Driven by a passion to share his knowledge and collection with as many as possible, city- based philatelist Commander (retired) G. Sri Ramarao has been participating in philatelic exhibitions where his painstaking collection has drawn accolades.

He bagged a gold medal at the recently concluded APEX 2014 philatelic exhibition organised by the Department of Posts at Vijayawada. Incidentally his wife Rama Lakshmi won a large silver medal at the same expo.

His passion for music, which was revived after he retired from the Indian Navy, set him on the path of collecting stamps on anything and everything related to music. He has collected gramophone record stamps, CD stamps, stamps on musicians from across the world. To top his collection on music is his collection of stamped covers with post mark from post offices named after musicians.

“There is so much interest in philately abroad and in fact a postmaster of one of the post offices named after a famed musician not only stamped my cover but also wrote a letter explaining how and why it was named so,” Cdr Ramarao said. In contrast the Philatelic Bureau in Mumbai was tardy in sending the details of releases.

“There is a need to create awareness about philately in India,” he said.

Many were not aware of the fact that the special stamps like batik, embroidery, or made with lace are proper stamps that can be used as postage.

Limca Book of Records has recognised four of the stamp collections of Cdr Ramarao and he has received certificates for two and other the other two are being sent.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by G. S. Subrahmanyam / Visakhapatnam – August 05th, 2014