At 63, a journey back to ink & pen

At 63, I witnessed a pen exhibition for the first time in my life. Until my friend Ravi Padi, an IRTS officer with a keen interest in music, literature, and Indian and international cinema, told me about it, I had never imagined that pens could have exhibitions of their own.

The Hyderabad Pen Show at FTCCI, Red Hills, Lakdikapul was a revelation to say the least and the adding to the fun was good company with senior journalist Nalajala Kondaiah and noted designer and documentary filmmaker Dr TLN Swamy. The three-day show, organized by the Hyderabad Fountain Pen Club, featured 24 exhibitors from the writing-instrument world.   

Pens made of wood, aluminium, steel, copper, brass, precious-looking finishes and other materials were displayed in astonishing variety. Prices ranged from affordable to luxury levels. Pens ranging from Rs 50 to as high as Rs 7.80 lakh were on display.

For me, however, the real value was not the price. Every pen brought back a memory—ink bottles, ink fillers, leaking pens, stained fingers and shirts, and the blue, black, green and red inks of school and college days. Before examinations, pens were cleaned, checked twice and an extra one carried along, just in case.

I learnt that nibs come in different sizes and serve different purposes. There are specialised script nibs too. Even inks have evolved beyond the colours I knew; some can produce striking colour variations on paper. The show also features workshops on fountain pens, cursive handwriting, calligraphy, sketching and ink swatching.

Walking among hundreds of pens, I realised that the fountain pen has not disappeared. It has simply moved from being an everyday necessity to becoming an object of craft, collecting and nostalgia. For a few hours, I was transported from the digital age back in the world of ink.

-Valeti Gopichand