On a mission to collect and document currency

Thiruvananthapuram: Bhadran Karthika, a 66-year-old retired government official is a proud owner of all the Indian currencies released from the time of Independence. His collection includes the first note signed by the then Reserve Bank Governor S Jaganathan in 1971 to the present green coloured note.
His passion towards currency note collection started when he saw a green coloured 2 rupees note while he was working at the Central Plantation Crops Research Centre in Kayamkulam. He has a collection of all four designs and its 75 editions.
The major aspect which makes each note different is its colour and numbering. The first note was printed in red and orange colours with a size of 63 x 147 mm and the numbering was done in black. The front side of the note has two parts, including the watermark window on the left side and the Ashoka Pillar on the right side. The back side of the note was designed in such a way that it features the value of the note in 13 different local languages. The main image on this note was the Parliament house. The second issue which released in 1975 featured Konark Wheel and the numbering was in red colour.
“Back then, I was surprised to see a two rupee note in green colour. So, I decided to collect it and document it for future purposes. Presently, a lot of students are coming to my house to see my currency note collections. After starting the collection, I started to learn about the notes and its specialties,” said Bhadran Karthika.
The third one was released with the signature of the then Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan. In this issue, two other local languages were added to make it 15. The fourth design was signed by Reserve Bank Governor Sakti Kanta Das in 2019 as the 68th edition. He also has the collection of 10, 50, 100, 200, 1000 and 2000 currency notes.