Black. Why am I fascinated with Black fountain pens? Why do we fountain pen fanatics dream of the Black 149, or the Black KOP for that matter, when in a dream sequence, it can technically take any colour? Why is there such an aura about uncapping a black pen, while seemingly lost in thought,…
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 The search for excellence is an unending quest – one that has no place for complacency, no respite as it were, from the steady surge forward, even if to sit back, relax and soak in the glory of one’s creations. And who can be a better example of this passion for excellence, than Dr Sreekumar…
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  Dilip Basak, Ma Durga and the hand-made pen for a daughter! A father’s love turned to perfection to celebrate the homecoming of Bengal’s daughter! I have never seen a fountain pen being made before my eyes. Thus, when I got the chance, to see ace craftsman Dilip Basak turn a fountain pen as I…
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 Harry Potter. Yes, that’s it, it is the introduction to this blog As I write this blog wearing Harry Potter’s infamous-mark-on-the-forehead-and-round-spectacles pyjamas and a Deathly Hallows T-shirt, I can sense the magic of the wizarding world around me. In 1997, J. K. Rowling enchanted the world with her first book ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s…
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  Conway Stewart Series 100 Commander – a Limited Edition pen to celebrate Daniel Craig being made a Commander of the Royal Navy   Ian Fleming, when he created the fictional character of James Bond (double-O-seven) in 1953, little did he suspect that Bond would become the global phenomenon that he is. Books, comic strips,…
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 The Little Book of Architecture’s authors, Prof. Harshada Bapat Shintre and Prof. Yashwant Pitkar, have successfully managed to take us to their world of Architecture. And not to the technical and intricate one but a vibrant and humble one. A new realm created purely for understanding and discovering the regular architectural objects that do not…
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 Pelikan. Very few entities survive the ravages of time, especially if you are a colossus in your chosen field of excellence. Pelikan is a notable exception, dating back its legacy to 1838, when the chemist Carl Horemann started offering oil paints, watercolours and coloured inks (farbige Dinten). The fountain pens for which we know and…
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  The Northern Blue Mamba is an extremely venomous snake which can slither underwater for close to an hour and unlike its cousins of the Mamba clan of killers, is known to be active at night as well. If you are one suffering from Ophidiophobia (an extreme fear of snakes), read no further, for we are…
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  Arun Singhi is without doubt one of India’s most talented penturners – to the extent, if I was an Emperor looking to create a monument to writing, that too of epic proportions, one that would defy time, I would, with eyes closed, hand over the project to him. I talk of Emperors and architectural…
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  The ultimate pilot’s pen is back with its sportiest look yet. Retro aviation styling meets stunt-plane optics in a new, limited-colour release. Get ready to rule the skies with the Aviator Red Baron. Soaring Italian writing performance returns in a familiar fuselage, this time anodised in bold signal red. With playful design codes to…
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