A fountain pen may seem like a small thing in a world where most of us type everything out, but for Venkatesh Balasubramanian, it has opened up an entire world. A collector and fountain-pen enthusiast, Venkatesh is fascinated not just by the pens themselves but by the stories and craftsmanship behind them, particularly those made in India. We caught up with him at the recent Hyderabad Pens Show.
Venkatesh’s journey into fountain pens began when his father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. While speaking to doctors about the deterioration of motor skills, he was told that writing could possibly help. “People have stopped writing now. If you write one page a day, probably you might avoid all this. I still do not know whether it is factually right or not. But it has turned out good for me,” he says. That advice made him pick up a pen, but he wanted something beyond the usual ballpoint. “I’m a person who always wanted to do things differently. I said, why ballpoint, why not fountain pen?” he recalls. What followed was an introduction to a fascinating world he had not known existed. For Venkatesh, one of the most fascinating aspects has been the history of Indian pen-making. He points to the Swadeshi movement, when Mahatma Gandhi wanted Indian manufacturers to make pens, and says people from Rajahmundry and Tenali volunteered. Ratnam Sons was among those who started making them, he says.
Today, he is associated with Ranga Pens, which has been making handmade pens for more than 60 years from Tiruvallur, near Chennai, and sells them in 102 countries or more. The brand works with a striking range of materials, including ebonite, acrylic, resins, buffalo horn, brass, copper, titanium, stainless steel and aluminium. It has also experimented with cellulose acetate, Ultem and PEAK.
“Every time I buy a pen, there is always a story behind it,” says Venkatesh. That sense of individuality is also what he believes sets fountain pens apart. Different nibs allow users to choose how they want their writing to look, from extra fine and medium to broad and specialised nibs for music notes. He believes Indian manufacturers can hold their own against international brands too. “There are so many awesome Indian manufacturers who are giving a run for their money to the foreign brands at a price which is probably 20 percent of what a foreign brand would cost,” he says. For Venkatesh, collecting pens has eventually become more than a hobby. “When I use one of these pens, it ends up to be a conversation starter. So, it had ended up to be an investment for me rather than a hobby,” he says. And perhaps that is the charm of the fountain pen — it does not merely put words on paper; it gives the act of writing a character of its own. As Venkatesh puts it, “To personalise even your writing, I think you should come towards fountain pen.”