Starmark is undoubtedly a “go-to” destination for bibliophiles, stationery lovers, and increasingly, fountain pen and ink aficionados in Kolkata. Naturally, when Starmark celebrates its 25th year, the city sits up to take note. As someone who has spent half my life browsing and buying from the different Starmark outlets, I
The Southern states are by far, way ahead in terms of fountain pen use. Pen turners too are easier to come by in these parts. Yet, none of the southern cities – Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad included – have pen shows that they can call their own. New Delhi does
Steampunk is retro-futuristic and anachronistic tech-based aesthetics, drawing deeply on steam-powered elements of the 19th century – of the Victorian era, of the Wild West – which had begun as a subgenre of science fiction. Though the term Steampunk was coined by science fiction author K W Jeter as late
Dr. Bibek Debroy, the economic advisor to the Prime Minister, inaugurated the 3rd chapter of The India Pen Show (TIPS III) in Mumbai as he chaired the Inaugural Session. Present on the dais were Kabir Bedi and Dipti Naval among a host of achievers from fields as diverse as pediatric
The Click Renaissance is turning out to be one hell of a range. The stormed into the market with eye-candies and even before the excitement could subside, have started adding different line extensions that are taking it to a whole new level. The basic philosophy that is driving the Click
Nav Yug from ASA. Ever since I did the YouTube video about ASA Nauka Pens, where I had shown a glimpse of a “Red pen” that Subramaniam has lovingly made for me, I have been inundated by requests to write about the pen, which seems to have set the imaginations
The Montblanc, to the ordinary pen lover, is near synonymous with the 149 Meisterstück – black, larger-than-life, with a filling system that reflects the unending quest for perfection, nibs that define penmanship, with the snow-capped peak of the Montblanc mnemonic capping it all. It will not be an exaggeration to
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
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
Galen. Claudius Galenus, was such a prolific writer and such vast was his contribution in the field of medicine, that for centuries at an end, the philosophy of medicine was termed Galenism. Born in Pergamum, an old Greek city on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, or present-day Turkey, in
The mottled ebonite eyedropper fountain pen is as resplendent of the magnificence that Indian craftsmanship was, as perhaps the Charminar in Hyderabad and just as iconic. I refer to the Charminar and to Hyderabad for a reason – the hand turning of fountain pens was elevated to a form of
My father Mehmet Kamil was a bibliophile of the staunchest kinds. The book was his window to the world – his speeches of freedom, his best friends, his life. Hailing from a middle-class family and growing up in Turkey, the road that was to lead him to fortune and fame
