Four inks celebrating the different aspects of Kolkata’s favourite annual utsav, Boi Mela were launched at the 48th Kolkata International Book Fair by Suleka.
These inks were unveiled by Tridib Kumar Chatterjee (Honorary President, Kolkata International Book Fair), Shudhanshu Sekhar Dey (Honorary General Secretary, Kolkata International Book Fair), and Raju Burman (Hon. Joint Secretary, Kolkata International Book Fair.) Also present on the occasion was Kaushik Maitra, the Managing Director of Sulekha, Bappa Bhowmik, the artist who has illustrated the ink packs, noted poet Joi Goswami, among other dignitaries.
Suleka was founded by freedom fighters, brothers Shankaracharya and Nani Gopal Maitra to make inks for Mahatma Gandhi to write with and continues to be fuelled by the same passion of Swadeshi that had once made it the largest ink maker in India with a global footprint. After a long hiatus forced on it by socio-political reasons beyond its control, Sulekha is now making a comeback, spearheading the fight to popularise the use of fountain pens, inks, and the practice of handwriting.
“We want our children to take up the fountain pen” said Kaushik Maitra, “not only because it helps retain knowledge better, but also because it continues to offer the most sustainable writing option. We are thankful to the Publishers and the Booksellers Guild for supporting this initiative and look forward to a bright future handwritten with ink.”
Since it started participating in the Book Fair, Sulekha has emerged as one of the major attractions and has created one record after the after in terms of footfalls. “We are overwhelmed by the love and affection showered on this legacy brand by the people and would like to thank them all for their continued patronage.”
The 48th Kolkata International Book Fair, with Germany as the partner country, was inaugurated By Hon, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, and was held between January 28th and February 9th, 2025. It is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, Asia’s largest, and the most attended book fair, with a total footfall of over 2 million people.
Sulekha, under permission from the organisers of the Kolkata Book Fair – the Publishers and Booksellers Guild – created a pack of four exclusive inks to commemorate this unique annual event by looking at the Fair from four vantage points. The first is that of the bibliophiles, the book lovers. The second, is that of the art and artists who add their unique touches of creative genius. The third views the fair as a celebration of love in all its forms and finally personified as a festival of life. The four exclusive, limited-edition inks were in the hues of red, black, blue, and green and were an instant hit with the community, being sold out at the fair itself.
It will not be out of place to mention here that since it started participating in the Kolkata Book Fair two summers back, Sulekha has added a new dimension to the fair, and the location of its stall just across the Gate No 6 has become an important landmark, attracting an ever-increasing crowd of fountain pen and ink aficionados. “The way Sulekha is tirelessly working to repopularise the fountain pen and inculcate the habit of writing, especially among the young, drawing them back from their digitally exclusive world is highly commendable. It is not easy for any brand to make a comeback from the brink, more so with a product that was long given up for dead and I salute Sulekha’s indomitable spirit for not only coming back, but for doing a phoenix” said Abhijit Ghosh, an entrepreneur and socio-economic observer.
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