Pencils with notes from classic Tamil literature

After he completed his engineering, he started a business.

The pencil weighs around seven grams lesser than common wooden pencil would weigh  U Rakesh Kumar

CHENNAI: To spread awareness on Tamil literature, Aur shoppe, a Coimbatore-based pencil manufacturing company, has launched ‘Ayutha Ezhuthu’ pencils that have classic Tamil texts like Tirukkural and Aathichudi printed on their outer covering. “We decided to produce environment-friendly pencils and began producing paper pencils in 2016,” says Ram Mohan D, proprietor of Aur Shoppee.
They began manufacturing pencils that are made of recycled papers in December 2017. Mohan came up with this idea for his love for nature.  

After he completed his engineering, he started a business. “We had a tuition centre where children had trouble to read and write Tamil. This encouraged me to do something to create awareness on the language,” says Mohan.

‘Ayutha Ezhuthu’ is a unique and special character to Tamil language and script. Each pencil consists of a single couplet or kural from Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural. Each box has 10 pencils of a single chapter from Tirukkural. The chapter, index number and the couplet are seen on the pencil. The pencil weighs around seven grams lesser than what a wooden pencil would weigh (12 grams). So, it ensures smooth writing and the user will not suffer from hand pain.

He also prints Aathichudi — single-line quotations written by Avvaiyar, and organises the pencils in alphabetical order. As per customers’ requests they also print tables, alphabets, images, logos and more. “To make it more eco-friendly, I have attached seed capsules that can be planted when the pencil nears its end. The seeds are procured from farmers in and around Coimbatore,” says the 34 year old.

The pencils are supplied in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Malaysia, United States and Singapore. They are in high demand in educational institutions. They began manufacturing refill paper pens from September this year and have more than 5,000 customers. “Anbudaimai is my favourite chapter in Tirukkural. I feel glad to see Tamil-printed pencils as another finger in the hands of the younger generation,” says Mohan.