Organised to commemorate International Women’s Day, the month-long exhibition titled ‘Women and Women Empowerment’ is the private collection of B Subramanian, an assistant executive engineer with the Public Works Department, who is a keen philatelist. 

“While perusing through the Veerangana and Jyotirpunj Stamp Books, which I bought online from ePost Office, I came across the stories of women achievers who fought so valiantly for justice and stood up for others. That spurred me to start my philately collection a year ago, which has been put up on display. 

On showcase are 87 personalities, whose achievements are narrated through commemorative stamps and first day covers,” said the collector, adding that he was inspired by air hostess Neerja Bhanot’s sacrifice where she died protecting other passengers during a hijack attempt. The exhibition is open on all working days and the latest stamps issued by the department are on sale at the event. 

V Kanagarajan, Chief Postmaster, said that the Philately Bureau at Anna Road has been organising such themed exhibitions to create an interest among children and youngsters to pursue stamp collection as a hobby. 

“We had college and school students visiting the exhibition in large numbers. In addition, we have conducted philately workshops at more than 100 schools so far in the city. We currently have 2,400 philately deposit account holders,” he said.

When the customised, My Stamp was started for Rs 300 to get a photo printed on a stamp, the service was a great hit, as indicated by the demand. This, according to the Anna Road HPO, has been popular, not only on occasions such as weddings but also birthdays and other occasions. Kanagarajan said that 500 sheets are being sold monthly in the city. To cater to the demand, a mobile unit has started plying since last month, to meet the needs of institutions. The service has already found many takers, he added.