BENGALURU: A government order declaring holiday for all institutions and courts due Gandhi’s death, cartoons from London newspapers on Gandhi during his fight for India’s freedom, a 1942 Quit India Pamphlet, Gandhi door locks, cuff links and buttons embossed with Gandhi’s image are among the pieces displayed in the ‘Bapu 150’ exhibition at National Gallery of Modern Art.
These rare items, collected over a period of 30 years from across the world, belong to reputed collector Jayprakash Sarda. Also on display is a unique collection by Chennai-based philatelist Anup Kumar Goyal.
“I have written Gandhi’s story in first person format on 80 sheets with stamps and first day covers tagged on each sheet to mark each event in his life,” Goyal told TNIE. “Telegrams and letters during the Virangam incident in May 1930 in which three British officers harassed men and women taking part in the Dandi March when it passed through Virangam in Gujarat which the newspapers were barred from reporting have been displayed,” he added.
Karnataka Philatelic Society president K Chaitanya Dev said that 20 philatelists have displayed their exhibits on 100 frames with each frame having 16 sections. “Among the rare items are first four stamps issued following Gandhi’s death. It is a 1.5 anna, 3.5 anna, 12 anna and a `10 stamp on the Father of the Nation, all issued on August 15, 1948,” he said.
The international stamps on display reveal that Gandhi was accepted as a global leader and every nation admires him, he added. The expo is being organised as part of celebrations across the country throughout the year to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
Philately exhibition
There is no other solution to the issues India is facing today except Ahimsa, said Nataraj Huliyar, Director of Centre for Gandhian Studies, Bangalore University. Inaugurating ‘Bapu 150’, a Philately exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art organised by the Gallery along with Indian Post and Karnataka Philatelic Society on Saturday, Huliyar said, “During these days of mass blind violence unleashed by communal, ideological and religious forces, we need to go back and remember the lessons taught by Gandhiji.”
Tracing the history of Philately, Sudhakar Rao, Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art, said this popular quote by Bapu was particularly relevant for the present times: No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive. Charles Lobo, Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, said, “The philatelic exhibition is like an illustrated book on Gandhi’s life. Each of the frames on display has 16 sheets with the creativity and innovativeness of the philatelist in presenting Gandhi in his own style.” The exhibition will be on till October 23. Entry fee to the gallery is D20 per person. It is closed on Mondays and national holidays. Timings are from 11am to 6.30pm.