Goa’s rich history has had an indelible mark on every aspect of daily life in Goa. Stamps are considered the ambassadors of the country to the world and Goa is not behind in showcasing itself when a letter or postcard travels thousands of kilometres to reach its destination. October 11 is celebrated as National Philately Day and with different releases taking place in the Maharashtra circle, Goa too has its participation. There are two special covers, on jackfruit based products and coconut based products that will be released at Tapal Bhavan, Patto, Panjim at 11am sharp as a celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. A new Postmaster General will be in attendance and a Philately Quiz for the school stamp clubs will be held at 3pm.
While the undercurrents of change in the world of stamp collection and philately can be felt in Goa, one book which is the first ever book to focus on post Liberation philatelic material is, ‘Philately with a Goan Connect’ by Rolando de Melo, a retired science teacher from Assumpta Convent High School, Sarzora, is the Secretary of the Goa Philatelic and Numismatic Society (GPNS). This first of its kind book to be published for the state of Goa, it has been appreciated by the Goa division of India Post and Maharashtra circle is referring to his book too.
Goa has a vast postal history. Prior to Goa, the postal service existed in Goa but the first stamp that was created in Goa was 'Natives of India (Goa),' in 1871. Yet, post Liberation, there was no proper documentation of the postal history till date. “I have written and published a catalogue on Goan Philatelic material post liberation till 2021, a useful handbook for the Goa centric philatelist. I had started a theme on post liberation material, to my surprise I found it difficult to get any literature. That’s the time, I contacted senior philatelists for information and even Goa Post did not have information. In the erstwhile era of Portuguese India, philately was quite advanced. There are many books of postal history of Goa (PI) written by international authors and there are international groups studying Goa's postal history. Post Liberation, all the changes or transitions were not documented, so with release of this book, I'm getting quite a lot of feedback, which I intend to include them in my future editions. Being a catalogue, continuous upgrade is a must, that's the reason this was a limited edition, first issue,” says Rolando, who started collecting stamps as a school boy in the 1970s.
Chinchinim based Rolando has a room dedicated only to his philatelic activities and every small piece of paper is highly valued and well preserved. His meticulousness in maintaining proper records and themes made it easier for him to work on the book, “It was after GOAPEX 2014, I thought of putting up philatelic material in exhibit form. That's when, I started collecting various items and studied the timeline and events in commemoration. In doing so, I collected quite a lot which eventually was the exhibit that won me a medal for GOAPEX 2019. It was at this stage I conceptualized towards a book, after classification, it ultimately realized into a catalogue. The present content covers time period from 1961-2021. All the covers and material featured in the book except for one percent for which due credit is mentioned,” says Rolando about his philatelic journey which culminated into this catalogue.
The catalogue features commemorative special covers of Goa, Special Cancellations, Permanent Pictorial Cancellations (PPC), slogans, literature, postcards, Carried Covers by Antarctic Expeditions from Goa, Special Covers in Goa along with rest of India, Special Covers released on Goa by other states and Goan theme at the national level. The book is great for stamp collectors, to collectors and Goa postal history students. “The response is good, mostly from collectors from various corners of India. I've promoted it through social media because of its nature. It's a hand book for collectors. Another important chapter in the book, is of Antarctica travelled covers. Some information is little hard to get, so also the material,” he explains.
As a Secretary of GPNS, he was shown a lot of support when it comes to information, “I got a lot of information especially from senior members. Other active members too would bring to my notice any rare items and help gather information, they have been and still are the tributaries for the information collected for the catalogue,” says Rolando.
He is next hoping to bring out the second edition probably by the end of 2023, with a number of new releases in Goa.