Bhubaneswar: Ten postage stamps to be released by India Post this year will have personalities, including Akshaya Mohanty, Kelucharan Mohapatra, Pandit Nilakantha Das, and Parbati Ghose, and themes from Odisha.
A stamp on the Eram martyrs and five-set stamps on Sambalpuri Bandha, Sambalpuri Folk Dance, Sital Sasthi Jatra, Nuakhai and Dhanu Jatra Mahostav will also be issued.
According to sources, the meeting of the philatelic Advisory Committee received 243 proposals for issuing commemorative postage stamps last year and 45 of these were approved. These include stamps on Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sucheta Kripalani, Dada Vaswani, Gen. Thimayya and Minoo Masani among others.
“This is a bumper issue for Odisha since the state always figured the least in the commemorative stamps issues,” said Kashinath Sahoo,” a philatelist of the state.
Anil Dhir, another eminent philatelist and author, said postage stamps showcase the history and culture of a state. “Odisha has a vast repertoire of personalities, places, natural heritage, flora and fauna, and historical events, which should find a place in stamp issues,” he said while lauding the efforts of the Eastern India Philatelic Association and the Orissa Philatelic Association for listing these issues for the release of stamps.
Dhir further said that Odisha is now the Philatelic Capital of the country with some of the best philatelists who have won awards both at the national and international levels. He once again reiterated that Philately should be made a co-curricular subject in schools.
Notably, there are ten independent stamp clubs and societies in the state, founded by eminent philatelists like the Late Major Mohanty, Late Bijayshree Routray and Sahadev Sahoo
