One small stamp for man, one giant leap for mankind

On the 40th anniversary of the historic moonwalk, tax consultant Suresh Shivnani is over the moon about his 1969 commemorative stamp

On the 40th anniversary of the historic moonwalk, tax consultant Suresh Shivnani is over the moon about his 1969 commemorative stamp

Suresh Shivnani (55), a tax consultant from Sion, had a big reason to dig into his stamp collection yesterday.
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He has in his possession, a stamp issued by the US Postal Service to commemorate Neil Armstrong the first man to step on the moon on July 20 1969.
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STAMP OF PRIDE: Suresh Shivnani shows the rare stamp issued by the US Postal Service on July 20, 1969, to commemorate Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon.

It took a newspaper report about the 40th anniversary celebrations of Armstrong's historic moonwalk today to remind Shivnani an ardent philatelist of the stamp he had purchased in 1984 from the Indian American Society
at Fort.
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No TV

"I was 13 when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. There was no television then, and I remember reading about the event in newspapers.
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I am thrilled to find the stamp and relive the memories of looking out for such rare stamps," said Shivnani

Shivnani, however, regrets that not many youngsters have taken up stamp collection as a hobby. "There used to be long queues at post offices when first-day covers or commemorative stamps were released.

Mahatma Gandhi stamps were most famous and collectors used to wait for hours to get their copy," he added.
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Old is gold

Shivnani said that his son shared little interest in his hobby. "I always tell him that even if he doesn't pursue the hobby, he should take care of my collection that comprises several old stamps.

These days everyone tries to earn a quick buck by auctioning old stamps," added Shivnani.

Shivnani was unable to watch the moonwalk in 1969, but will definitely view the anniversary celebrations on TV today.

"It feels great to have a piece of the past and reminisce the simpler times when a simple moonwalk excited us so much," added Shivnani.

Forty years ago, history was made

On July 16, 1969, the US mission Apollo 11 landed on the moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr Armstrong commanded this first manned landing.

When Armstrong put his foot on the moon, he said: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The astronauts had several tasks to accomplish during extravehicular activity (EVA) operations while on the surface.

Time permitting, they planned to collect lunar samples, deploy several experiments, and examine and photograph the lunar surface.

The EVA lasted approximately 2.5 hours and all scientific activities were completed satisfactorily.