When former chief minister M Karunanidhi was arrested in 2001, with him on camera was his loyal companion, a handcrafted Wality 69T fountain pen, bought from the Chennai-based distributor, Gem and Co (Gama Pens). After the leader’s death in 2018, there was a deluge of orders for the pen, but by then, the parent company in Bombay had stopped making them.Gama Pens started manufacturing the same one under the name ‘Kalaignar pen’ and it found not just great sales, but iconic status. And it’s no coincidence that Kalaignar’s son and Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin uses the same fountain pen in official ceremonies.
The state, in fact, has a history of handcrafting pens. “Tiruvallur, a district adjoining Chennai, had a thriving cottage industry of pen making during the 1960s. There were at least 15 brands, all of which shut down later,” says M P Kandan, who runs Ranga Pens, the oldest handmade pen brand in Chennai. “But my father, M S Pandurangan, continued to make and improve on his handmade pens, using the Japanese technique.” Ranga Pens are now exported to 100 countries, and priced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000.
The value, says Kandan, lies in the materials used. A reason for the decline of the fountain pen was the possibility of ink smudges at any point of time, but the nibs used in these handmade pens do not smudge. “If you are flying at a high altitude in an aeroplane and the air pressure goes up, ink from a fountain pen usually starts leaking. But these nibs imported from Germany never smudge.” About 95% of the pens — the cap and the barrel — are made by hand, in ebonite and acrylic.
“The converter, where the ink is stored, is also imported from Germany.” It takes Kandan and his father about four hours to make a pen. They make 10 pens a day using a process, which they say is a trade secret.
Once a staple stationery item, the dignified fountain pen got replaced by ballpoint pens somewhere during the 1990s; as the latter left no ink smudges on notebooks and clothes. While many expected the fountain pen to die a natural death like rotary dial phones and film cameras, it saw an unexpected resurrection in the 2010s, ‘probably a result of the internet revolution’, in the words of L Subramanian, founder of ASA Pens, Chennai. Collecting fountain pens was just a hobby during his childhood for the former telecom employee but at one point, he realised that the pens still had a market.
“A decade back, if you wanted a handmade pen, you had to go searching for them in brick-and-mortar shops. I was part of several online forums where youngsters were discussing fountain pens but had no one answering their queries. I found a gap and started selling them online, by associating with Gama Pens,” says Subramanian.
The response was tremendous, and as time went by, people started asking for customisation on a large scale and he launched his brand, ASA Pens, tying up with a handmade pen maker. “It wasn’t just about Chennai, internationally, people had a renewed interest in fountain pens,” he says.
Their customers range from children who are starting out with writing cursive, to politicians. “There is a segment who have inherited high quality fountain pens from their grandparents as family heirlooms. There are also collectors for whom the appearance and the history of a pen are important.”
But over and above the aesthetics, the fountain pen provides a better writing experience, which is why doctors and lawyers who write a lot daily, use them, say the pen makers. “The hand fatigue is less when you write extensively,” says Subramanian.
Something new is always coming up in the world of fountain pens, the latest being pens made of lava, says Bimal P Desai from Purasawalkam, a collector. “Different kinds of inks are also getting popular now, like sheening ink, which leaves a gold sheen on the letters. The way a fountain pen glides over paper is so smooth that once you get used to it, you don’t go back to ball point pens.”
From an environmental perspective as well, fountain pens make sense, as one can use one for at least two to three years with just ink refills; there is zero plastic involved.
“An ebonite pen could last a century if you take care of it well,” says K R B Dhaaranee, an advocate from Adyar. One’s relationship with one’s pen, she says, is a monogamous one, and you don’t lend it to others. “The nib gets attuned to your strokes and handwriting, and someone else’s strokes might ruin your nib.”
An avid collector, she still treasures the first fountain pen gifted to her as a child by her father. “You can’t pick a fountain pen randomly. Your hand has to choose for you.”
The state, in fact, has a history of handcrafting pens. “Tiruvallur, a district adjoining Chennai, had a thriving cottage industry of pen making during the 1960s. There were at least 15 brands, all of which shut down later,” says M P Kandan, who runs Ranga Pens, the oldest handmade pen brand in Chennai. “But my father, M S Pandurangan, continued to make and improve on his handmade pens, using the Japanese technique.” Ranga Pens are now exported to 100 countries, and priced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000.
The value, says Kandan, lies in the materials used. A reason for the decline of the fountain pen was the possibility of ink smudges at any point of time, but the nibs used in these handmade pens do not smudge. “If you are flying at a high altitude in an aeroplane and the air pressure goes up, ink from a fountain pen usually starts leaking. But these nibs imported from Germany never smudge.” About 95% of the pens — the cap and the barrel — are made by hand, in ebonite and acrylic.
“The converter, where the ink is stored, is also imported from Germany.” It takes Kandan and his father about four hours to make a pen. They make 10 pens a day using a process, which they say is a trade secret.
Once a staple stationery item, the dignified fountain pen got replaced by ballpoint pens somewhere during the 1990s; as the latter left no ink smudges on notebooks and clothes. While many expected the fountain pen to die a natural death like rotary dial phones and film cameras, it saw an unexpected resurrection in the 2010s, ‘probably a result of the internet revolution’, in the words of L Subramanian, founder of ASA Pens, Chennai. Collecting fountain pens was just a hobby during his childhood for the former telecom employee but at one point, he realised that the pens still had a market.
“A decade back, if you wanted a handmade pen, you had to go searching for them in brick-and-mortar shops. I was part of several online forums where youngsters were discussing fountain pens but had no one answering their queries. I found a gap and started selling them online, by associating with Gama Pens,” says Subramanian.
The response was tremendous, and as time went by, people started asking for customisation on a large scale and he launched his brand, ASA Pens, tying up with a handmade pen maker. “It wasn’t just about Chennai, internationally, people had a renewed interest in fountain pens,” he says.
Their customers range from children who are starting out with writing cursive, to politicians. “There is a segment who have inherited high quality fountain pens from their grandparents as family heirlooms. There are also collectors for whom the appearance and the history of a pen are important.”
But over and above the aesthetics, the fountain pen provides a better writing experience, which is why doctors and lawyers who write a lot daily, use them, say the pen makers. “The hand fatigue is less when you write extensively,” says Subramanian.
Something new is always coming up in the world of fountain pens, the latest being pens made of lava, says Bimal P Desai from Purasawalkam, a collector. “Different kinds of inks are also getting popular now, like sheening ink, which leaves a gold sheen on the letters. The way a fountain pen glides over paper is so smooth that once you get used to it, you don’t go back to ball point pens.”
From an environmental perspective as well, fountain pens make sense, as one can use one for at least two to three years with just ink refills; there is zero plastic involved.
“An ebonite pen could last a century if you take care of it well,” says K R B Dhaaranee, an advocate from Adyar. One’s relationship with one’s pen, she says, is a monogamous one, and you don’t lend it to others. “The nib gets attuned to your strokes and handwriting, and someone else’s strokes might ruin your nib.”
An avid collector, she still treasures the first fountain pen gifted to her as a child by her father. “You can’t pick a fountain pen randomly. Your hand has to choose for you.”