India’s frozen footnote in Antarctica to come to life at Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias Centenary lecture

Goa Khabar : Exactly 40 years after India set up its first post office in Antarctica, a Goa-based scientist and a former top official of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), will train the spotlight on India’s philatelic connection with the southernmost continent.

On May 24, the state capital’s century-old Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias will host a talk by Dr. M.R. Ramesh Kumar, retired chief scientist at NIO, on the lesser-known postal trail that links India to Antarctica. Titled ‘Connecting Antarctica through Philately,’ the talk is part of the Club’s yearlong centenary celebrations and will be held from 6 pm to 7 pm at the club’s Miramar premises.

Dr. Kumar, a former president of the Goa Philately and Numismatic Society, has been collecting stamps for over five decades. His award-winning collection—over one lakh stamps and first-day covers, includes postal memorabilia from India’s first scientific expedition to Antarctica in 1981, led by Dr S Z Qasim. That expedition reached Antarctica on January 9, 1982 and helped establish India’s long-term presence on the southernmost continent.

Interestingly, Goa shares an interesting relationship with Antarctica. India established its first Post Office in Antarctica at Dakshin Gangotri in 1984, under the Goa Postal Division. South Goa’s Vasco town is also host to the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, mandated with basic and applied research in various disciplines and themes of polar and ocean sciences.

“The session will feature an 1-frame philatelic exhibit dedicated to Antarctica, as well as a rare video from the 1981 voyage that captures the stormy sea corridors known to sailors as the Roaring Forties, Furious Fifties and Screaming Sixties,” according to Sanjeev Sardesai, chairman of the Club’s centenary celebrations committee.

Through a blend of stamps, archival footage and field anecdotes, Dr.  Kumar will trace how India’s postal network helped document and preserve milestones in the country’s Antarctic journey, long before the advent of social media.

Founded as a beach shack nearly a century ago, Clube Tennis de Gaspar Dias has grown into one of Panaji’s oldest and most prestigious social institutions. Its centenary celebration this year includes a curated lineup of lectures, games and competitions for its 2,400-plus members. The lecture session by Dr. Kumar is open for all.