At 78, his penchant for philately continues to grow

Premadas has in his collection 5,000 stamps from 115 countries

His fascination for philately since the age of 15 continues to be a driving force for this septuagenarian. Now, retired from service, he has been adding to his vast collection making the most of his leisure time.

Premadas Anand, a retired professor, residing at Vidyanagar in the city, is that philatelist who boasts of 5,000 stamps from 115 countries in his collection.

Hailing from Bengaluru, Premadas Anand, 78, retired as the principal of a PU College. We have come across many who are interested in stamp collection during their younger days and had to discontinue them due to various reasons. But, Premadas has successfully continued with his hobby for more than 63 years and has a huge collection of not only stamps, but also coins of several countries in his possession.

Premadas told Deccan Herald that he found ample time to pursue his hobby, after retirement and is now a proud owner of coins of several countries, currency notes, conches of different sizes and shapes and rare articles. He also has the postal stamps released by Britishers during their reign in India.

Premadas said, in an effort to create an interest in stamp collection and numismatics, he had held several expos displaying his rare possession. As he had lost some valuable collections during the transit, he has now stopped participating in exhibitions. Now, he has prepared a chart grouping his possessions according to the country and period. He also has the collections of postcards, Inland letters, covers, money order forms  released by the postal department of India.

He has more than 1,500 coins from different countries, that dates back to hundreds of years.

A successful teacher, he was recognised for his service and awarded as ‘best teacher’ by the State government in the year 1994. He also served as the principal of BEM PU College in Mangaluru and retired in 1997.

Premadas recalled his family’s contribution to keep his hobby. As they were travelling abroad due to their professional engagements earlier, it was easier for him to possess rare stamps, coins, currency notes, he explained.

As he has stopped participating in exhibitions, anybody who is interested can visit his residence and Premadas is more than willing to show his collections with pride. Contact 9845014678.