• Members of the public admire Mr Patel’s stamp collection at Simba School in Ndola recently. Picture By GETHSEMANE MWIZABI

By GETHSEMANE MWIZABI  –
THE idea of stamp collecting has been called ‘the hobby of kings’ because several famous individuals have been avid collectors.
All across the world, collecting of stamps has been part of people of all ages who are interested in history, geography, art and world cultures. Stamps have been issued from postal services from all over the world since time immemorial.
Every subject one can imagine has been depicted on colorful stamps: Animals, sports, maps, cars, ships, and movie stars. No matter what one’s interest, there are stamps that will complement that interest. Stamp collecting could be anything you want it to be.
In Zambia, it is a pretty rare thing to collect stamps for a host of reasons. Chief among them is new generation, born in the information age, is addicted to cyber communication. Internet, which is the information highway of the 21st century, is a major preoccupation for young minds.
At a clink of a button, one is connected to everyone all across the world. The natural human anxiety for anticipation has vanquished as a result.
But plenty of stories and history can be picked from stamps, such as telling the Zambian story across 50 years.
Recently Kitwe based stamps collector Kamal Patel put up an exhibition at Ndola’s Simba School. It was all for the purpose of telling the Zambian story. Seeing the country from a stamp point of view brought lots of fond memories especially for people born pre and immediate post colonial era.
At 50, Zambia’s rich culture and heritage have been indeed under spotlight. Since October 1964, the country has grown in wealth, economy, political and social progress, and as a united nation.
Any type of growth has its associated pains—and it is public knowledge that Zambia has had a share of them.
Mr Patel believes stamp collecting is fun. It is a hobby that both young and old can do and enjoy. The stamp hobby can be enjoyed on any budget – or no budget at all.
Collecting stamps keeps one’s mind active and inquisitive, increases one’s knowledge of places and events, relieves the stress of the day, and offers social opportunities.
“There is plenty of history that can be learnt from stamps. Children needs to be told as they grow, understand their heritage, “said the introverted fervent stamp collector.
Today’s stamps are functional—they are a critical part of the mail service.
But once upon a time, not too long ago, stamp collecting was a hobby of passion and dignity.
It was a pastime wrapped in romance for stamps are windows into the past.
They are artistic symbols of the country’s culture and legacy. In their tiny form, they capture the essence of Zambia.
Until about 20 years ago, the great artist Gabriel Ellison—who designed the Zambia national flag and coat of arms—designed most of the country’s stamps.
Since then, the postal service engaged a company to design the stamps, many of which were created with the help of computer-generated designs.
For decades, these stamps have expressed the history, culture, landscape, and natural resources of Zambia. And I have been collecting these stamps for decades.
The exhibition done in conjunction with Simba International School was Patel’s personal collection.
It contained some of the most precious and rare Zambian stamps, in addition to some of the most popular and widely recognized.
It was indeed Zambia’s history seen from stamps point of view.
“These stamps are incredibly important to me for many reasons. One by one, they are symbols of different parts of our national identity. All together, they communicate a special Zambian story,” he said.
Also, on another level, the special stamp exhibition represented how minorities have considered Zambia to be their home, and how it is helping to preserve the great national heritage. After all, Zambia’s first stamp designer, Gabriel Ellison, was also a minority.
Going the through the exhibition, it was like taking an emotional trip down memory lane. It was like a journey.  The year was 1964 when Zambia was born after a spirited independence struggle from Britain.
From 1964 to date, Zambia has evolved a host ways.                                                                                                       The audience was not looking at the hobbyist’s passion but rather at a tapestry of respect and honor for the great country of Zambia.
Of course, stamp collecting today is a dying pursuit, and electronic media is replacing much of the postal service. Nonetheless, nothing can diminish the timelessness and beauty of these stamps. And representing the board for Simba International School, Abha Patel said, “It is so important for the next generation to learn of the history and culture that came years before them”.
She said most the young generation, have never written a letter. True, they have never seen a stamp and they certainly do not know the excitement and anxiety, or the disappointment of not receiving that much anticipated letter or post-card from a loved one.
Yes today’s social-media etiquette, or lack thereof, leaves very little to the imagination. ‘So and so’ has checked-in at Johannesburg Airport on their way to Dubai and is eating or drinking at ‘such and such a Bar’!  As Ms Patel would ask, “who really cares?”
Nevertheless, people still feel the incessant need for everyone to know where someone is and what they are doing at any given time.
Now, tell that same youngster to write a letter or send a post-card to his or her grandparents, or write an application letter for a job, it would be tragic definitely.
Ms Patel thanked the stamp collector for giving the opportunity to children to learn some history through stamps.
The exhibition was open to the public. Pupils from all over Ndola, had chance to see Zambia through stamps.
Although in tiny pieces of paper, stamps indisputably hold the incredible romance, charm, and culture of Zambia.
But who in the world is Kamal Patel?
He was born in 1967 in Kabwe, formerly Broken Hill. His moved to Kitwe in 1969, he has been there since.
He attended Kitwe Primary school, then moved to Lechwe School and then did his secondary education at Kitwe Boys secondary school and there after joined the family business.
Stamp collecting for him started as a small boy’s hobby.
Back in the seventies, there was no such thing as DSTV Chanels or free to air chanels. Life was simple. What you saw is what you got.  There where there no electronic gadgets for children to play with.
At school most of the kids collected something; it could be stamps, coins, rocks or marbles, which in turn made a great discussion issue or a competitive issue.
When he started it was mainly stamps that came on envelops, as letter writing was very common and there was no e-mail.
There after young Kamal started going to the philatelic counter at the Post Office and started buying Firstday covers, new issues and souvenir sheets.
It was in the early 80’s that he decided to concentrate on Zambia, but he had many gaps in his collection. To fill up those gaps he started looking around, asking friends and basically just putting the word out.
In that process there was a collection that was up for sale which had stamps from 1969 to 1985 which was a start for him to fill in the gap of the earlier years.  Thereafter, he passionately started to find more stamps and collections that where coming up for sale.
Then came the internet and that has really helped him to almost complete his collection.
He is driven by the belief that stamps as small as they are great story tellers.
“Stamps portray a lot of historic events, locally and internationally, they also portray our rich heritage of flora and fauna, our wild life wealth and mineral wealth. Our Zambian stamps also portray our rich culture on stamps that have the Zambian masks, cultural dances and art effects,” he said.
Ultimately, viewing an exhibition as the one Mr Patel displayed, was like sitting with an old man who was telling stories to his grand children, they sit there in amazement and wondering if it really happened or not but with stamps it is all there.
Without question, stamps are important means of communication and many countries, Zambia included have recorded important events, honoured worthy individuals, and described interesting facts through this medium.
Many historical facts, sometimes obscure, can be found on stamps. Stamps have artistic value for they are created by artists.