Stamps from 100 nations enthral soccer fans

“Anyone who says ‘Real men don’t cry’, has never played football with real passion,” says a huge poster quoting David Beckham, put up on the walls of the Vismaya Gallery at the Rangoli Metro Art Center.

There was a bonhomie of football lovers as the 10-day football exhibition through stamps ‘Carniball 2014’ was opened here on Thursday. 

More than 1,000 stamps on football and other games were displayed by the Karnataka Philatelic Society in association with India Post, Karnataka Circle, Football Association and Rangoli Metro Art Center.

The World Cup fever seems to have spared none as many visitors were seen enthusiastically glancing through the exhibit.

Mahalingeswar Athani, an 84-year-old football lover and former president of the Karnataka Philatelic Society enthusiastically explains the collections displayed. “You can see collections from almost 100 countries displayed here. The exhibition has been planned keeping in mind the football season and the number of fans we have in our City for this game,” he said.

Celebrating 100 years of FIFA (1904-2004), the visitors can see rare stamps of the 1970 championship, Beijing Olympics, Munich Olympics, postal tickets, miniature sheets, first-day covers, brochures, magazine cards, etc.
 Jagannath Mani, a member of the Karnataka Philatelic Society, is an Olympic stamp collector. He has a collection of over 10,000 stamps. Talking about his interest in stamp collection he said, “I had always aspired to become a sportsperson. Since, things couldn’t materialise as I had wished, this hobby is a way to keep my dream alive in my heart.” This is his way of showing his solidarity with the sport.

Jagannath, who entered the world of philately in 1987 keeps in touch with his pen-friends in search of postal tickets to keep replenishing his treasure trove and his ‘stamp hunt’ still continues.  Talk to him and he will take you on a voyage, transporting you to the world of soccer stamps in an instant.

 “In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, my collection won a bronze medal. A senior philatelic, TN Prahalada Rao, was my inspiration to send my collection for the display there,” he said. His most prized-possession is the 1896 Olympic stamp, which is the first sports stamp from Greece. 

Nineteen-year-old M Phalgun, another football aficionado, has over 10,000 stamps in his personal collection and has displayed quite a few in the exhibition. “My grandfather has passed on this hobby and some of his collection to me. I have been collecting stamps since the year 2000.”

This devout fan expresses his ardent passion for the sport through his future plans, which is to acquire all 70 stamps of the Olympic gold winners of 1972. “I have 45 in my collection. I hope to complete the set,” he said.

Philatelist BT Chandra Shekar is also exhibiting his collection on various ball games. He has a series of stamps on football techniques, rules of the games and various other events of the worldcup.

Among the stamps displayed are the various mascots of the World Cup, stamps on the ‘Jules Rimet Trophy’ (World Cup), images of the Summer Olympics. There are also special stamps on Sachin Tendulkar, cricket and other games. 

The exhibition is on till July 20, from 11 am to 7pm during the weekdays and till 9 pm on the weekends. There are also plans to release a special cover on July 14, after the FIFA final. 

So, here is a feast of football stamps from Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Hungary, Ghana, Greece, Japan, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, the erstwhile Soviet Union, Uruguay and many other countries. What else? Well, you can even get a personalised stamp of your own. 

‘My stamp’, an initiative by the Karnataka Philatelic Society, gives an opportunity to get one’s pictures taken and printed on a stamp. So, as football mania reaches fever pitch, the exhibition might be an exciting experience for both the curious and genuine game lovers.