J’s La Quill Museum of Handwriting, Lettering, Calligraphy & Writing Instruments!

J’s La Quill a shrine to all things Calligraphy, the world’s first.

Prof K C Janardhan has done it again. Yes, we are talking about the same man who wrote his own Passport by hand, has taught the art of handwriting to British and has honed his skills to such perfection that there are few who can even think of matching his strokes. He has, now established the world’s first of its kind Museum of Handwriting, Lettering, Calligraphy & Writing Instruments in Bangalore!

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A stone’s throw from Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, the Museum is located in Prof Janardhan’s ancestral property, a part of which has been converted to house the artefacts that the Maestro has painstakingly collected from around the world and includes a rare collection of Quills, Nibs, Pen Holders, Inkwells, Fountain Pens, Felt pens, Ball & Roller ball pens, Ink Bottles of various Shapes and Colours, Paper weights, table accessories and writing tables. That the collector himself has created and curated the Museum is obvious, as is the tender loving care with which the antique pieces have been restored and the great amount of thought that has been devoted can be seen in every artefact and in every nook.

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Unique as it is in the world, it will be wrong to label J’s La Quill merely as a Pen and writing Instruments Museum for it also houses a in-house Calligraphy Studio – for Calligraphy productions; a Training Centre with a very unique ambience of visual, auditory & olfactory appeal; a Library with  rare books and journals on Handwriting and Calligraphy; a collection of Pen catalogues, carefully retained  collection of student’s files and samples of their handwriting before and after the Maestro’s personalised training; and a Gallery to show case Calligraphy and other Art Productions of the Maestro and his Students.

A Publishing House, exclusively publishing books on Handwriting, Calligraphy and other related subjects, is also housed in the Museum. A proposed Gift shop which will offer rare pieces created by Prof Janardhan to be collected by visitors as mementos is on the anvil.  

At the entrance of “J’s La Quill” is the street nameplate “Baker Street” made famous by Sherlock Holmes- a mute nudge, that the Handwriting & Calligraphy maestro hails from one of the oldest family of Bakers in Bangalore and is a Questioned Document Examiner – an expert in Forgery Detection, to put things straight.

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The first floor of J’s La Quill has been fondly christened “Downing Street”. Since number 13 is missing in the street in London, it is represented here. The second floor, entrance of the Museum, Library, Gallery and the Training Centre has similarly been named after the Houses of Parliament. Here, pleasant fragrance and western classical music greets one, even as it stimulates the right brain to relax.

The basic theme of the J’s La Quill is European, starting with Italian as Italic handwriting forms the base (Roman) of what is taught by the Maestro. It then moves on to the British Isles because, it was they who had brought the English language to India. It will not be out of place to mention Prof Janardhan’s connections to UK for his research work on this subject and as a Rotary International’s Cultural Ambassador to UK when he had also become the first and the only Indian to teach Power Handwriting to the British.

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The detailing, the colours used in the interiors; the displays, the sign boards, the designs; the music that flows; the aroma that emanates; the exotic green teas that are served; the exercises that are practiced to perfect the skills in handwriting and calligraphy are all carefully aimed to appeal to the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and the kinesthetic senses, to culminate into an out of the world experience.

It is a matter of pride for every Indian as an Indian calligraphy maestro has created such a world class marvel, which is slowly and steadily growing in its collections and attracting visitors – from around the world. Dignitaries like the Italian Ambassador His Excellency Lorenzo Angeloni; Hon. D.H. Shankaramurthy, Chairman- legislative Council of Karnataka; British MP Hon. Virendra Sharma from Ealing Southall, London; Simon Brier, the chief of United Kingdom Trade & Investment in Bengaluru; Marc Drew – Sr. Vice President Rolls Royce; Hon. Dominic McAllister, British Deputy High Commissioner and many others have already graced the museum with their presence.

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Prof Janardhan insists that a word of sincere appreciation and deep gratitude is appended for those, whose timeless emotions are showcased in the J’s La Quill through their contributions: Rajnath Kamath, for fountain pens, inks, books and other curios; the Rangarajans of erstwhile Lindner & Co., in Bangalore for Various British Nibs that are 100 plus years old; Sreenath Vishnu of Rytol Pens; Ashok Jain of Pen Club of India; Prof. Y. Pitkar of Travelling Inkpot; Yusuf Mansur and Dr. Sreekumar of Krishna Inks, who deserve special mention.

Fountain pen makers from around the world should be looking forward to showcase their products as the Museum provides them with a unique opportunity where they can attract the eyeballs of the aficionados apart from reaching out to the scholars and students seeking Prof Janardhan’s guidance.

For More information visit: www.jsquill.com

For More stories on Prof K C Janardhan:

Experiences Extraordinaire: K C Janardhan

KC Janardhan – Writer of the Lost Arc

The Arduous Journey of a Self-made Professional Calligrapher