BENGALURU: The 13th state-level philatelic exhibition, Karnapex 2024 -- Festival of Stamps, a four-day event, was a visual treat for philatelists in the city. Stamps dating back to 1832 were on display at Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Friday. A total of 700 frames, with each containing multiple stamps and postal covers, were displayed and 17 stalls were put up.
The inaugural day revolved around the theme ‘History and Culture of Karnataka’. Stalls were filled with miniature models of Puneeth Rajkumar and many of his photos and mega pictures of Sri Sivakumar Swamigalu, while ISRO had miniature models of Chandrayaan, PSLV, GSLV and a few remote sensing satellites. Nimhans stalls overflowed with information on its mental health initiatives, while KMF displayed different sweets and drinks.
A stamp dating back to 1832, a half-anna piece in red, was the oldest on display. Four cancellations, one each on Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, Rani Kittur Channamma, wildlife and Karnapex 2024, were issued and will be available on all days. Karthikeyan, a dal trader, said, “I have been collecting stamps for the past 45 years and have a great collection at home which I would never sell,” he said.
At a function to launch ‘Karnapex 2024’, Nadoja Dr Mahesh Joshi, president of Kannada Sahitya Parishad, appealed to the postal department to release more stamps on Karnataka and its achievers. “Karnataka has a population of over 6 crore and has many stalwarts who have contributed enormously. The postal department has so far released 65 stamps. We need at least 700 stamps to honour its heroes and historic places,” he said.
Covers on Puneeth Rajkumar, Sir M Visvesvaraya setting up FKCCI, 100 years of Carlton House, 100 years of Lalit Mahal and Mysore Sandal Soap were also released.