Russians rule with gold and silver at stamp expo!

It was literally the Russian stamps which ruled the philately exhibition organised by India Post at head post office at Pandeshwar in Mangalore on Thursday.

Stamp collectors and connoisseurs were enchanted by the wide range of special stamps issued by the world’s largest country, in the expo held as a part of the postal week celebrations. The stamps include ones which plated with gold as well as silver and are from the collections of Dakshina Kannada Philatelic and Numismatic Association treasurer Mansoor Bolar.

The major stamps among the collection includes the miniature sheet issued by Russia to commemorate their Davis Cup Tennis victory in 2002. The miniature sheet has the stamp portraying Davis Cup, plated in silver and the image of the tennis court where the Davis Cup took place. The tennis court in the miniature sheet is covered by the real clay from the actual venue of the tourney, plated by using a special technique.

Another miniature sheet depicted different cars in Russia, and was plated with gold. The miniature sheet also carries a certificate of authenticity from the Russian post. The miniature sheet which depicts three stamps, each on Russia’s national flag, emblem and anthem is also decorated with gold. The stamps on star signs are also coated with silver and are arranged according to the actual position of stars in the sky. The stamps on different human emotions (similar to navarasas), miniature sheet which looked like a currency note with a stamp embedded with the shape of a coin, to commemorate the anniversary of Russian security press and the one on different traditional costumes in Russia are the other notable collections of Mansoor.

The stamps from the Falkland Islands, a British crown dependency in South America, were another attraction at the exhibition. The stamps included those featuring the English rulers during the centuries and that of different regiments of army in the island dependency. The stamps are from the collection of Prabhakar Kamath, who’s specialised in collecting stamps of Falkland island.

Stamps on women

Jane D’Souza displayed collection of stamps on noted women who were eminent in their field. This includes stamps of Indira Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Rani Laxmi Bhai, Kittur Rani Channamma, Sister Nivedita, Bhikaiji Cama, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Kasthurbha Gandhi, Kamala Nehru, Tajkumari Amrit Kaur and Meera Bhai. The stamp on Neeraja Bhanot, who was shot dead in the 1986 Pan American Airways flight hijack was another highlight.

Collection of Baikady Srinivasa Rao and Harriet Lasrado were also displayed during the expo.