Philately Exhibition: A Journey Through Bygone Era

Philately Exhibition: A Journey Through Bygone Era

KOCHI: Victorian era prevailed at the Philately exhibition-cum-competition being held here at  Sahrudaya Campus. The exhibits consisted of stamps from the Victorian to current generation. The gem of the collection was  ‘Penny Black’, the very first stamp exhibited by philatelist George John Nidhiry. The stamp released in 1840, is a treasure for philatelists.

Each stamp has a story to tell. There were stamps from the post-independence era as well as those released to commemorate major events in the history of the nation. One such collection was ‘The Vitruvian Man’ of Leonardo da Vinci. The collection is worth lakhs of rupees. Adjoining it was an exhibition of old class coins. The inaugural function was presided over by K V Thomas M P and mayor Tony Chammany. The exhibition which was organised by Ernakulam and Aluva divisions of Postal Department has thrown a new light onto philately. The exhibition had mainly two classes, Invitation class and Competition class. There were also exhibits based on themes like Travancore Cochin and Post Independence.

Upon asking the scope of philately, Sasidharan, a retired postal employee, who is also one of the main jury members of the event said that the interest in philately is degenerating and students are not aware of the relevance of stamps. Also the foreigners collect more stamps and so the our collection reduces.

The innovative attraction of the exhibition was ‘my stamp’, wherein stamps with the face of interested visitor can be printed in exchange for a nominal fee.

“Our aim is to create knowledge and awareness about stamps among students. Every year about 90-100 stamps are published. These stamps are released with an intent to make the new generation aware of the great personalities who feature on them,” said R V Sreekanda Das, senior superintendent of post offices in Ernakulam division.

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