Common Man graces special cover

PUNE: A special cover of noted cartoonist R K Laxman's cartoons was released by the department of posts at the state-level philatelic exhibition 'Mahapex 2012', at the Balewadi sports complex on Friday. The cover was released by renowned cricketer Chandu Borde.
The cover, depicting R K Laxman's famous Common Man, is the first among the eight special covers to be released during the exhibition.The other special covers include the Kaas plateau, the Lavani dance, Vasudeo, sculpture of saint Meerabai, Big Foot Loutolim in Goa, Baba Amte, Ganjifa arts and Bharat Ratna Mahashree Karve's 'zopdi'.
"It's a moment of pride for me to release the special cover honouring R K Laxman," Borde said while speaking on the occasion. He also said the exhibition will provide a platform to stamp lovers, collectors and philatelists to exchange thoughts and ideas.
Others who were present on the occasion were actor Rahul Solapurkar and chief postmaster general of Maharashtra circle, Faiz-Ur-Rehman.
Elaborating on the exhibition, postmaster general of Pune division Col K C Mishra said Pune was holding the state-level philatelic exhibition after a gap of 25 years. The theme of the exhibition is 'stamp mania'. Stamp lovers, stamp collectors and more than 108 philatelists across the state have registered their participation.
He said the exhibition will remain open for members of the public between 10 am and 8 pm till January 16. Apart from the display of rare stamps, the exhibition also has a special counter of 'my stamp' wherein one can create an official stamp with his/her own photo and post it to the near ones. Such initiative is taken by the department for the first time in the Maharashtra and Goa circles, said Mishra.
Earlier, a special run on the occasion was organised for school students from Yashada to the exhibition venue.