ALLAHABAD: The life of Mahatma Gandhi has been depicted in stamps brought out by 150 countries in the world including Great Britain, the country against whom the father of the nation had valiantly fought against for India's independence.
Interestingly, Bapuji happens to be the first person outside the British Royal family to be depicted on English stamps. Britain had previously issued stamps that bore pictures of members of the royal family alone. In an attempt to comprehend the Gandhian philosophy and popularity through stamps, a pulse trader from Allahabad has collected around 800 stamps from all over the world.
The collection of Anil Rastogi boasts stamps from 150 countries including Iran, Rome, Syria, Morocco, America and Uganda and Mauritius among others. The 50-year-old trader who began collecting from the age of 15 possesses other memorabilia like first-day covers, logos, tokens, coins, postcards, labels, playing cards and mobile cards issued by various countries in memory of the Mahatma.
Rastogi's 'treasure' also contains Bhutanese plastic stamps, 'Leader of twelfth century' stamps by the Federation of Micronasia, the Dominican stamps celebrating 40 years of Human Rights where Gandhi is shown along with Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein and Roosevelt.
The set of 10 stamps issued by South America includes Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel too. A Turkmenistan stamp features Bapu and Indira together commemorating 50 years of Indian Independence.
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