Written by London Swaminathan

swami_48@yahoo.com

Date: 18 NOVEMBER 2019

Time  in London – 8-22  am

Post No. 7228

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Universities must start M.Phil and Ph.D studies in Stamps

One can serve Hindu religion in various ways. Here is a story about an individual who is serving Hindu religion through his stamp collection.

I came to know about Mr N Ragupathy of Nagappattinam (Tamil Nadu, India) through his friend Dr Sathyanarayana of Pondicherry, when he visited London a few months ago. Then I contacted Mr Ragupathy through e mail and received some details about his good and rare stamp collection on Hindu themes.

He has not only collected stamps on Hindu saints and Hindu Gods but also displayed them beautifully with notes and explanations. It will be a great help to children and foreigners who collect stamps on religion and statues / idols. He has spent a lot of time in preparing the frames so that he can easily display them in exhibitions. His efforts dd not go waste. He has displayed them in various countries and Indian towns and received prizes and accolades.

Though he is a septuagenarian his enthusiasm is great and serves as an example to others. His life shows that individuals also can spread Hindu values in simple ways like this. You don’t need to run a big Mutt or institution to support Hindu cause.

He did not stop displaying his stamp collection. He wrote to government to issue stamps on various Hindu themes. But he is not happy that still the government has not taken enough action on his proposals.

If people like Ragupathy live in London they will get more exposure. Twice a year London holds STAMPEX (stamp exhibitions). There in addition to over 100 stamp vendors’ stalls from different countries, they hold seminars every day on various themes. And every year they chose a subject and ask the students, adults and experts to display their collection in very big glass frames.  Prizes are given under different categories. Three or four monthly Stamp Magazines give huge publicity to the events as well as prize winners.

My suggestions are as follows:

1.Any Hindu institution can buy Ragupathy’s collection and display them in their Mutts or institutions.

2.Big towns should organise STAMPEX every year and award prizes to students, adults and experts under a chosen theme. Theme may differ from year to year.

3.India has issued over 3000 stamps until now. Indian princely states issued thousands of stamps. Now even Indian businessmen have started investing in Indian stamps. Rs Ten Gandhi stamp of year 1948 is sold at the prize of Rs14,000 today (in good condition with gums).

4.India is the country which has issued highest number of stamps for religious leaders. So, people like Ragupathy can do wonders through stamp collections. They deserve big awards.

5. Now millions of stamps are available from over 200 countries. So Thematic collection is becoming popular. No one collect stamps of all the countries. They go for one a Theme or One Country and collect stamps.

6.Stamp studies should be made available in every university. Doctorates should be awarded to researchers. M.Phil courses must be available.

7.School syllabus should include stamps and coins.

8.India with coins from sixth century BCE and stamps from 19^th century has huge potential in this area.

9.Above all , Government museums should preserve all its STAMP and COIN treasures in good conditions.

10.When I collected stamps in India they started becoming brown under humid conditions. When I came to London all stamps remained in its pristine beauty. So Indians must be taught to preserve their stamp collection under different climatic conditions. Institutions can run courses for this.

11.Stamps give great pleasure, good knowledge and good returns on the invested money. I have been collecting stamps for over fifty years. Whether it returns your money or not, you learn a lot and you get great pleasure. You may call it the ‘King of Hobbies’ or the ‘Queen of Hobbies’.

Here is Ragupathy’s Profile and Wish

Sir,

I was born as a Hindu. I want to do any small service to Hinduism and so I

have selected new way of stamp collection on Hinduism.Why this?

Because Hinduism has  huge number of books, media’s and religious organisations extra throughout the world .The translation

of Vedas are also made by  Maxmuller a German born 

philologist.

 I have already expressed my ambition about the issue of stamps

on Hinduism by India post ( Om,Vedas, Vilvaleaf festivals such as

Ganesh chaturthi, Ramnavami and Krishnastami). For all these

things other countries issued stamps ; My attempts to bring this

to the present government failed.

So I made a humble request to you to highlight this matter in a daily

news papers in small column in London so the subject will reach the Government easily and the Government will also realise

the importance of such stamps.

Profile:

My first appointment as Record Clerk in Panchayat Union Office

Kivalur in 1961. Till 1972 I have served by promotions in various

posts. And then only I have transferred to Nagapattinam

and stayed at Nagapattinam till date. Lastly, I have served

as Personal Assistant to Collector Tiruvarur and retired on 1999.

I will speak freely in Tamil only.   I don’t know Hindi or Sanskrit.

With the help of some scholars I have done the work.

Thank you

N.Ragupathy, Nagapattinam,

Tamil nadu, India.

–subham–

I have photocopied it from his pdf . So quality is not that good.