Lucknow :
On the 69th Independence Day, Lucknow division of the department of Posts will commemorate contribution of women freedom fighters of Uttar Pradesh through a display of postage stamps. UP’s first philatelic museum at the General Post Office is coming up with a separate Lucknow gallery titled ‘Shaan-e-Awadh Lucknow’, where a wall would be dedicated totally to these brave women.
The centrally air-conditioned gallery exhibiting some rare stamps issued on Lucknow city in different frames will be open for public from August 15 and include postage stamps featuring Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Jhalkaribai, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Rani Laxmibai, etc.
“The idea behind this initiative is to not only showcase the rich culture, heritage, cuisine of the state but also to commemorate journey of UP’s women freedom fighters,” said Vivek Kumar Daksh, Director of postal headquarters (UP). “We are also planning to release a coffee book table of the collection on the day of inauguration which will include details of achievements of women who are role models,” he added.
Besides these stamps on women freedom fighters, special covers of Munshi Naval Kishore, Asrar ul Haq Majaz, Kathak maestro Pandit Lacchu Maharaj, stamps of academic institutions like Colvin Taluqdars, Isabella Thoburn College, La Martiniere, KGMC, Loreto Convent, 200 years of Hazratganj, Vidhan Sabha and other historical monuments will also be on display.
The philately museum will display around 140 postage stamps issued on UP, while 22 of these would be exclusively on Lucknow. Each frame will have stamps put up chronologically according to the date of issue.
Along with sorting out the rarest and most valuable stamps, postal department officials are also busy giving the gallery a unique heritage design. Wntrance of the gallery will be a replica of Rumi gate, while ceilings will bear images of rare and oldest stamps of Lucknow using acrylic paints.
“The idea is to show the rich culture and heritage of Lucknow so the gallery would display souvenirs for visitors which would define the historical relevance of postal services in India and its strong connect with Lucknow city,” said R K Prasad, chief post master, Lucknow GPO.
In addition to the collections available with philatelic bureaus across the state, the postal department will also invite Lucknow’s philatelists to donate their collection to the museum.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home News> City> Lucknow / by Uzma Talha, TNN / August 02nd, 2015