BENGALURU: When Sridevi N was eight years old, she decided to walk back to her home at Gandhi Baazar from General Post office at Raj Bhavan Road, because she had spent her last bit of money on buying stamps. Such is her passion for philately. She will be exhibiting her collection of stamps in the upcoming three-day district-level philately exhibition, Rakshapex, being held by Bengaluru West Division of Postal department, which is going to take place at Karnataka Exhibition Authority (CET cell), Malleswaram, from Jan 9-11.
Being a part of many such exhibitions, this is a special one for her because for the first time, she will be exhibiting her collection of postal stationery from British India. Her collection also features stamps that were issued in the pre-Independence era. Some of the stamps are from 1930s, when India had princely states. She will also be displaying aerogram from British India and post-Independence time, along with various first-day covers, pre-Independence registered envelopes, etc. One of the special ones from her collection are Albino envelopes. “These are envelopes which used to have stamps imprinted on it. You can feel the impression but it’s not clearly visible. Now they are just precious collectibles,” says Sridevi, who inherited this hobby from her parents. Her niece and nephews are also into philately and flaunt her collection too.
When asked about her favourite picks, Sridevi says she really likes Indian stamps. “Indian stamps are colourful and appealing to look at. It shows our deep-rooted culture,” says the 63-year-old philatelic enthusiast. Sridevi has been collecting stamps for over 55 years now but in the last seven years, she has been focusing on collecting and compiling stamps based on Indian musical instruments, yoga, Indian classical dance forms and the Ramayana.
A treat for philatelic enthusiasts
Much to the delight of philatelists, a three-day district-level philately exhibition, Rakshapex, is being held by Bengaluru West Division of Postal department. All three days of the exhibition will have three different themes related to defence, environment and the Indian freedom movement. The event will be inaugurated by Bhaskar Rao, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru. At least 59 participants will be displaying the stamp collection in 140 frames. “This is the first philately exhibition of this year, so we are looking forward to it,” says B S Umesh, Senior Superintendent at the Postal department (West Division). Apart from stamps, the event also has fun games and quizzes for children regarding stamps. There will also be a philately bureau, where you can open a philatelic deposit account and make your own stamps with your image on it, along with special covers, picture postcards and more.
Rakshapex will take place at Karnataka Exhibition Authority (CET cell), Malleswaram, from Jan 9-11.