The Pen Mahotsay, conceived by the Pen Club and organised by Kishaly Events & Advertisement at the ICCR, Kolkata on the 15th, 16th and 17th of April, 2002 has just concluded. It was the first Pen Show of its kind in Kolkata in foreseeable memory and I must begin by
Diptanshu, diehard aficionado of all things fountain pen, ink and stationery – talks about his passion, underscoring the need to use, as opposed to just collect. Morning creative strategy meeting between client and the advertising agency. The Client, one of India’s largest manufacturers of ball point pens, is naturally led
Pen Mahotsav – the first fountain pen show in the east is all set to set the high watermark, create the occasion penophiles were waiting for. Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune – after every pen show, we fountain pen lovers from the east vowed to hold the “mother of all pen shows”
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly had written Frankenstein, or, The Modern Promethius (published 1818) in a summer spent in Switzerland. She would later go on to describe that period in her life as the moment, “when I first stepped out from childhood into life”. While Frankenstein continues to remain, a genre defining
Kolkata has often been called the Cultural Capital of the Nation – killing fields for the Tagores and the Rays (and innumerable others) that have, and continue to dominate our perceptions. While the creative history of the city is mostly well-documented, what is less known is the story of the
Karishma, Kafka, Kalam-Kali and Kella She has fought the demons of depression, fountain pen in hand, and destroyed every one of them, her inky creativity, debilitating them all. This intense, often painfully numbing battle was waged, at a time when we were all locked indoors, helpless, as an unknown adversary
Bourbon. The House of Bourbons were a European dynasty of French origin. How they lent their name across the continent to America’s most potent brew is however, another story. Suffice to say, distilled from a mash made primarily of corn, Bourbon, to the world at large, is the American for
Inked Happiness turns four today. Like all birthdays, ours is a special one too, for it is on this day that we give away the Inked Happiness Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to the world of writing, writing instruments and the writers who wield them. The 1st Award had
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
Dr Sougata Halder writes a witty and informative travelogue – Panchmishali Africa launched. We all have childhood dreams we cherish. As we leave childhood behind, the rigours of adult life teach us how ephemeral most of these dreams are. I have observed a childhood dream come true at very close
Inks to celebrate independence, to revere the Mother Saint, to salute the language martyrs launched The “Samapran” range of inks – dedicated to thoughts, ideas, and causes was launched in a simple yet emotionally charged event at the Sulekha Factory on Saturday, March 20th. “Gorber 50” a deep green ink
Yusuf Mansoor giving final touches to his line of boutique FP cases in finest leather, fit to encase your treasured possessions! Every once in a while, life delivers one of those “unplayable” deliveries and all one can do, is look at the dishevelled stumps in disbelief, before walking back to
