Indore man has collection of hundreds of stamps based on Ramayana from across the world

A 72-year-old Indore resident has collected hundreds of stamps based on the Ramayana from all over the world, which are now on display at an exhibition put up by the postal department.

Om Prakash Kedia told PTI on Wednesday that he has been collecting stamps for the last 60 years and started accumulating stamps that have been released by different countries on the topic of Ramayana in the past two to three years.

Apart from Indian stamps, Kedia’s collection includes the ones from Indonesia, Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia.

“The story of Ramayana is very famous in countries of South-East Asia and it is presented in different ways there. These countries have released stamps on events involving characters like Ram, Sita, Lakshman, Bharata, Hanuman and Jatayu,” he said.

During British rule, the septuagenarian said, Indians used to print scenes from Ramayana on postcards and such rare postcards also figure in his collection.

Special postage stamps issued on the occasion of the ‘ASEAN-India Friendship Silver Jubilee Summit’ in 2018 are also in his collection.

The Department of Posts has put up an exhibition based on Kedia’s collection in Indore which will continue till January 22.

The exhibition, put up on the occasion of the consecration of the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, is attracting people’s attention.

Preeti Agarwal, postmaster general of Indore range, said, “We will come out with a special cover on Ram temple on the conclusion of this exhibition on January 22.”