The other day as I was scrounging the forum at caclubindia for useless tips and tricks on how to clear the exam or atleast find rumours that the exam is postponed (it did albeit a few hours) , I found something very interesting. Some guy was asking which pen he should use to write the exam.. Ink/ gel/ ballpoint. Also which ink. Black or Blue.
While the best answer to that was ' I need some magic pen to clear the exam' :D Most others had answered after serious thought..
'Write with what you are comfortable', 'don't write with gel, it will smudge' and some with it will 'wash away in the rain ' and 'don't ask stupid questions'..
The one that really got me thinking was ' who writes with ink pens now anyways..'. I don't too, but it feels unsettling doesn't it? kinda like sholay and itna sannata kyun hai..
I still remember the first time we were allowed to write with pens in school, ink pens only that too... it was a really big day for us kinda like a ceremony. I don't know about other classes but our class was extremely serious about it (and the teacher too) and Oh.. the excitement.. :) all of us that day got the same kind of pens and were waiting eagerly for it to start..
So I decided to search out my ink pens atleast for memories sake. And there hidden in a corner in my study table, I found at least five, caked with dry ink, some with broken nibs.. And since I now have enough material to write a book on 201 ways to waste time while learning when the TV cable is cut and u have restricted PC time, set out to clean them.
After nearly an hour of playing in the water, cleaning the pens ( afterall there were nearly 7 years of dried ink on it) hearing a lot from my mother, I was set.. There were two good ones I managed to scavenge.
Then came buying the ink. I went to the stationary round the corner and asked for it. At first he didn't understand. Neither did I on why didn't he understand. But later I remembered camel so then he remembered ink. His assistant then bought out this old faded yellow box probably from the most godforsaken place in his shop, dusted it and gave it to me. (Yes.. Exaggerated, I know, but the look of surprise on his face when I first mentioned ink, I'll never forget it.. Maybe people do ask for it but he definitely wasn't expecting it from me..)
Having some experiences in the past where the ink spilled from the bottle while filling it in the pen and made all my pages blue, I was very careful. The piston thingy on one stopped working so I had to throw that out. But it works fine otherwise.
And I did spill it all over the table.. But as I said I've got all the time in the world for all this..
Another thing I've noticed is the earlier the gifts as pens were all ink., now that too has changed to roller ball/ball point. There used to be a sense of pride while writing with a Cross ink pen. It isn't converted while writing with a ball pen one. While Parker got really famous with Amitabh Bacchan and Genelia, it almost turned into a part of the furniture at school. I've still seen people with its other pens but not one ink one. Thank god for Mont Blanc. They atleast have retained some originality with all of the ones I've seen being true ink..
The way people write has also changed so much.. Notes are taken down on lappies and tablets. I wonder how long normal ball pens will last too.With Even signatures getting digital there's little scope for the humble mighty pen to grow.
With such super tech it won't be long before the pen is shown the door and only seen in museums. Or big manufacturers may start selling them as vintage.
I've lost count of the number of good ink pens I've misplaced over the years. With the most upsetting being a Sheaffer 444. and that too all because of a friend, who thought it was just another plain roadside one. If she ever is reading this and cares to remember (me and the pen) well I'm still not over it. I used to love writing with that heavy large pen. Maybe I'll finally get over it when I replace it. Something I wanted to since then but still haven't been able to..
But anywho she's lost too... Along with all the other ink pens.
Another thing I love about writing with ink is that I can wash away the ink that gets on my fingers, unlike the ball pen where it takes ages to come off.. (i wake up next morning to still find it there.. Really irritating) I don't know how long this fascination of mine of writing with ink pens will continue but for now I write with it only for the immense satisfaction to see the wet ink dry on the page after I write. Until I get the next gift as a ink pen instead of ball point, I think I'll continue to be partial to these ones...
