Rare British-era stamps with images of King George V carved into them, covers on events associated with Mahatma Gandhi and the golden jubilee of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay scaling the Mount Everest are part of an ongoing philatelic display in Aizawl.

First day covers (FDCs) commemorating the birth bicentenary anniversary of Louis Braille, stamps honouring the British royal family, notably the longest-reigning British monarch Queen Elizabeth II, well-known figures of Indian film industry and other topics have also been exhibited.

The district-level philatelic exhibition – Mizopex 2022, is hosted by India Post at the R B McCabe Hall of the historic Aijal Club in Aizawl, Mizoram from November 17-19.

A sizable collection of stamps, FDCs and other postal items have been displayed, including the celebration of 200th anniversary of significant landmark achievements of mankind.

November 19 marks the beginning of World Heritage Week, and this three-day philatelic event will include stamps on several heritage sites owned by India Post, such as the grand post offices in Mumbai, Lucknow, and Shimla.

The event is hosted parallelly with the International Tourism Mart (ITM) being hosted by the Ministry of Tourism in Aizawl from November 17-19. Most of these delegates coming from different parts of the nation have visited the exhibition.

According to a poster mounted as part of the exhibition, the first Mizoram Philatelic Exhibition in Mizopex was held at Aizawl on January 2003.

The exhibition has FDCs on the golden jubilee of the ascent of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the life of Mahatma Gandhi, a century of man’s first flight, and a special joint postal issue by India and South Africa on the 125th year of the Pietermaritzburg station incident of Gandhi and the birth centenary of Nelson Mandela, carrying a rare archival photograph of the station.

Other rare items on display include postage stamps bearing images of British monarchs King George V and his son King George VI.

The stamps bearing valuations of ‘one Anna three Pies’, ‘Nine Pies’, ‘Three Pies’ and ‘Half Anna’, and illustrated images of King George V who had visited India in 1911 for his grand Coronation Durbar in Delhi are today considered priceless items by collectors.

A section has been devoted to various commemorative FDCs issued to mark the marriage of the then Prince of Wales Charles with Princess Diana on July 29, 1981, by various countries such as the Bahamas, St Vincent and the Cayman Islands, bearing striking images of the couple.