It was a rare event for the Indian Postal Department and Karnataka in particular when a set of eight commemorative stamps featuring great Indian musicians was released on Wednesday.
Of the eight stamps, four features artistes from Karnataka. The four of them namely Bhimsen Gururaj Joshi, Mallikarjun Bheemarayappa Mansur, Gangubai Hangal and Kumar Gandharva hail from North Karnataka and are legends in Hindustani music. The other four musicians are Sitarists Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan, vocalist D.K. Pattammal and Sarod player Ali Akar Khan.
The Department of Posts, Karnataka Circle, in association with the Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy, released the stamps in Bangalore.
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M.S. Ramanujan, Chief Postmaster-General, Karnataka Circle, said: “Patronage to art and artistes from the age of kings to the present day democracy is indicative of the development and evolution of a refined society.”
Babu Rao Hangal, son of Gangubai Hangal, and Rajashekahar Mansur, son of Mallikarjun Mansur, were present on the occasion.
The event had a musical takeoff, with renderings by R.K. Padmanabha, Vinayak Torvi and a jugalbandi by Prakash Hegde (flute) and Sridhar Hegde (Santoor). The finale was Gangamma Keshavamurthy’s Gamaka, which described the eight musicians in a ragamalika.
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Stamps, First Day covers, and brochures will be available for sale at the Philatelic Bureaux at the Karnataka Postal Circle viz., Bangalore GPO, Mysore HPO, Mangalore HPO and Belgaum HPO.