The campus of St. John’s School was abuzz with a steady stream of students forming queues and walking past a delightful array of exhibits that raised their level of curiosity.

It was an exhibition of vexillology, the scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general, notaphily, the study and collection of paper money, numismatics, the study of collection of coins and philately, the study and collection of postal stamps.

The two-day event, organised as part of ‘No Teaching Only Learning’ slogan of the school management, raised a fair amount of curiosity and excitement among students. “The idea is to provide a platform to the students to get adequate exposure to a treasure trove of knowledge. Our endeavour has been to groom the students into rounded personalities by adopting a practical approach while imparting lessons in the classroom,” said T. Suman Thyagaraj, secretary and correspondent of the school.

The main exhibits included collection of rare coins, currency notes and stamps for 200 countries. Guitar-shaped coins of Somalia, gold foil currency of China and ancient currency of Russia (1898) were some of the highlights.

A vivid depiction of the evolution of Indian National Flag (1857 – 1947) was the cynosure of all eyes at the venue.

“I am sure by mere viewing these, one can feel a sense of patriotism. We intend to motivate the children, youth and the adults towards this hobby and flourish in life with glorious colours,” said Mr. Thyagaraj.

The school principal, staff and others participated.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Vijayawada / by P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – July 10th, 2014