Philately exhibition, a journey through stamps

Stamps are not mere piece of paper, they are in fact window to the history and culture of any country. Each stamp has a power to connect people through shared narratives. Rare collections and artistic designs of stamps from across eras and continents, celebrating stories came alive during SUTLEJ-PEX 2025, a philatelic exhibition at Dr Manmohan Singh Auditorium, Punjab Agriculture University.

The two-day exhibition organised by the Department of Posts has stamps displayed on a wide range of subjects such as history, culture, famous personalities, flora and fauna, sports, science, technology, and national milestones from India and abroad.

“Philately continues to be a powerful educational tool, instilling knowledge, creativity, and cultural pride among youth. The event aims to promote philately among students and the wider public through a series of engaging activities on Thursday and Friday,” said Balbir Singh, senior superintendent of post offices, Ludhiana City Division, while releasing the stamp of Govind Gaudham, which is located at Hambran Road, Ludhiana, on Thursday.

The glittering collection of Col Harbaksh Singh, who is pursuing this hobby for the past 25 years attracted everyone’s attention at the exhibition. His stamp collection named ‘The Pride of India Collection’ is made of gold. The collection was released in 2008 by the postal department and is made of .99 silver layer with 24 carat gold plating.

“The collection has 25 stamps in it and were selected from the archives of the National Philatelic Museum and images on the stamps were sculpted by craftsman from Switzerland. The release of this collection was limited to 7,500 editions worldwide. The buyers were sent one stamp at a time and the entire collection was not dispatched at one time. There was always eagerness and curiosity to receive the stamp. Along with the stamp sent a fact card mentioning details about the stamp and it also carried a officially numbered certificate,” he said.

Yashpal Bangia, president, Ludhiana Philately Club, said the department was not only working for the development of postal services in the city but also for the strengthening the bonds of common people. He spoke about his passion for philately and stressed upon students to develop habit of collecting stamps and other rare items so that they could remember the rich heritage.

As a part of the initiative, essay writing and stamp design competitions for schoolchildren were held in which over 250 students participated.

It is rightly said philately is a hobby of kings and king of the hobbies, adds a stamp collector at the exhibition.