Fountain pens make a come back

Fountain pens, especially the handcrafted Indian-origin ones, are making a come-back after going through a low run due to inroads by the ballpoint-pens, gel pens and tools like emails, SMS, and writing on the computers. “For the past three years we are seeing a year on year growth of 15 to 20 per cent against an average 10 per cent. South Indian market for fountain pens is better as brand loyalty is strong and market sentiments are good,” says Pratap Kumar, owner of Gem & Company, established in 1920s in Chennai, with a brand name “Gama”.

Their favourite clients include the late DMK leader M Karunanidhi, former Indian foreign secretaries, officers from foreign consulates, judges, advocates, and many celebrities, that a low-profile Pratap only seems to know by face. “Anyone with a passion for writing will come to this shop,” added Pratap. 

Indian pens are making a mark on international diplomacy as they reflect art, culture, aesthetics and intellectual tradition of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted a Ratnam pen to visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel  in November. 

Symbolically, a made in India Ratnam pen was gifted to Mahatma Gandhi in 1934, by Ratnam, a jeweller based in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, who under Gandhi’s call for “making Swadeshi products from Pin to Pen” during freedom struggle started making the Ratnam pens. 

Out of approximately 31,000 letters written by Gandhij, many were written with Ratnam pens.  Gandhi wrote back, “Dear Ratnam, I have used the fountain pen and it seems to be a good substitute to foreign pens one sees in the bazaar.” 

Leaders who were known to have been fond of unique fountain pens include Jawaharlal Nehru, B R Ambedkar, Indira Gandhi and C N Annadurai.

One of the first things that Karunanidhi looked for in the morning was a thick dark-coloured fountain pen, a “Wality 69” under Gama brand of Gem & Company, which is known for its ebonite pens. This pen was a prized possession from the days that he founded Murasoli  in 1942. 

The reasons for revival of fountain pens are numerous, with many social media groups of fountain pen lovers spreading the culture amongst enthusiasts and collectors.

“Other than bringing back nostalgia of childhood memories of pen fights and throwing ink on  classmates, passion of writing and nibs that get customised according to the writer’s style, the new generation is taking to fountain pens as they think it is environment friendly compared to  plastic ballpoint pens, says Venky, a passionate pen-collector, HR professional, and founder of Compunet Connections start-up.

Scientifically, using fountain pens also improves motor and cognitive skills in children as writing is directly connected with development of their brains. My college-going daughter and her friends are using fountain pens,” says Venky. 

A Montblanc basic pen bought for Rs 4,000-5,000 in 1997, can fetch three times today in the thriving secondary market. Rare models cost more. 

An exclusive Montblanc outlet sells around 30-40 pens a month with price range of Rs 26,000 and going up to a few lakh rupees for limited editions.

On the emotional side, “fountain pens are closer to the heart, enhance memory power, are a symbol of prestige, suit one’s style of writing, are powerful conversation starters, and next only to books in importance,” says M P Kandan, owner of Ranga & Co, set up in 1960s, based in Tiruvallur district.  

The demand for made in India pens is increasing globally, finding their way to the desks of fountain pen lovers as far as Japan, Korea, Spain and USA.

“Our hand-crafted pens are exported to over 100 countries. We ship around 300 exclusive pens every month on an average. About 35-40 per cent of these goes to US, 10 per cent to Spain, and rest to UK, Canada and Russia”.

"If we compare with Montblanc pens, we are a better cost-to-value proposition and we are better on 5-6 parameters out of 10 on which a pen is valued including finishing, colours, material, nibs, filling mechanism, art of making, customisation, and customer service”.

"What we offer for Rs 5,000 costs Rs 60,000 in the Montblanc range. I am in direct touch with over 10,000 customers,” says the father-son owner-duo, M S Pandurangan and M P Kandan of Ranga & Co. 

There were more than 10 manufacturers of fountain pens in Tiruvallur when they had started during 1960s. But most of them succumbed to the market forces with onslaught of cheaper plastic ball-pen, gel pens and computers.

“We survived as our process is very different,  closer to the Japanese art of pen making, and this is the only company where the owners are involved in making each pen with their hands.”

Some other Indian brands that are popular include Constellations88 of Mumbai for their contemporary designs, Kim Pens of Kerala for their leak-proof eyedroppers. Brands like Fosfor, based in Gujarat costing approximately Rs 8,000 has a waiting period of two-three years. Newer brands like Syahi and Acriv are making a mark. Fountain pen enthusiast and co-founder of Syahi Pens, Sanay Shah, says it is very difficult for fountain pens for making a mainstream comeback, but recently there has been an increase in sales mainly because people are tired of the digital world.

Mankind’s writing tools have been constantly evolving when early humans first started using stones and fingers to write on cave walls. Reed pens, stylus (Ezhuthani), quills and dip ink pens, fountain pens, ballpoint pens were used as writing instruments over various periods of history. 

The earliest mention dates back to 10th century Egypt where a Caliph commissioned the construction of a fountain pen like device which held a reservoir of ink inside.

Artist Leonardo da Vinci might have used a type of fountain pen. There have been mentions of fountain pen inventions in Europe and England but the first patent was awarded to Romanian inventor Petrache Poenaru in 1827 and mass production of various models of fountain pens began in the 1800’s.

The first ballpoint pen was patented in 1888 by John J Loud who wanted a pen to write on leather. Later, a Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro filed a patent for a controlled flow ballpoint pen in 1938 and by 1960’s ball point pens slowly took dominance and fountain pens slowly faded away.

 International brands include Parker, Montblanc, Waterman, Faber Castell, Cross, Sheaffer, Aurora, Kaweco, TWSBI, Sailor, Leonardo, Diplomat and Pelikan. Ebonite is the most popular material used for manufacturing the cap and barrel of fountain pens but many manufacturers have shifted to Acrylic. Other materials like Brass, Platinum and Gold are used in exclusive pens. Pen nibs are mostly made of steel and exclusive pens use gold (14, 18, 21 carats), titanium or palladium nibs. Fountain pens use water-based dye inks and some even have more than 140 colors of inks. In recent years, 4 to 5 pen shows were conducted in various parts of India, to spread awareness about fountain pens.