National Philatelic Exhibition begins in TN

Chennai, Jan 2 (UNI) More than one lakh rare stamps were being showcased in the five-day National Philatelic Exhibition which was inaugurated by Union Communications and Information Technology Minister A Raja here today.

The exhibition, which was being held at Rani Meyyammai and Raja Muthiah halls, is the first of its kind in Tamil Nadu.

'Penny Black,' the world's first postal stamp, 'Scinde Dawk,' India's maiden stamp, a set of four stamps on Mahatma Gandhi printed in Switzerland and issued by the Indian Government on the first anniversary of Independence were among the rare stamps displayed at the expo.

Around 1,000 frames were displayed at the exhibition to provide an opportunity to the philatelists of India to view the outstanding stamp collections.

Four stamps, portraying colourful butterflies of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and a book, '1857 through Indian Postage Stamps,' were released on the occasion.

Apart from this, a colourful souvenir containing articles on postal history and philately by reputed experts in the field was also released.

Hosted by the Tamil Nadu Postal Circle for the first time, the exhibition was organised by the department along with the Philatelic Congress of India and the South India Philatelists Association.

According to postal department officials, more than 300 philatelists from all over the country were taking part in the exhibition.

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