The calendars are available for ₹ 400 each from the philatelic bureaux of the Bengaluru General Post Office and the main post offices of Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Belagavi. The e-version can be downloaded for free. | Photo Credit: Special Editing
India Post Karnataka Circle, in association with #ReclaimConstitution, has come up with a one-of-a-kind augmented reality calendar with the theme ‘Constitution of India – A philatelic journey’.
Each month of the 2025 calendar shows postage stamps that correspond to the Constitution of India and its formulation. Adding an interesting layer to it, the calendar offers an interactive experience by overlaying 3D content related to key moments in Indian history on each page. All he needs to do is scan the pages using his phone to see the audio and visual content of Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ or Ambedkar’s Constituent Assembly speech appearing on the page in real time.
First of its kind
“This is the first time we’ve come out with AR-enabled calendars,” said S. Rajendra Kumar, postmaster general, Karnataka circle. “The 75th anniversary of the Republic of India will be celebrated. We have made extensive use of postage stamps issued from related subjects, and the materials used are mainly from the archives of the film section,” he added.
An attempt to remember the efforts of drafting the Constitution, Kumar notes that the calendars are also a reminder to the framers of the Constitution. The design and editing of the calendar was done by #ReclaimConstitution.
For Vinay Kumar of #ReclaimConstitution, it was also an attempt to revive the waning interest in philately with the help of technology. “It is the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Constitution. Usually the post office issues stamps for these important events. But, in the past few years, the hobby has become less popular among people,” he said.
Noting that it was one of the most popular things when he was growing up, he remembered how stamps helped to learn beyond what was written in books. “Incorporating technology into these calendars is an effort to encourage people to rethink stamps and return their attention to them,” he said.
Collecting Constitution stamps
Stamps as they are a repository of information, Mr. Kumar was in the process of collecting all the stamps related to the Constitution of India. The idea was to try and create something different with them to create more awareness, he noted.
As the New Year was around the corner, he thought it might be a good idea to organize them into a calendar even though there were no plans to print it at the time. He then talked to the Chief Post Master General who was impressed with the idea and promised to publish the calendars.
“Previously they were publishing postcards with AR. So, this comes as an extension of that,” said Mr. Kumar. The technology was developed with the help of Bengaluru-based AR apps developer FlippAR.
The calendars are available for ₹ 400 each from the philatelic bureaux of the Bengaluru General Post Office and the main post offices of Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Belagavi. The e-version can be downloaded for free.
Published – January 06, 2025 10:19 pm IST