Pen Love

Inked in India - Fountain Pens and a Story of Make and Unmake

Authors: Bibek Debroy with Sovan Roy

Year of publication: 2022

ISBN: 978-93-552-0564-3

Publisher: Rupa Publications India Pvt Ltd

Price: 595/-

Number of pages: 190

The first-ever documentation of all known fountain pen, nib and ink manufacturers in the country, Inked in India will be of great interest to the fountain pen aficionados and economic enthusiasts alike.

In the early 1900s, a Bengali doctor created the first Indian fountain pen in Varanasi. Despite this early start, foreign-made pens dominate the Indian market, with no notable Indian brand available to customers.

Published at the Deccan Herald. Thanks to the team there. And of course the Fountain Pen makers for the sheer joy in writing that they provide. 

The Fount of Imagination

Inked in India presents the story of the Indian presents the story of the Indian fountain pen - from the first pen made to the recent tax rate applicable on the pens. This journey of manufacture and sale of fountain pens is juxtaposed with the government policies affecting these pens.

The fountain pen journey in India has been generously sprinkled with stories. Amongst those using Indian fountain pens today there would be few who would not be aware to Deccan Pen Store, Ratnam Pens and Pen Co. The book tells us that Ratnam Pens was established in Rajahmundry in 1932 and a ‘local judge gave them a book on making fountain pens’ while Deccan Pens began when ‘a farmer from Allahabad got imported pens and started to sell them in Hyderabad’ and that ‘repairs slowly led to manufacture’. Pen Co today, like Banaras where it is located, ‘has modernized’.

It talks about men of letters and their tryst with fountain pens: Graham Greene, Mark Twain and Jawaharlal Nehru. Then, of course, there is Rabindranath Tagore who has a nib named after him. The Tagore nib is ‘adjustable nib, varying from flexible to firm, which is useful for sketching and calligraphy work’.

The book begins with a crisp introduction. The text is based on solid research and buttressed with foot-notes. It tells us how during the pre-independence times setting up of universities saw a spike in the manufacture and sale of fountain pen and when we got independence the fountain pen was used to draft our Constitution.Even after independence the fountain pens held an important space. Writing of cheques with ball point pens became acceptable only during 1962 and ‘over a period of time, government and legal documents and examinations came to accept ballpoint pens, which were more convenient’. This is also underscored in the snippets of the Rajya Sabha discussions.

It highlights numbers. Numbers of not very long ago. But numbers that are not easy to believe today when coming across people write with fountain pens is not common. During 1960’s, ‘There seem to have been around 250 enterprises making fountain pens nibs in Sattur alone’ or ‘In 1962 there were about 210 small units with an annual capacity of 47,65,000 pens’.

It answers a few questions. Like, why for an entire generation, especially during its school going days, fountain pens meant the China made Hero brand fountain pens. Pens that were neither expensive nor leaked. And raises a few questions – would the fountain pen scenario in India be different today had the policies taken a separate trajectory? Is the ball point pen only one of the reasons for the decline in usage of fountain pens? At a time when coming across people write itself is not common - how many of us use fountain pens today for day-to-day usage? Do these pens exist only as luxury items today? Can the fountain pen usage be revived?

The quality of pages and printing is high. The cover is eye-catching. However, the lists and names which appear and reappear over the pages hinder the reading flow. Sketches of fountain pens or description of fountain pens in museums could have added value. But then, the authors may already have thought of a follow-up book. The authors, the Bengali duo, are good not just with fountain pens, but also with language. At one point they bring in a caveat, ‘one should not believe everything one reads’ while at another, to highlight business’ characteristics they write, ‘while small may be beautiful, beauty does not always have much to do with business and commercial decision making’.

Many love and admire fountain pens, some continue to use them, but a few are familiar with its multi-century journey in our country. This is where the book comes in. It takes you together on this journey. A journey that ends on hope and makes one want to get hold of a fountain pen and write!