Fountain Pen loving Women-Exclusive Afternoon Tea Session at Sulekha Factory 

It is not often when you hear that a group of young women with mutual interests in fountain pens and paraphernalia meet to discuss them! Yes, it happened here, in Kolkata, at the legendary Sulekha Ink Factory where these ladies met for an afternoon tea session. And talked their hearts out about their favourite fountain pens, inks, notebooks, and what drove them to this passionate pursuit. The entire event was organized by Ahana Maitra, the Head of New Initiatives of Sulekha Works Limited.

These lovely ladies came from different professional spheres but converged comfortably at the FP point. Some are entrepreneurs, some are artists, some are writers, and some are simply students eager to acquire in-depth knowledge about the subject. The meet is a follow-up to the first-of-its-kind women-exclusive fountain pen group on Facebook. To give more recognition and a decent conversational space to women, often considered as the passive class (NOT ANYMORE!). Times are changing, trends are changing, why should not women follow the suit!

The session began with the ladies introducing themselves and the beginning of their tryst with fountain pens. Chandrima Basak, daughter of the world-famous pen mechanic, Dilip Basak, spoke about the positive environmental impact of fountain pens. And mesmerized the crowd with her brilliant understanding of the menacing nature of use-and-throw pens at such a tender age. Arkamitra Roy, an art dealer, professed that even in the digital age, she is more comfortable with pens, inks, and papers. Even if that means, going through the double trouble of first writing on paper, and then, typing it out on her laptop!

Karishma Siddique Roy, a known face in the fountain pen community, spoke energetically about her FP sketches. Interestingly, all her creations are in support of the Made-in-India initiative. She uses Sulekha Inks, Ranga Pens, leather diaries hand-made by her husband, and Kaagazi notebooks! Speaking of which, we also had the owner of Kaagazi, Kavya Agarwal, amongst us. Her brand makes fountain pen friendly notebooks, among many other stationery items. All the products at Kaagazi are gender-neutral, to promote a sense of equality among its users.

Shortly after everyone introduced themselves, Kaushik Maitra, the third generation of Sulekha, unveiled the future plans of Sulekha. How they are upgrading themselves according to the increasing demands for different coloured inks! And how another surprise is in store for the brand’s fans – a Limited Edition line of just 50 pens will hit the market very soon!

Right after his announcement, he presented exclusively customized Beena Antic pens to all the women who attended the session. These pens sport the logo of Chawm Ganguly’s fountain pen website – inkedhappiness.com on their caps. Mr. Hiro Motwani, owner of Beena was kind enough to display his support to the Fountain Pen Ladies Facebook Group through this special offering.

The ladies were in for a sudden treat when the owner of Kaagazi, Kavya Agarwal, opened her box of treasures and showcased her notebook collection. Everyone scribbled on the papers and found out themselves about the fitting compatibility of inks and nibs on them! The women entrepreneur shared fascinating insights about her journey with pen and paper in this social media-plagued world.       

To top it off, an ink tour of the factory, led by their head artisan, was given to the women. He explained the meticulous process followed in creating the legacy inks. Mesmerized and awed by the bright hues, the ladies each took home a preferred colour of the inks. They could not wait to fill their Beena Antics with Sulekha’s heritage!

In the end, all the women pledged their support in creating awareness about fountain pens and inks among their respective circles. And taking forward the grand enterprise – The Fountain Pen Ladies: Fine, Medium, and Broad Facebook Group. Ankita Dutt, a student of The Bhawanipur Education Society College, expressed her gratitude for being present in a room full of independent ladies bonding so easily! Srinjeeta Chatterjee, a content writer by profession, could not stop exchanging enlightening notes about the conversational thread of the session – fountain pens. Subhalakshmi Dey, a Jadavpur University English Literature Student, and Yubasana Kapas, owner of a handicraft brand named Swati, were among the intellectual ladies present in the session.

Note of thanks from all the ladies to Chawm Ganguly, whose silent presence was felt heavily in the room. It was like having a Fairy Godmother guiding the lot to move ahead and take up new initiatives like this for the greater good.  

To such more pleasant and productive meets, we mates await…

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Report filed by Jyotshna Agiwal