Every Note Has A Story To
Tell
The Story of Twenty Rupees
- by Rezwan Razack
Government of India – Rupees Twenty
After the early issues by Presidency and Private Banks
of 1770-1861, the Government of India introduced the denomination of Rupees
Twenty in 1861 after the Indian Paper Money Act of 1861 came into existence.
The first series had the Portrait of Queen Victoria.
Government
of India - Portrait Note of Queen Victoria – 20 Rupees
The most intriguing part of the Uniface Portrait Issue
of Queen Victoria is the watermark on Portrait Series First Issue Notes.
They have the signature of Sir James Wilson, The Finance Member along with Lord
Canning, The Governor General. Sir James Wilson died in 1860 and the
Queen Victoria Portrait notes were first issued in 1861.
The practice of serial numbers on either side of the
note was prevalent in early banknotes because they were cut in half and sent by
post for security reasons. And on acknowledgement of the receipt of the
first half, the second half of the note was then also sent by post. Both
halves were then joined together and presented for encashment.
Some notes were for dual Circles and these notes were
signed by two Signatories.
Uniface Notes – Rupees Twenty
The design of Queen Victoria Portrait notes was
changed afterwards to an Uniface Underprint Series due to its simplistic nature.
The system widened its basis through important structural changes such as
introduction of a fiduciary component and “Universalization” of notes that
effectively increased their circulation. These notes were printed and
supplied from England.
Government of India – Uniface
Green Underprint 20 Rupees
The Rupees Twenty in the Green Underprint Series were
printed until 1910. Rupees Twenty were never universalized and there was
no Rupees Twenty denomination in the Red Underprint Series. However,
printing of Rupees Twenty as a denomination was discontinued thereafter as it
was not popular with the people and this denomination was not considered in the
Portrait Series of King George V and King George VI.
Reserve Bank of India – Rupees Twenty
The Reserve Bank of India reintroduced Rupees Twenty
for the first time after Independence on 1st June 1972 and this
denomination has been in existence since. This denomination was issued to
contain the volume of note pieces in circulation and to some extent provide a
substitute for the Rupees Ten notes.
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees obverse
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees reverse
The reverse of this series of notes was with the
vignette of the Parliament House in the centre. The Parliament House of
Delhi, commonly known as the Sansad Bhavan is situated at the end point of the
Sansad Marg in New Delhi. The Parliament House is a circular structure
designed by Herbert Baker and was opened in 1927. The huge structure of
the Parliament House has 247 pillars with a broad corridor. The
Parliament House of New Delhi is the Legislative Assembly of India.
The article titled “The colour of money” dated
3rd September 2010 in Business Standard written by Mr. Dilip
Chaware, Mumbai makes interesting reading on how the colour of the note was
finalised.
Notes from the Mint” (August 28) by Gargi Gupta and
Manojit Saha reminded me of a story about the Rs 20 currency note I had heard
several years ago. The article makes a passing reference to the orange
colour of the Rs 20 note. This colour and shade selection has an interesting
background. How was this colour combination finalised and who selected
it?
Maharashtra’s former Chief Secretary P. D. Kasbekar
told me this story. It has been recorded by me for audio-visual documentation.
The story relates to a meeting then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi had convened to launch the Rs.20 note. Several top officers
of the ministry and the mint attended the meeting, carrying bulky files and
different sets of designs for Mrs Gandhi to see and finalise one.
As a joint secretary in the banking department,
Kasbekar also attended. Those who are now over 60 years old will remember
that nylon was quite popular in those days. In fact, for certain classes, it
was a status symbol. Kasbekar was wearing a nylon shirt. Suddenly, Mrs Gandhi
looked at his pocket and her gaze stayed transfixed there. Kasbekar and others
grew uneasy, suspecting that something had displeased her. To everybody’s
surprise, Mrs Gandhi ordered Kasbekar to take out a colourful envelope from his
shirt pocket. At a loss to understand why, Kasbekar gave it to her with
trembling fingers. Mrs Gandhi’s face lit up and she said, “This is the colour
scheme and design I like.” That was the end of the meeting and the selection
had been made. With a twinkle in his eye, Kasbekar told me, “It was a nimantran
patrika” (wedding invitation).
In Maharashtra and adjoining Karnataka and Goa, the
colour orange, with a dash of red and saffron, is considered auspicious. Almost
all wedding invitation cards are printed using differing combinations of these
colours. The otherwise excellent article is marred by one mistake. The
authors have used the verb “forge” with respect to currency notes. The accurate
verb is counterfeit.
This Series of Rupees Twenty with the vignette of The
Parliament House on the reverse was replaced in 1975 with the vignette of the
Chariot Wheel of the Konark Sun Temple on the reverse and the obverse also had
a new design.
Interestingly, the vignette of The Parliament House
was incorporated on the reverse of the new series of Rupees Fifty in the
same year.
