A walk through the State-level philatelic exhibition APPEX-2022 organised by India Post in Visakhapatnam is an experience of taking a deep dive into the history and culture of India and significant moments around the world. From memories of legendary artistes of the India cinema in the form of attractive commemorative stamps to the inspiring journey of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the eternal journey of the railways and the story of India’s freedom struggle, the exhibition is a place of discovery for anyone who visits it. As many as 109 philatelists from different parts of Andhra Pradesh have displayed their collections, while philatelists from other States exhibited under the invitee class. Passionate collectors form a significant part of the stamp market. Some of them even spend a bomb on their collection. “Stamp collection is a wealth. We learn some deep insights of our history. I am happy to see my daughter take this hobby to another level,” says J Jayachandra Raju, a retired government officer, who has come all the way from Kashmir to participate in the exhibition with his collection of the stamps on former Presidents and former Prime Ministers, who had received the Bharat Ratna award. His daughter J. Vaishnavi has displayed her collection of 160 sheets on 75 years of Independence. The exhibits have been systematically displayed with neatly presented facts and background information connected to the stamps. The exhibition also shares the glimpses of innovation in 21st Century Indian Postal Service. It also features a section on world heritage sites in India. Devu S Narasimha Rao from Vijayawada has displayed 39 exhibits with a focus on the aviation sector and highlighting Indian women in aviation. Gadu Satyanarayana, who has been collecting birth place and significant place covers since 1973, says he was a student when he first became a life member of the Narsaraopeta National Philatelic Society. “Back then I didn’t have the money to pay for the membership. The then secretary of the society MRK Murthy helped me to get the life membership by making a payment on an installment basis. I am ever grateful to him for that,” he says. Satyanarayana says that he gradually picked up the hobby of collecting stamps systematically by getting ‘cancellation’ of First Day Covers of prominent personalities at the place of their birth and important events at the place of their occurrence. To collect the birthplace cancellation of Alluri Seetha Rama Raju, he travelled to Mogallu in West Godavari district. His collection of 150 covers also includes Fleet Review Cancellations. There is also a counter where you can get a sheet of personalised stamps made for Rs.300. The exhibition will be on till November 25 at Subbalakshmi Kalyana Mandapam at Railway New Colony.
