Special covers on Siddis, national flag released

The third day of ‘Karnapex 2019’ on Monday was observed as Culture Day and the Department of Posts released four special postal covers on national flag, Siddi community, Tulu cinema and Shrimanthi Bai Museum.

For the first time, a special postal cover on the national flag was released.

Lauding the effort of the Department of Posts, Garag Kshetriya Seva Sangha President H Basava Prabhu said, “Khadi is not just a piece of cloth but a way of life. The tricolour which flutters atop government buildings, including Parliament and Rashtrapati Bhavan, is produced by Garag Kshetriya Seva Sangha at Garag, a tiny village in Dharwad district. The special cover has recognised our effort.”

Explaining Khadi product, he said if a man buys a Khadi cloth worth Re 1, then 50 paise goes to weavers, 35 paise for raw materials, eight paise for administrative expenditure and 7 paise for transportation.

Siddi Karnataka Foundation President Diyog B Siddi thanked the Department of Posts for recognising Siddi community, one of the most backward communities in Karnataka.

He said at a time when the community was on the verge of extinction, the department has identified us. Siddis, who are of African descent, are found in Karwar, Belagavi and Dharwad on the periphery of the forests and inside the forests.

“Siddi community has come to limelight only in the late 20th century. We have been fighting for our rights for the future generation,” he said.

Movie Director and Producer Richard Castellino said the special cover on Tulu cinema was a great recognition to the Tulu cinema industry which has come a long way since the first Tulu movie ‘Enna Tangadi’’ in 1971.

Tulu is one of the ‘Pancha Dravida’ language. Though Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu had received the status of administrative language in the respective states, Tulu is still only a spoken language in coastal districts. As many as 20 languages are spoken in Karnataka. Movies have been made in six languages, which is a record, he added.

Castellino appealed to the Department of Posts to bring out special covers on cinema in other regional languages as well.

Though Tulu cinema industry is facing set back, he said at least 15 to 20 movies have been produced in a year in the recent past. Recent Tulu movie ‘Girgit’ has showed the industry that even Tulu cinema can earn in crores, he added.

Veena R Srinivas, Postmaster General, North Karnataka Region in her presidential address said India posts has been recording personalities, culture, art through its special cover for the future.

Artist Dinesh Holla, who had designed the logo of ‘Karnapex 2019’, was honoured on the occasion.