HYDERABAD: Idle. Shaik Ibrahim sits on an armchair in the hallway at his cosy home in Tolichowki. He is surrounded by a museum of postage stamps, stamp papers, old photographs, medals, monograms, military buttons, and badges that he had collected in the last 45 years while living seas away from the city. Ibrahim’s brooding eyes were arrested on a button he collected years ago when CE met him.
“I like re-imagining the history of Asif Jahi period of Princely State of Hyderabad through these symbols on stamps, coins, buttons and notes,” says philately Shaik Ibhairm, who lived most of his life in Saudi Arabia but has an uncountable collection of Hyderabad insignia dating back from the 1860s.
If a cell is a unit of life, then a symbol of civilisation. “Symbols on these objects help me go down memory lane and travel back in time. Symbols have a lot to say, and they do it quietly,” Ibrahim says. Adding, “A symbol can say a lot more than a photograph. I have a silver badge attached to a silver whistle which belonged to a Sipahi during Nizam’s time. It indicates the generosity and grandeur of the ruler.
Also, the imagery suggests what places and people were important to the city.” The same is with the stamps; the philately says, “It’s a big deal to the city if any place, people, or objects make it to a postal stamp. Anything that appears on stamps is valuable and says a lot about the city, its people and culture.”
If Ibrahim is not brooding, he is most likely haphazardly looking for something new to collect. He has a vast collection of Hyderabad’s judicial and non-judicial stamp papers, driving licences, bus passes, Toddy Pass tickets, and Hyderabad War Fund Seals. Besides, all the coins and notes were minted and printed during the Asif Jahi period.