After 4-year break, Karnataka postal circle reboots its annual philatelic exhibition
Bengaluru, Dec 4: As part of its ongoing effort to redefine connecting people' in the online era, the Karnataka Postal Circle will be reviving its annual state-level philatelic exhibition, which was last held in 2019 in Mangaluru.
"Ultimately, we want people to rediscover the joy of sending letters and postcards. We believe that this can be achieved by giving them a glimpse of the rich postal heritage of India," Director of Postal Services (HQ) Kaiya Arora told PTI.
The 13th edition, Karnapex 2024, which will be held in Bengaluru between January 5 and January 8, will piece together Karnataka's socio-cultural history through stamps, special covers, special cancellations and pictorial collections, she added.
A cancellation is a postal marking affixed on a stamps or envelopes of India Post to deface the stamp and prevent its re-use. Cancellations come in a variety of designs, shapes, sizes and colors.
"Stamps that are issued to mark historical milestones are nuggets of information and are perfect learning tools," Arora pointed out.
For instance, she said that to commemorate Karnapex 2024, special covers about things and events unique to Karnataka like ali guli manne' and kambala' will be released, thus documenting them for posterity.
The philatelic exhibition, which will showcase 690 rare and unique collections of stamps in total, including those loaned from serious philatelists, will explore different themes every day, she added.
"On January 5, we begin with stamps that document the history and culture of Karnataka. On January 6, it will be science, technology and environment. On January 7, stamps exploring the themes of mental health and sports will be displayed. And on the final day, women empowerment will be the key word," said Arora.
But Karnapex 2024 is much more than stamps, she said.
"We are going all out to draw people out of their homes. So, we have workshops on origami making, letter writing and drawing cartoons. We have a drawing and painting competition as well as a stamp designing competition. We have many interactive events planned too ranging from something traditional like a treasure hunt to innovative ones like digital charkha," said Arora.
The director said part of the reason why the postal department decided to up the outreach game is because the Unboxing Bengaluru' event, which was held during the first half of December, put a spotlight on the quaint postal history of the city.
"Many, for instance, discovered the oldest functional post box in the city, one of the 100 post boxes that Britain shipped to India to establish the postal service in India. This is at Taj West End. And this created a lot of buzz for us, thanks to social media influencers," said Arora.
The exhibition venue will also have stalls for sale of stamps, special covers, coins and other philately related items.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
