After his first train ride in the 1920s, Venkatraman went on to work with the Railways and has now authored his second book on the Indian rail network

In the late 1920s, five-year-old S. Venkatraman boarded a train for the first time from Madras to Vijayawada, along with his father. He was smitten.

In 1942, he joined the Railways. As a culmination of his love for trains, 91-year-old Venkatraman travelled across the country and has come out with a book on the Indian Railways.

Indian Railways – The Beginning up to 1900 is a reminder of the glorious past of the world’s largest rail network.

The book comprises 534 pages and 600 pictures, including some rare ones in black-and-white.

But launching the book was not an easy task for this retired railway employee.

Over the past two years, he has travelled to Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to collect details and take pictures of railways stations and trains.

“I also went to Bombay from where the first train chugged out. I travelled on nearly 350 trains and spent many lakhs compiling the book,” he says.

Mr. Venkatraman joined the Railways as a materials manager (stores) in Hubli and retired in 1982.

“I began writing the book more than three decades after retiring. My wife Lalitha, who was a lecturer of political science at Banaras Hindu University, was my inspiration. She passed away four years ago,” he says.

His first book Indian Railways at a Glance was a success. “The British had a separate coach for women, refreshment bars in stations and compartments with seating capacity of 200, way back in the 1880s. There were no toilets in trains then,” says Mr. Venkatraman, who feels that privatisation is the only way ahead for the Railways.

He says he is bringing out books on Railways out of sheer interest and not for profit. “My book should be a wake-up call to the railway administration that is now facing infrastructural deficiencies,” says Mr. Venkatraman, a member of the Indian Railway Fan Club.

He feels his efforts will be rewarded when more youngsters, especially in the Railways, learn about the heritage of our trains.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Vivek Narayanan / November 28th, 2014

P.R. Krishnan, who is into export business, considers some of his most profitable investments to be those made outside that business. For, his best returns have come from philately.

Mr. Krishnan, a senior philatelist in the city, says, gold purchased for Rs. 100 in 1949 will be worth around Rs. 79,000 now. However, stamps bought for the same amount in the same period will now be valued in excess of Rs. 3.25 lakh, more than four times that of the gold’s value. “Today, stamp collection is the best investment avenue for youngsters,” he adds.

Mr. Krishnan is the secretary of Philatelist Club of Coimbatore, playing its role with India Posts in organising a three-day philatelic expo “Kovaipex” that began here on Thursday.

Manju P. Pillai, Post Master General of Western region, says the expo is a quadrennial event that is being given a fresh impetus this time around. All the schools in the district have been invited to send their students for the expo. It features 144 frames holding thousands of stamps collected by many young and senior philatelists in the city.

Rare stamps such as the ‘Scinde Dawk’, the first Indian stamp released in 1852, ‘Sandalwood Scented Stamp of India’ released in 2006 and ‘Kurinji stamp’ released later in the same year to celebrate the legendary blossoms of Western Ghats also find a place of prominence.

U. Srinithish, Class VIII student of PSG Public School, says, “I have a personal collection of around 500 stamps that is something of a generational inheritance. They were passed down from my grandmother to my father and now, to me. Its value struck me only after visiting this expo.”

Competitions are also being held for the best collection. Students from various schools in the city visited the exhibition, which is being held at the Techno Park II and III on TNAU premises on Marudamalai Road. Entry is free for the expo, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It concludes this Saturday.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Coimbatore / by Srinithi Mahendran / Coimbatore – November 28th, 2014