Stamp jurist

The amount of time and effort he puts in his hobbies is evident from Gupta’s house,where one room is dedicated to his twin hobbies. Gupta is an expert on Gwalior state postage and one cupboard is stacked with the complete postage and philately collection of the erstwhile princely state. He has also authored a book on Gwalior’s postal history. As he tells a fellow collector over phone,it takes at least five hours to see his Gwalior collection. Besides,his room has other cupboards full of stamps,first-day covers,antique coins,particularly the punchmark ones.

Gupta says his hobby started when he was barely seven,with his elder brother as the guide. The family was based in Gwalior and hence,a special interest in the princely state. With professional training in conservation and restoration,and degrees in criminology that taught him to detect a fake,Gupta turned his hobby into a serious vocation,though,he says,till the time he was with the law faculty,teaching was his priority. Retirement in 2007 meant that he could devote all his time to philately and numismatics.

Having started participating in exhibitions across India and abroad since the mid-1960s,Gupta has won numerous national and international certificates and medals,including prestigious gold-plated Vermeil awards. Member of jury in India since 1986,it was only post-retirement in 2010 that he became an international philately jurist. He also founded the Delhi Philatelic Society in 1990.

“These days,with the quality of paper used to print stamps deteriorating,my concern is how to preserve them for future generations. Unfortunately,we generally do not treat stamps as works of art. While old paintings are restored,no such practice is seen for stamps,” he says.

Gupta certainly treats stamps as art and has made paintings using stamps,mostly the damaged ones. From a distance,these seem like any other wall hanging. It’s only at a closer look that one discovers hundreds of stamps that have been stuck together to create a beautiful art work.