solar observations to better understand the Sun’s heating effects on Earth. Building on this, in 1882, astronomer Norman Robert Pogson proposed setting up a facility equipped with photographic and spectrographic instruments, including a 51 cm telescope, at a high-altitude location in South India. Following the Madras famine of 1893, the Indian Observatory Committee, chaired by Lord Kelvin, selected Kodaikanal as the site for a solar physics observatory due to its favourable elevation and climate. 

The observatory was established on 1 April 1899 under the leadership of Michie Smith, with regular observations beginning in 1901. As of date the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. It has played a significant role in solar research, including the discovery of the Evershed effect in 1909. The observatory maintains the oldest continuous series of solar data in India and continues to contribute to studies of the Sun and its influence on Earth, including data on the ionosphere and atmospheric conditions. The observatory is open to the public and features an astronomy museum showcasing its scientific contributions. Visitors can view a live solar image and the Fraunhofer lines. The facility also houses a 20 cm refractor telescope, occasionally used for observing comets and occultations, and offers opportunities for night sky viewing.