The postage stamps on Ram temple.
Credit: X/@PTI_News
Panaji: A Goa-based retired scientist and philatelist has a collection of more than 300 postage stamps depicting various characters and scenes from the epic Ramayana that he has gathered from various countries, especially those located in Southeast Asia.
Dr M R Ramesh Kumar, 64, who was a scientist in the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, said he has been collecting stamps since the last 50 years as part of his hobby and considers his father M V Ranganatha his "guru" in the field of philately.
"I have a collection of more than 300 stamps on the Ramayana and over 100 special postage covers. India has released very few, around 10-12 stamps on the Ramayana, while Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Korea, the Philippines and Singapore have released many stamps on the anecdotes from this epic," he said.
Kumar also has a collection of special postal covers, including that on Ramleela and Ram Van Gaman Path, the route that was believed to have been taken by Lord Ram during his exile. He said he has collected these stamps during his visits to different countries as part of his academic research, and said his hobby was a "stress buster" to him. But his collection is not restricted to the stamps on the Ramayana theme alone.
He also has a collection of stamps on various themes like Antarctica, World War I and II, biodiversity of India, its geographic indicators, India's unsung heroes, scientists, freedom fighters, women freedom fighters, country's cultural heritage, Portuguese India, Olympics and oceanography.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday released a series of commemorative postage stamps dedicated to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and a book featuring stamps from around the world honouring the revered deity. The six stamps within the collection represent key figures and elements from the Ramayana. These include the Ram Temple, Lord Ganesh, Lord Hanuman, Jatayu, Kevatraj, and Ma Shabri.
Kumar said, "I feel that philately is a very important educational tool in studying culture, heritage, history and other aspects. It is also a very good investment and gives excellent returns if properly invested. For youngsters, it will prevent them from getting distracted by social media."
The former researcher said he spends a lot of time in the preparation of philatelic exhibits, mounting them and searching for these stamps and special covers. Apart from his two other gurus - late Balakrishna Das and V R Navelcar - Kumar thanks his wife Radhabai for supporting him despite his "crazy passion" that involves "huge amounts of time and money".