The story of fountain pen making in India was one that begged to be told. Not because there is today a thriving community of fountain pen users in the country, a substantial portion of which will be interested in such a tale. Not because it is a legacy that very
As is only to be expected, ink is older than pens, not to speak of fountain pens. Across old civilizations, India, Egypt, China, Rome, ink was used, based on lamp-black and pigments with plant, animal and mineral origins. The history of those experiments and innovations is often forgotten. Something like
Nib Manufacturing in India – the past Knowing of my interest in fountain pens, several acquaintances have drawn my attention to a recent story done by BBC, on how India’s artisanal fountain pens are making a mark. It is a natural Indian proclivity to recognize something only when the West
The story of Kosuri Venkata Ratnam meeting Gandhiji and Ratnam pens (dated 1932-35) has been documented extremely well. Ratnam pens are celebrated. When President Ram Nath Kovind visited the Pablo Neruda Museum in Santiago on 31st March 2019, the press release by Rashtrapati Bhavan stated, “He gifted a special pen to the
Bibek Debroy is an economist and 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) and President, Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). He has worked in Presidency College, Kolkata (1979-83),
