A permanent philatelic exhibition was inaugurated at the renovated Electric Theatre hall of the Anna Salai Head Post Office on the occasion of Independence day on Tuesday.
Commemorating the independence movement and the leaders who fought for the country’s freedom, the theme of the exhibition was announced by the Department of Posts as ‘Indian National Movement and Independent India’.
Inaugurating the exhibition, R. Anand, Postmaster General of the Chennai City Region, said that there would be a different theme every month.
Visit to schools
“We want to show students about how interesting philately as a hobby can be. While we are encouraging school students to come and visit the exhibition here, the department will also be visiting schools to motivate them to take up philately,” he said.
Mr. Anand further said that two staff members of the Postal department have been trained to speak to the students about philately and they would be working in association with the South India Philatelists Association (SIPA). “We aim to reach out to a minimum of 100 schools in the next four months,” he said.
School students, who visited the exhibition on Tuesday, got an opportunity to see stamps from 1947, commemorating various freedom fighters and leaders as well as significant events.
The exhibition has on display nearly 7,000 stamps collected by four members of SIPA, which includes the first stamps of Mahatma Gandhi which were printed in Switzerland, known for their high quality of stamp design. “Among the stamps on display are thematic collections of stamps released honouring Mahatma Gandhi. With 93 different countries having released commemorative stamps, Gandhiji has the highest number of stamps released among many other iconic figures in the world,” said C.G. Bhaskar, treasurer of SIPA.
Screening of short films
The Electric Theatre, which houses the permanent exhibition, will also have screenings of documentaries and short films on philately for the visitors. The exhibition will be open on all working days, including Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
