Battala – printing, publication, pornography … and penmanship. The “Gora Sahibs” were concentrated in their White Town around Fort William – down Chowringhee, all the way to Park Street. The natives were huddled in the squalor, as the river flowed, both up and down, in what was variously, contemptuously called
I grew up with Sulekha ink blotches on the shirt pockets of my school uniform. It was a kind of “badge of honour,” like the ink-stained fingers and callouses on the fiddle finger, that on a deep subconscious level reassured us that we were giving our studies all that was
Four inks celebrating the different aspects of Kolkata’s favourite annual utsav, Boi Mela were launched at the 48th Kolkata International Book Fair by Suleka. These inks were unveiled by Tridib Kumar Chatterjee (Honorary President, Kolkata International Book Fair), Shudhanshu Sekhar Dey (Honorary General Secretary, Kolkata International Book Fair), and Raju
Dr. Sovan Roy is a scientist. He is also a much-published author, whose works command a kind of respect in the scientific community that is beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals like us. Then why with the mere dropping of his name, does the kind of reverential silence descend, that
Brahmam fountain pens, to most collectors of India made vintage or antique pens, is but a mystery, wrapped in a riddle, inside an enigma, so difficult it is to come across good, working pieces. Naturally, their scarcity leads to the creation of newer fables around them as the scamper to
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”
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
Autographs of icons – faded ink on paper that reaches out across space and time, across generations, to create wabi sabi moments of ecstasy On a Sunday morning a few years ago, when the world was a better place, my father, Partha Roy and I, paid a visit to my uncle,
Sulekha Selam – a numbered edition ink was unveiled to pay homage to the Martyrs on 21st February, “Bhasha Dibosh” (Language Day). Only 21 bottles of the blood red ink have been made to commemorate the supreme sacrifice for the recognition of the Bengali language, which has since been recognised
Sulekha has always tread on the road less travelled, off the beaten track as it were. Thus, when Sulekha invited a few dedicated fountain pen and ink lovers – young men and women – from around Kolkata to launch its latest line of inks aptly called “Swadhin” (free, as in
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
K V Ratnam and Sons – the people behind the Swadeshi Pen! We have been inundated by messages since the story about Ratnam and Swadeshi pens was published. Most readers wanted to know about the House of Ratnam – primarily about their contribution to the world of fountain pens in
