Introduction

Philately is the hobby of collecting stamps. Strictly, a philatelist is someone who has an interest or a liking for stamps (and related material), so you don't even have to be a collector to be a philatelist - but it helps! And it isn't just about stamps or even postage stamps. For example, Postal History is a popular area of collecting and study - in general terms this covers "routes and rates" - how a letter traveled to its destination, what it cost and the markings postal administrations along the way applied to it. In the 19th Century as transport and shipping services opened up (the railways in particular), the transmission of the post and the routes it took are in themselves social histories of that period. And of course there are postage stamps themselves, with all the myriad differences that can exist as to paper, watermarks, methods of printing, printers, shade and type of ink, perforation, gumming, usage, etc.

As a kid I was an avid philatelist! I collected a few thousands stamps from almost all corners of the world. Born and brought up in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, I hardly traveled outside my home town. The collection of stamps along with my geography atlas was my window to the world.

Stamps provided me valuable insights to the different countries, its history, heritage, culture, natural and geographical background. It was a constant reminder of my ambition to be an international individual.

Residing in Calcutta and especially being a child, my international reach was limited. I used all possible means to ensure that I had my inflow of stamps operational. First channel for me to increase my collection was my dad. Being a marine Engineer associated with Hong Kong based shipping company he traveled to remote corners of the world. However, the frequency of his post was not high enough for me to compete with friends. Thus to ensure that I could expand my collection at the fastest possible time, I realized that I would need to be associated with an International organization. It might sound funny or ridiculous, but I made friends with the nuns of the Missionaries of Charity managed to persuade them to collect the postal stamps from all the incoming mails. Within no time, my collections grew at an exponential rate.

After obtaining outstanding results in the class 10th examination from a Jesuit school in Calcutta, I was offered a scholarship by Singapore airlines to attended Junior College in Singapore. I was trilled as it was my first opportunity to realize my dream to be a global citizen.

In 1993 at an early age of 16 I left for Singapore where I studied two years of Junior College to appear for GCE A Level examination organized by the University of Cambridge, England. This was the first time I was exposed to people outside my culture - not only non-Indians but also Indians from different parts of India. Like me there were several other candidates from different parts of India who were offered the same scholarship. It struck me for the first time how vivid and culturally expanse India was. The folks from the south were so different from that of the North! The eastern cultures and traditions had a contrasting difference from the west. And off course I also started learning about the local Singaporean traditions which is a mix of Chinese and Malay.

This was followed by a Singapore government bursary to attended undergraduate school in Singapore to study Computer Engineering. During the course of my undergraduate studies, I availed the opportunity to participate in an overseas internship program at Loughborough, England. This was the first time; I was exposed to the western world! On arriving at Loughborough, I realized that the town was very different from what I had expected. A British midlands town, right in the center of English countryside, I was surrounded by farms and open land. The only major facility in the town was our Office – British Gas Technology Research Center and Loughborough University. Being a city person all my life, it took me a while to get used to the greenery. However, at the end of the internship, I was so fond of the UK, that I found it hard to go back.

On graduation, I joined Hewlett Packard in Singapore as a junior Engineer. Mobile technologies then were still in its infancy and had a promising business future. I proposed a new concept to enable mobile access of content and printing from mobile devices. The idea was soon filed for patent and a team was formed to productize the concept. Due to exceptional performance, I was promoted up the corporate ladder into a Senior Engineer and a project lead. At the end of 2002, I was requested by HP to come to the US to lead a group of Engineers working on mobile solutions.

To this day I have my collection of stamps. Usually, I review my collection to see the places I have visited. However, the value of philately has morphed from being a vision and a goal to a mark of my achievement.

(This was my ice breaker speech for Toastmasters CTM)