The 6th Inked Happiness Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented in a solemn ceremony on Saturday, the 27th of July at the Vivekananda Hall of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Golpark, Kolkata. The Award will be handed over by Swami Suviranandaji Maharaj, General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.
The recipient of the Award will be none other than the noted fountain pen connoisseur, economist, and author Dr Bibek Debroy.
Dr Bibek Debroy was educated in Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur; Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics and Trinity College, Cambridge. Presently, he is Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM); Chancellor, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, Government of Maharashtra and Chancellor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. He has worked in Presidency College, Kolkata (1979-83), Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune (1983-87); Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi (1987-93); as the Director of a Ministry of Finance/UNDP project on legal reforms (1993-98); Department of Economic Affairs (1994-95); National Council of Applied Economic Research (1995-96); Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (1997-2005); PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (2005-06); Centre for Policy Research (2007-15); Member, NITI Aayog (2015-19); and President, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) (2018-22);. He has authored/edited several books, papers, and popular articles and has also been a Consulting/Contributing Editor with several newspapers. He continues to write columns for many newspapers and magazines.
The program will be conducted by ace calligrapher, the Maestro, Prof K C Janardhan, who too requires no further introduction to the readers. He is the only man to have written his Passport, and his daughter’s birth certificate. A life-long crusader for lettering, handwriting, and calligraphy, he has established the J’s La-Quill Museum in Bangalore and has contested the parliamentary elections to spread the word about handwriting.
Kalam Club, a charitable trust floated in association with Sulekha will present the evening. Kalam Club has been working since its inception to popularise fountain pens, inks, and the art of handwriting among young adults, especially school-going children.
Inked Happiness, a blog dedicated to popularising fountain pens, inks, paper, and accessories, has since moved into the audio-visual space with its YouTube channel. Both the blog and the YouTube channel have been blessed with kudos by the global fountain pen and ink fraternity and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support.
It was not easy then and, it is not easy now – trying to talk about fountain pens and inks in a world in denial – deluged by endless digital waves and the menace of cheap use-and-throw plastic ball-point pens. That we have come so far, and still dream of being heard over the din created by vested interests is because of the incessant love and affection showered constantly by you. Thank You.
The Inked Happiness Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates lives that have been dedicated to furthering the cause of the fountain pen and ink. It is the only one-of-its-kind certainly in India, and perhaps, even in the world. Earlier the Award has been conferred upon Yusuf Mansoor, Sudhir Kalyanikar, Prof K C Janardhan, Prof Yashwant Pitkar, and Dr Sovan Roy.
For the last two years, Swadeshi Ink-makers Sulekha has been closely associated with the Inked Happiness Awards. In fact, the journey of Inked Happiness has been closely intertwined with the spectacular resurgence of Sulekha, which has scripted a come-back tale that is now the gist of study in several management schools. Sulekha has proved beyond doubt that with the right intentions, a brand that was long given up on, can not only be revived but, that it can, also spearhead the resurgence of the forgotten fountain pen and ink.
For more information: inked.happiness@gmail.com