Kolkata, India
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A Pen for your thoughts?

A Pen for your thoughts?

Yusuf Mansoor, eminent collector, historian and restorer of fountain pens has been tirelessly working for the last many years towards inculcating the habit of writing with fountain pens, especially in the young. “It is a legacy that I want to bequeath” says Mansoor, “a legacy of fine writing, of appreciating the instruments that our forefathers created, so that our young may rise above the corroding effects of digitisation of their emotions and discover the pleasures of seeing their thoughts take shape on paper, even as the ink dries to save their words for posterity.”

Suvobrata Ganguly giving away the pen to Khushi Kundu

It has been Yusuf Mansoor’s practice to present young lovers with fountain pens so that they may unfold the world of the written word and take up writing with their hands, which often becomes a life-long passion for many. It is natural to see him rummage through his backpack to emerge with fountain pens to gift, for seldom does he move either without the box of fountain pens to be given away, or the desire to do so.

The Pelikan Hub in Kolkata was no different when he saw two youngsters Anurag Chatterjee and Khushi Kundu who with wonder in their eyes were soaking in the experience of fraternising with the community of Fountain Pen lovers, he immediately went for the draw. Out came a box of neon coloured – converter / cartridge pens which he handed over to Suvobrata Ganguly, the editor of www.inkedhappiness.com. Two pens were presented to Khushi and Anurag, while the rest will be given away to the students of a premier city-based college later.

Anurag Chatterjee receiving the pen from Suvobrata Ganguly

“We were ecstatic” said Khushi. “We are new to the community of Fountain Pen lovers and to Kolkata and this was our first Pelikan Hub. Not only were we overwhelmed by the love and affection showered by the seniors in the community but were literally swamped by the way legends of pen collecting like Yusuf Mansoor, Samit Dutta, Sabyasachi Bhattacharjee and Sukla Roy among others welcomed us into the fold.”

“I am personally a big fan of www.inkedhappiness.com and read the blog regularly to keep myself informed about the different aspects of fountain pen collecting and the fact that Suvobrata Ganguly gave the pen to me personally was what turned it into a memory that will be cherished for a long time to come” said Anurag.

“We realised how much more there is to fountain pen collecting than we had comprehended and were excited to see the sheer amount of passion that most collectors exhibited. It will not be an exaggeration to state that the event was an eye-opener and we will make it a point to write more often with our fountain pens, apart from taking the hobby with the seriousness it deserves”.

Anurag Chatterjee, 19, hails from Siliguri, and is currently preparing for the Medical Entrance Examinations. Anurag hopes to be a Neurosurgeon one day. He got into Fountain Pens around two years back and likes the “different quirks of different pens, trying them out, and acquiring them”.

“This was my first Pelikan Hub experience, and it was a hundred times more ecstatic than I could have ever imagined. Looking at so many different kinds of pens that until then I had only seen pictures of, meeting so many like-minded enthusiasts, filled me with this sense of vindication, as if all my obsession with this hobby is shared, justified, or rather welcomed by so many amazing people from different walks of life. And then, only to escalate the joy, there were the goodies and the giveaways. Yusuf Sir graciously presented us with a Vintage German school pen (Branded as ‘Ranger’). I filled it up as soon as I got home, and it wrote fantastically, but the major joy of receiving it, I felt, was more about being welcomed to this community by such a distinguished figure of the fraternity. I shall forever be grateful for the experience, knowledge, satisfaction, validation and joy that I received visiting the Pelikan Hubs Kolkata 2019. I will surely be back next year.”

Yusuf Mansoor at the Pelikan Hub, Kolkata, 2019.

Khushi Kundu, 20, too is a resident of Siliguri. She is currently a second year Law student In Kolkata. She has always enjoyed writing with Fountain Pens and has rediscovered that love recently.

“Here’s to an ever-wonderful experience at my first Pelikan Hub, where the amalgamation of fountain pen lovers showed me that the pride and heritage contained in this hobby is truly a fabulous and an ever-lasting one. There was serendipity in the atmosphere, with giveaways and joy on our faces. I got gifted with an alluring and essential fountain pen from Yusuf Sir, for which I’m very grateful. Hoping to revert back again next year.”

 

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