India-made pens. They fascinate me, for they are my reigning passion, the one end that justifies all means. I have spent so many decades of my life in their search – seeking them out, collecting them, getting the old dilapidated ones restored, compiling their stories, learning about their legacies, and
Yellow. It is the colour of happiness, and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine and spring. Yellow roses are supposed to symbolise friendship and are often given to loved ones as a way to bring joy and cheer. Religious iconography from around the world are full of yellow hued symbolism and I
Epitome Pens, Vinamra Tapadiya and a Fountain Pen designed by a 17-year-old that promises to churn the oceans of apathy. This is the age of innovative disruption. Of upstart start-up Davids that take on the full might of well-established Goliaths, and shoe-string their way to victory. This is the age
Flex or the Stub, which came first? Well, I can’t say for sure. Point is, cutting the quill at an angle to meet the specific requirement for writing and even making a slit in the tip to spread the tines, was relatively easy. From then on, to the steel nibs
Pricing, pricing and pricing – the holy trinity of buying foreign fountain pens Pricing of imported fountain pens is a thorny issue at its best, a contentious one leading to massive heartburns at its worst. Buying from the swank, authorized retail outlets with liveried assistants, gives one the scare
The nib, they say, maketh the pen, just like character maketh the man! Yes, we are talking of the shiny metal jutting out from the frontal end of the pen barrel which sucks the ink from the innards of the pen and through capillary action, deposits it on the paper.
A “Classic” is a forever song – an outstanding example of creativity, that defines its very genre. A Classic is also something that successive generations go back to, with an intention to interpret it with their sensibilities, freeze frame its timelessness as it were – to view eternity through the
Manoj Deshmukh makes the perfect storm for me! The Parker Duofold, many aficionados opine, is the ultimate icon. With its girth and height, its bright red-orange exterior and stunning looks, it must have been quite a rage when it was introduced for the first time in 1921. Priced pretty steeply
Opus 88 Picnic – no hanging rocks here. Many people do not know that Michael Hsu, in his earlier avatar, had been an OEM producer, supplying parts to many high-end writing instruments and had decades of experience to back the Opus 88 brand when it was finally launched. Needless to
