Peary Mohan Bagchi or P.M. Bagchi (1850 (?) -1917) was the son of Pran Gopal Bagchi, a “Bhanga-Kulin” Brahmin of the Kashyap-para locality in Shantipur of Nadia District of undivided Bengal. Peary Mohan was a treasurer at the Krishnanagar/ Kishnagar Rajbari (palace) during his initial working days. He had five
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
Jamini Roy line of inks – a one of its kind tribute to the master and his art is being created by Sulekha. The yearning to reflect the voice of the people, to discover the “idiom of its own” has been a constant struggle for Sulekha, since its inception as
Croxley Pens from Dickinson – as pucca as a sahib can be, stiff upper lip, understated elegance et all. British fountainpens do not, in general, stir the kind of excitement in stylophiles that German, Italian or even Japanese pens do. A pity, actually, considering the glorious legacy that British pens
S Mordan & Co – the story of a sterling dip pen in Calcutta. The Dip Pen, also called the nib pen, was the predecessor of our fountainpens. Dip pens, in their turn, had started becoming popular in the early 19th century when they had replaced the quills and in
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
Anupam Bharatiya – the fountain pen with the Nawabi Tehzeeb, refinement that was Anupam, yet Bharatiya! My search for fountain pens that were made in India, the desire to document their history and add some to my collection wherever possible, takes me to myriad places. Sometimes the cache of
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
Fountain pen & Ink – the story of Calcutta’s intricate connection with their development, especially in the first half of the twentieth century, is a fascinating one that demands to be told, again, to the lovers of fountain pens. Nearly a hundred years on, most sources are as dry as
Hitesh Dodeja: of Parker Vectors and the art of gifting a-la Awadh! I have been collecting fountain pens for more than three decades now. And like all collectors I need just an excuse to rattle off even the most insignificant details about my pens – where they were acquired, the