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees obverse
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees reverse
Konark is a small town in Puri district in the state of Odisha (Orissa),
India, on the Bay of Bengal, sixty-five kilometers from Bhubaneswar. It
is the site of the 13th century Sun Temple, built in black granite
by King Narasimhadeva-I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The temple is a
World Heritage Site. It takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka),
the Sun God, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The entire
complex was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited
horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. The entrance is
guarded by two lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant. Each
elephant in turn lies on top of a human body. The temple symbolizes the
majestic stride of the Sun God.
The new design of Rupees Twenty depicting a chariot wheel from the
Konark Sun Temple, Orissa built in the 13th century, an UNESCO World
Heritage Site on the rivers. This was first issued in March 1975 signed
by the Governor S. Jagannathan.
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees obverse
Reserve Bank of India – 20 Rupees reverse
The reverse has the vignette of the seashore with palm
trees in the foreground and a lighthouse amongst the trees in the background.
With the advent of reprographic techniques, the
traditional security features of Indian banknotes such as the watermark,
intaglio print, guilloche patterns, and the security thread were rendered
inadequate. A new series of
banknotes, the Mahatma Gandhi series, was issued in June 1996 with additional
security features. The watermark
was changed from the Ashoka Pillar to a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Gandhi series Rupees Twenty denomination was
issued in August 2001 even though the denominations of Rupees 10, 50, 100 and
500 were issued earlier in 1996. All the banknotes of this series have
the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi on the obverse, in place of symbol of Lion
Capital of Ashoka Pillar, which has also been retained and shifted to the left
side next to the watermark window. These banknotes contain the Mahatma Gandhi
watermark as well as Mahatma Gandhi's portrait.
I read this interesting online article with
photographs by Arvind Passey titled “The lighthouse on North Bay Island on a
twenty rupee note”. Some excerpts from this detailed below of the
author’s visit to Andaman Islands, which confirm that the vignette on the
reverse of the Mahatma Gandhi Series Rupees Twenty is of a location in the
Andaman Islands:
It was when we had reached almost halfway to Mount
Harriet that the driver Mohan stopped and asked us to walk across the road with
him. We were puzzled, but did as he said. ‘Do you have a twenty
rupee note?’ he asked.
This was getting more intriguing and though my wife
gave me a glance that said ‘Be careful now’, she opened her purse and took one
note out and handed it over to Mohan.
‘See this lighthouse here?’ Mohan was obviously
enjoying himself now and continued, ‘No one will tell you this story. But I
know all about it and I will tell you.’
The lighthouse on North Bay
island is the one on our twenty rupee note!
A close-up of the distant lighthouse...
‘And we’ve never known this fact though we’ve been
using this note for all our lives now!’ chipped in my wife, ‘This is
incredible.’
‘Yes, incredible indeed,’ I said and examined the
lighthouse on the note carefully before comparing it with what was there in
front of my eyes, ‘This is making me feel like an explorer now. I’m thrilled.’
Mohan then told us that the spot where we stood was
the place where the actual photograph was taken. ‘There is another spot on
Mount Harriet where other tourists who are aware of this fact generally go to
take snaps,’ he said, ‘but they go to the wrong spot. I know this because my
father told me so. He was with the forest department and was there when the
photograph was taken.’
We were in the
presence of a man whose father had witnessed history being created! This was
fascinating!!
Forthcoming Rupees Twenty: Change in
design being contemplated
A new Series of
notes is contemplated by the Reserve Bank of India and is pending approval. The
vignette on the reverse for the 20 rupees is rumoured to be changed to Red Fort
at Delhi.
The Red Fort was the residence of
the Mughal Emperor of India for nearly 200 years, until 1857. It is located in the centre
of Delhi and houses a number of museums. In addition to accommodating
the Emperors and their households, it was the ceremonial and political centre
of Mughal Government and the setting for events critically impacting the region.
Constructed in 1648 by the fifth Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan as the palace of his fortified capital Shahjahanabad,
the Red Fort is named for its massive enclosing walls of red
sandstone and is adjacent to the older Salimgarh Fort, built
by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. The imperial apartments consist of a row
of pavilions, connected by a water channel known as the Stream of Paradise
(Nahr-i-Behisht). The fort complex is considered to represent the zenith of
Mughal creativity under Shah Jahan and although the palace was planned
according to Islamic prototypes, each pavilion contains architectural elements
typical of Mughal buildings that reflect a fusion of Timurid and Persian traditions.
The Red Fort’s innovative architectural style, including its garden design,
influenced later buildings and gardens in Delhi, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kashmir,
Braj, Rohilkhand and elsewhere. With the Salimgarh Fort, it was designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Red Fort Complex.
References:
·
Mint Road
Milestones RBI at 75
·
Wikipedia
·
passey.info
·
Business Standard
·
Revised Standard
Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money
Rezwan
Razack
co-Author – ‘The Revised Standard
Reference Guide to Indian Paper Money’
Chairman - IBNS India Banknote
Collectors’ Chapter; IBNS # 9733
URL: www.indianbanknotes.com;
Blog: www.indianbanknote.blogspot.com
E-mail: properties@vsnl.com,
indiancurrencymuseum@gmail.com, info@indianbanknotes.com
Tel: +91-80-25591080 /
+91-80-25001124
