Inked in India (Fountain Pens and A Story of Make and Unmake)

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Back of the Book Babasaheb Ambedkar was especially fond of Parker. Sheaffer and Waterman. In Bombay, his fountain pens (and other stationery) came from Thacker and Company. In Delhi, they came from Dhoomimal Dharamdas. (now the Dhoomimal Gallery) Portraits, pictures and statues of Babasaheb Ambedkar often show him with a fountain pen in his hand or pocket, a symbol of modernity. Gandhiji is depicted with his reed pen. The exchange of the reed pen for the fountain pen is part of India's economic transition and is reflected in the attitudes of these two great leaders, Gandhi and Ambedkar.

About the Book In the early 1900s, a Bengali doctor created the first Indian fountain pen in Varanasi. Despite this early start, foreign-made pens dominate the Indian market, with no notable Indian brand available to customers.

Inked in India traces this journey of make and unmake, from a pre-Independence India with a strong manufacturing base for pens, nibs and ink, to the post-Independence economic policies which eroded that competitive advantage and led to economic churn and the exit of foreign firms from the country. Going beyond the nostalgia and lost sheen of fountain pens, it tackles economic transition and the impact of policy on local enterprise.

Just as there has been exit, post-liberalization, there has been entry too, in what is often perceived to be a sunset sector. The book takes stock of what it will take to transform the unmake in India to make in India, so that Indian fountain pens have a global presence.

The first-ever documentation of all known fountain pen, nib and ink manufacturers in the country, Inked in India will be of great interest to the fountain pen aficionados and economic enthusiasts alike.

About the Authors Bibek Debroy was born in Shillong and educated in Calcutta, Delhi and Cambridge. He is an economist and author, who has worked in academia, private organizations and for the government. He is the author of several books, popular articles and professional papers. In 2020, his monograph, A Fountain Pen Story was published by Observer Research: Foundation (ORF), highlighting policies that constrained fountain pen manufacture in India. He collects and uses fountain pens.

Sovan Roy was born in Guwahati and educated in Durgapur and Banaras Hindu University. He works for the Government of West Bengal and writes on science, history of science, Indology, technology, the environment and ecology. He has published in the popular media, as well as in scientific journals. In 2019, he authored a book titled Radhika Nath Saha: Unsung Hero of Indian Fountain Pen, rediscovering the history of fountain pen manufacture in India. He collects and uses fountain pens as well.

Introduction This is an unusual book written by two authors who came together by accident. Bibek Debroy is an economist; Sovan Roy specializes in science and technology. Both happen to be Bengalis. But that is a coincidence. Both were born in, what was then, undivided Assam-Bibek Debroy in Shillong and Sovan Roy in Guwahati. That too is incidental. What is not incidental is that both have a passion for fountain pens, especially those that are Indian. As is customary with all collectors, the two authors first met when they started to exchange surplus pens from each other's collections. 'Here is a Mebsons. Do you have a Bharati?' stuff like that. It was a remarkable coincidence that in 2019, both authors independently rediscovered Dr Radhika Nath (1870-1933). Bibek Debroy discovered Dr Saha's 1911 book and wrote an article on him. Having studied in Benares (now Varanasi) at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Sovan Roy wrote an entire book on Saha, Radhika Nath Saha: Unsung Hero of Indian Fountain Pen.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages