Siliguri, Sept. 2: A three-day philately exhibition is scheduled to begin in Darjeeling from September 18.

Organised by the postal department, the exhibition, titled Kosheli (meaning gift in Nepali), will feature stamps from the country and around the world.

One can feast one’s eyes on over 25,000 stamps at the exhibition which will be held in the Darjeeling Gymkhana. Visitors can also participate in various contests at the venue. A collection of more than100 stamps, exclusively on West Bengal, will be the biggest draw of the exhibition.

Postmaster general of north Bengal and Sikkim John Samuel said: “Philatelic exhibitions were held earlier too, but not on this scale. This is a district-level exhibition and there will be more than 25,000 stamps on display.”

Rare and unusual postage stamps will be the mainstay of the exhibition.

“The department of postal exhibits will put up an exclusive collection of more than 100 postage stamps that depict West Bengal and its history and famous personalities. Philatelists from all over the state, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Orissa and Assam, will display their collection of rare postage stamps,” said Samuel.

Another aspect of the exhibition will be the competitive section. Participants in the contest can compete for gold, silver and bronze medals.

“School and college students and the general public can enter the competition. Their individual collections will be displayed in the competitive section and they will be judged by our panel of judges,” Samuel said.

For those with a creative bent of mind, there will also be opportunities to design a postage stamp. On September 18, a stamp designing contest will be held for schoolchildren. The theme : My Town and My Village.

“The entries which qualify in the district round will compete at the national level and if they are selected there, a postage stamp with the winning design will be brought out from Delhi,” Samuel said.

On September 19, schoolchildren can showcase their skills in a letter-writing contest and an elocution contest.

Coinciding with the occasion, cover letters will issued from Darjeeling. The cover letters will depict Darjeeling tea, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and Darjeeling tourism. Greeting cards depicting the various colourful aspects of Darjeeling will also be printed.

“A similar exhibition will also be organised at Cooch Behar from November 7 - 10, coinciding with the Rashmela festival, which is very popular there,” Samuel said.

The postal department is also planning other festivals.

“A post-office festival will be organised in Siliguri which will also have a string of exciting programmes,” Samuel said.