India Post and #ReclaimConstitution brings out AR-enabled Constitution calendars
The Hindu
India Post Karnataka circle, in partnership with #ReclaimConstitution, has come up with a one-of-a-kind augmented reality-enabled calendar with the theme ‘Constitution of India – A philatelic journey’.
India Post Karnataka circle, in partnership with #ReclaimConstitution, has come up with a one-of-a-kind augmented reality-enabled calendar with the theme ‘Constitution of India – A philatelic journey’.
Each month of the 2025 calendar showcases postage stamps that resonate with the Indian Constitution and its making. Adding an interesting layer to it, the calendar gives an interactive experience by overlaying 3D content related to significant moments in Indian history on each page. All one needs to do is to scan the pages using their phone to see audio-visual content of Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ or Ambedkar’s Constituent Assembly speech popping up over the page in real time.
“This is the first time we have come out with AR-enabled calendars,” said S. Rajendra Kumar, chief post master general, Karnataka circle. “It is to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Republic of India. We have mainly used postal stamps released on related subjects, and materials used are mainly from the archives of the films division,” he added.
An attempt to recollect the efforts behind the drafting of the Constitution, Kumar notes that the calendars are also a tribute to the makers of the Constitution. The design and curation of the calendar has been done by #ReclaimConstitution.
For Vinay Kumar of #ReclaimConstitution, it was also an attempt to revive the declining interest in philately with the help of technology. “It is the 75th anniversary of the Constitution. Usually post office issues stamps for these milestones. But, in the past few years philately as a hobby is declining in popularity among people,” he noted.
Noting that it used to be one of the popular hobbies while he was growing up, he remembered how stamps helped to learn beyond what was documented in textbooks. “Integrating technology to these calendars is also an attempt to encourage people to think about stamps again and bring their attention back to them,” he said.
Stamps being a treasure trove of information, Mr. Kumar has been in the process of collecting all stamps related to Indian Constitution. The idea was also to attempt and create something unique with them to build more awareness, he noted.