Seminar on Promotion of Thematic Philately
Ludhiana Philatelic Club, Philatelic Congress of Punjab in collaboration with Deptt of Posts organized a Seminar on Promotion of Thematic Philately, Stamp Exhibition and Stamp Bazaar on 21-22nd April, 2021 at Lions Bhawan, Ludhiana. The Seminar was inaugurated by Sh. Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Legislative Assembly. He was accompanied by Sh Surinder Singh Namdhari, Parmukh Namdhari Darbar, and Direrctor, Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana. Sh. Atwal, while inaugurating the two-day event, appreciated the efforts being made by the Ludhiana Philatelic Club in promoting this educative hobby amongst the youth. He also lauded the club for helping the schools by using stamps as teaching aids to motivate students and increased participation in classroom activities and learning.
Over 150 students drawn from 10 schools participated in the Seminar. The seminar focused on the use of theme-based stamps and use of stamps as teaching aids. The Seminar was conducted by Mr. Vinod Sabharwal and Madhukar Jhingan from New Delhi, Mr Naresh Pahwa from Jalandhar (He also presented the presentation of Jeevan Jyoti of Rainbow Stamps, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, who could not make it due to her preoccupation) and Dr. S. K. Sondhi of Ludhiana. They covered the various aspects of promoting thematic philately as well use of stamps in class rooms.
The students later browsed through the rare and award winning exhibits put up by senior club members, namely: Mr Mukesh Malhotra, Mr Raj Pal Oswal, Mr Yash Pal Bangia, Dr. Sanjiv Mehta, Dr. R L Bansal and Dr. S K Sondhi. Stamps on the themes of Roses, Braille, Elephant, Sikhism, Red Cross, Life the Gift of Life, Hitler, Indian States aroused the interest of the students.
A Stamp Bazaar was also organized on this occasion in which about 10 dealers from various parts of the country participated.
On Sunday, Sh. Rakesh Pandey, MLA, inaugurated the “Design a Stamp Competition” in which more than 200 students drawn from different schools participated. The themes for design were: Eye Care, Earth Day, Traffic Safety, innovative ideas. The students were divided into two groups (up to 6th grade and above). Three prized were awarded in each group. Consolation prizes relating to philately were given to all the participants. Participating schools were also provided philatelic kits consisting of philatelic accessories for starting philatelic activities in their schools.
In the end a “Spot Stamps Auction” was organized. This was conducted by Sh. A R C Shah of New Delhi. Professional philatelists competed fiercely to outbid each other. 24 lots were auctioned on this occasion.
The main attraction of the show was a scooter with stamps pasted on it. Even the Chief Guest had a ride on it on Sunday. On the whole the two-day event was a grand success; philatelists from various parts of Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu, Jaipur, etc. visited the show.
- Dr. S. K. Sondhi
