The 4th Inked Happiness Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred upon Prof Yashwant Pitkar in a befitting ceremony at the Triguna Sen Auditorium of the Jadavpur University on July 31st, 2022 by Suvobrata Ganguly the man behind the Inked Happiness. Applauding Prof Pitkar as he gracefully accepted the award were a galaxy of stars from the Fountain Pen and Ink horizon – Prof K C Janardhan, Dr Sovan Roy, Sudhir Kalyanikar, Yusuf Mansoor, Hiro Motwani, Arun Singhi, Kaushik Maitra, Apurba Kumar Panda and Atul Koirala. The Award was presented by communication strategy weavers Content Crankers in Association with the legacy brand, ink-makers to the Nation, Sulekha. Suparna Pathak, noted journalist, management expert and lifelong lover of the fountain pens, conducted the proceedings with his characteristic elan.
The unique program was organised by Inked Happiness, the only blog of its kind is dedicated to all things fountain pen and ink, to mark its 5th year of being. During this not so brief time, Inked happiness has not only curved out a niche for itself in the hearts of the fountain pen and ink aficionados, but has also undertaken a number of initiatives to popularize the use of fountain pens, especially among the young. It now has a second blog, Pen Lovers Kolkata, and is confidently upscaling its communication by aggressively growing in the digital world through its newly launched You Tube Channel.
After the felicitation of the three previous winners of the Inked happiness Lifetime Award, which are presented annually to a “life well inked” – Yusuf Mansoor, Sudhir Kalyanikar and Prof K C Janardhan – the trophy was presented to Prof Y Pitkar.
Prof Yashwant Pitkar is a distinguished author, academic and architect who is known as the “travelling inkpot” as he travels from one academic institution to the other with his globally acknowledged collection of writing instruments to revive the interest in fountain pens and inks among the students. His reigning passion is fountain pen designing.
This was immediately followed by a very engrossing presentation by Prof Pitkar in which he held the audience spellbound as he took them on a conducted tour of the fascinating world of fountain pens and inks.
Sudhir Kalyanikar, hailing from the world of information technology, a fountain pen lover and a collector who has been one of the prime movers in the collecting, restoring fountain pens and uniting the fountain pen lover’s fraternity. He is the moving force behind the Fountain Pen Association of India (FPAI), the first organised body of its kind in contemporary India. He is an acknowledged expert in the art of nib grinding, perhaps the most celebrated Nib Meister in these parts of the world. It is in this avatar that he made his presentation explaining to an awestruck audience not only how to take good care of their fountain pens, but also on how to address common issues, on how to improve the performance of their writing instruments.
Prof K C Janardhan, the Maestro, is perhaps India’s most celebrated handwriting, lettering and calligraphy expert then took the podium. What happened next was something that the audience was not prepared for, as Prof Janardhan’s onstage performance was as power-packed as his handwriting is. Having taught handwriting in all the major corners of the world, he conducts the hugely successful “7 elements of Handwriting”, snatches from which were shared with the mesmerized viewers. Prof Janardhan it will not be out of context to mention here, has established the only one of its kind Museum of handwriting, lettering, calligraphy and writing instruments in Bangalore. He is also associated with the most iconic fountain pen brand in the world.
Kaushik Maitra, the Managing Director of Sulekha Inks, the man behind the show, expressed his plans to set up a Handwriting Academy under the leadership of Prof Janardhan to address the pressing need of improving the ability of writing, especially among the younger generations.
PIANO – a organization representing the interests of Pens, Inks, Accessories, Notebooks and Organisers – was also formed, details of which will be shared once the legal formalities are complied with, Prof Pitkar and Prof Janardhan informed.
Atul Koirala, scion of the Koirala family had flown down from Kathmandu to represent the fountain pen and ink lovers of Nepal. He formally invited the assembled dignitaries to conduct similar programs in Kathmandu to help spread awareness about the obvious benefits fountain pens, inks and the art of handwriting in the mountain kingdom.
