Sale of postage stamps might have declined in the age of Internet but the hobby of collecting stamps is still alive among the old and the young.

Around 10 philatelists from across the state and one from Delhi gathered at Palash auditorium in Doranda to display their collections at Jharpex 2018, the third edition of a three-day philately exhibition, which kicked off on Friday.

Being organised by Jharkhand postal circle, both veteran and novice philatelists are participating in the exhibition.

Besides stamps, the exhibition also showcases special postal covers on Palamau Tiger Reserve, terracotta temples of Maluti village in Santhal Parganas, Itkhori in Chatra that is known for its confluence of religions, freedom fighters and chhau dance. Two more special covers on waterfalls in the state and Ulihatu, the birth place of tribal icon Birsa Munda, were also released on the occasion.

Another attraction at the exhibition were postage stamps on freedom fighters, great personalities, armed forces and different types of head gears.

City-based businessman Rajendra Khowal, who had been collecting stamps for over 15 years, felt happy to display his collection at the exhibition. “I have a good collection of few thousand stamps issued by different countries. One of my favourite is a stamp issued on the day our country got independence that bears a photo of the national flag,” said Khowal.

Among the participants, there were also two young girls, which indicates that philately is still a thriving hobby among the youths as well.

While Arzu Priyadarshini, a second-year student from Deoghar, has been collecting stamps for the last six years, Gungun Gupta, a Class X student from Hazaribagh, got interested in philately for the last two years.

Pointing to a series of 16 ten-rupee stamps issued in February 2017, Gungun said, “This is really interesting. As here we get to see different types of headgears used by people across the country like Maithili turban, hornbill warrior cap of the Nagas and bison horn cap of the Marias in Chhattisgarh.

“These stamps really inspire us to travel to different places and learn about the people in that area,” said Anushka Goel, a Class X student of Sarla Birla Memorial School, who was among the first visitors at the exhibition.

Competitions like letter writing, stamp designing and quiz will also be held for students on the occasion.