Rainbow Stamp Club: Stamp boy of 1957 children’s day stamp in INDIPEX 2011..

Press Clippings

Stamp boy, 62, wants to be philately ambassador

Fifty-four years ago, a photograph of an eight-year-old boy eating a banana was chosen by Jawaharlal Nehru to be put on a postage stamp. Shekhar Borker, the boy in the stamp, now a 62-year-old, wants to dedicate his life to promote Indian philately. Borker, who retired from Indian Aluminium Company in 2009, was invited by the India Post to address hundreds of school children at the World Philatelic Exhibition 2011 on Monday.

“I will be happy to be India Post’s ambassador to promote philately amongst children,” he said.

“He proposed to get associated with us as an ambassador for philately promotion among the children. We welcome him as an ambassador to promote philately,” said Subhash Barmma, general manager, World Philatelic Exhibition 2011.

“Philately is a cost-effective but extremely useful hobby through which one can easily learn about history, geography, scientific invention, art and culture,” he said.

A philatelist himself, Borker’s pride and joy is an album of stamps featuring him that have been signed by Nehru and Indira Gandhi. “This album is my prized possession,” he said.

The stamp with Borker on it, priced at 8 naya paisa, was released along with two others on November 14, 1957, to commemorate Children’s Day.

Borker is the only other living person, after Mother Teresa and a Kanpur girl (now in her 70s) Rita Malhotra, who has been featured in India’s postage stamps. The stamp with Borker on it has been featured Court of Honour from three stamps issued together in 1957. India Security Press, Nasik, displayed the stamp at the ‘Court of Honour’ zone at the exhibition.

- Subhendu Ray, Hindustan Times

City philatelist’s collection on airmails displayed in Delhi

PATNA: Eminent philatelist from the state capital, Pradip Jain, has made the country proud. For the last 30 years he has done extensive study in the field of Indian airmails. Currently, his prized collection of stamps and first covers has been put on display in New Delhi as a part of the civil aviation centenary year.
On February 18, 1911, the first commercial plane flew in India between Allahabad and Naini. This was also the world's first official airmail.
In the World Philatelic Exhibition-INDIPEX 2011, being held between February 12-18 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, Jain's collection has been invited for 'court of honour'. President Pratibha Singh Patil saw it on Saturday.
His collection 'Indian Airmails' Development and Operations (1911-1942)' has received acclaim and numerous awards the world over. He has authored a book by the same title, detailing his research, which was released by former president APJ Abdul Kalam in 2003.
To commemorate the centenary of airmail, he has donated from his collection a rare 1911 cover of world's first airmail flight to Smithsonian Museum, USA.
It was around 5 pm on February 18, 1911, when French pilot Henri Pequet loaded a sack of 6,500 cards and letters on a two-seater plane stationed at a polo field in Allahabad and soared into the evening sky. The flight to Naini lasted only 13 minutes and it covered a mere five miles. But history had been made. This was the world's first official airmail. Among the letters was one written by Motilal Nehru to his son Jawaharlal; some were addressed to England's King George V.
"President Patil showed keen interest in reading Motilal's letter to Jawaharlal which is on display in the exhibition," Jain told TOI over phone from New Delhi.
"The world's first airmail delivery flight would be re-enacted on February 18 by the Indian Post," Jain said. It will also issue a set of special stamps on this occasion.
Jain (58), a resident of Mithapur area of Patna, said French government will put up his collection on display from February 28, and then it would go to the US.