A three-day stamp exhibition, organisedby the Indian Institute of Management-Tiruchi, on the life of Mahatma Gandhi to mark his 150th birth anniversary got under way here on Tuesday.
The exhaustive collections of four members of Tiruchirapalli Philatelic Club featured stamps relating to the life of Gandhiji and the freedom struggle released by India Post till date.
Explaining philately, Assistant Director-Business Development Kunchitapadam elaborated on the differences between definitive stamps used regularly while sending posts and envelopes, and commemorative stamps issued for particular occasions.
“The stamps disseminate our knowledge about socio-economic and cultural aspects of the country. Stamps serve as a yardstick to understand how the country has grown and improved over the years,” he said. and advised the younger generation to to take up philately as a hobby.
The Philately Bureau at the Head Post Office would facilitate opening of philately deposit account and enable students to start their collections of rare or commemorative stamps, he said.
Director of IIM-Tiruchi Bhimaraya Metri said post offices were still the lifeline of communication for people in rural areas. Mahatma Gandhi was instrumental in making people realise their individual importance in bringing about major transformations.
K. Karthikeyan, G. Satheesh Babu and Maharaja, members of the Tiruchirapalli Philatelic Club displayed their collections at the exhibition.
Karthikeyan, a student of mechanical enginnering at Alagappa Chettiyar Government College of Engineering and Technology, addressed the students.
His collections, which had bagged many philatelic awards, were on Gandhiji’s freedom movement and Tiruchi city.
Satheesh, an electrician by profession, had been been collecting stamos for over three decades since his school days.
Maharaja’s exhibits encompassed stamps released on Mahatma Gandhi by other countries.
Adithya L, president, Students’ Council 2017-18, and K.V. Nithyananda, Assistant Professor, Finance and Legal Systems, felicitated the stamp collectors.