The year was 1986—an important one, as it marked UNICEF's 40th anniversary. On 11 December 1986, UNICEF completed 40 years of working for children. To commemorate this historic occasion, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry of the Government of India issued a set of two postage stamps, with denominations of 50 paise and Rs. 5, depicting the themes of "child immunization" and "growth monitoring."
A couple of months earlier, Ms. Razia Ismail and Ms. Renu Ghosh from our Information Section were searching for pictures to illustrate these themes. And what better way than using photos of staff members' children? As fate would have it, my son, Animesh, was around nine months old then—he was born on 15 November 1985. Renu approached me and asked if she could come to my house to photograph my son and me. She didn’t say why, and I wasn’t curious enough to ask.
That Saturday, she arrived with a team of photographers and took pictures of me holding my little son in my lap, while a nurse pretended to immunize him with a make-believe syringe.
That very picture ended up on the Rs. 5 stamp—believe it or not! It was officially released by the Department of Posts on 11 December 1986, and the news was even aired on TV. Unfortunately, since I had no idea, I didn’t watch the broadcast, but some relatives told me they had seen me on television—WOW!
The next morning, as I sat in my office, Mr. David Haxton, the then Regional Director, came running up the stairs, holding a whole sheet of the Rs. 5 stamps. He hugged me excitedly, and his words still ring in my ears:
"My dear, not everyone is honored with a commemorative stamp in their lifetime—you are the chosen one!"
What’s the best part about being honored in such an incredible way? It’s the joy of talking about this “accomplishment” unabashedly, knowing that luck simply handed it to me—I didn’t have to work for it, so there’s no pride or hubris involved. No one ever asks about the downside. But if you ask my son to work hard, he jokingly says, “I’ve already been on India’s official stamp—what more can I achieve?”
I cherish that moment to this day and have never been prouder to be part of the UNICEF family!
Neena Gupta
