PASSION-TURNED HOBBY

For Anura Samaraweera, philatelic journalist and member of the International Association of Philatelic Journalists, winning a gift pack of stamps at a competition was his inspiration to start stamp collecting at an early age. “There was a supplement called Lapati Pela in the Dawasa newspaper and I remember sending answers to a quiz,” recalled Samaraweera in an interview with Daily Mirror Life. “The gift pack included 25 stamps of Soviet countries. This is what inspired me to take up stamp collecting as a hobby. After some time I moved to Colombo for work and bought a stamp album. Thereafter I started collecting used stamps and also got involved in exchanging stamps as well.”

“There were colourful stamps from countries such as Northern Europe and there were different themes. Yuri Gagarin’s collection was one of them. There was a close connection with Soviet nations such as Russia, Bulgaria and stamps were being issued to mark various historic milestones. Back then we also had pen pals and did exchanges with them as well. Many were from Europe and Soviet countries,” he added.

With his interests, Samaraweera was determined to master his newfound hobby and started penning books on stamps back in 1984 while being employed at the Postal Department as a Postal Officer. As such, he has contributed many articles to children’s papers including Mihira, Bindu and Navayugaya. In future, Samaraweera aspires to take philately to newer heights by collaborating with philatelic societies in countries such as Japan, Taiwan and Philippines.