PEN

 PEN

I know quite a few eye brows would arch up in disbelief, as to what could be the justification for such a topic. Given my age-based experience, I have observed the progress in the evolution of the gadget called Pen. Way back in 1950, as a school boy, I still remember our senior boys used to carry a bottle of ink [in hand fearing the prospect of it spilling in the school bag, soiling all books and the lone notebook]. The then schools and teachers were far more purposeful than what we witness of the schools now. With infinite sympathy teachers would permit wards to use the same note book for different subjects up to V standard and were permissive of our using the slate for writing practice and even presenting of home-work. But, they were rigid by observance of all learning protocols, implicit obedience, writing practice and recitation of tables from fractions below 1 TO 16. Some teachers used to make it up to 20. Reciting of tables was a daily exercise of “chorus” as the day’s opening and closing of school schedule. Students in classes below 3^RD STANDARD would form a mini sand platform before each and using the finger, would scribe alphabets / numerals for practice. It was a frugal exercise of cutting cost and teachers were very accommodative to frugality. There were no artificial enforcement of ‘bound note books [a dozen +of which hardly 10-15 pages are used in each]. Now-a-days re-using of the old notebook is a crime though it is a criminal act to waste money on such extravaganza, and the 2 eras can never stand a comparison; yes, the old era was academically superior and the present day revels in  pomp and riches of attire and cart loads of books. In such a dispensation the then students were longing to use the Pen – a symbol of higher level learning. Only after standard VI, can any student use a Pen. Mind you, it had to be the ink pen gloriously named “Fountain pen”. Obviously, standard VI marked the entry of a student to High school. Before that stage,  pen was not permitted; after 3^rd standard , it was Pencil and 1 note book +Slate  for home work. The slate then was a piece of ‘planed stone’ mounted in a wooden frame. Many had only fractions of the stone, as the material was prone to breakage if dropped on floor. When black-painted metal sheets were marketed around 1955 or so, it was a revolution and parents heaved a sigh of relief,   as 1 slate would last for years. I remember an advertisement "நான் ;மனோகர் சிலேட், என்னை எளிதில்  உடைக்க முடியாது"  But the boys had the knack of ruining them by abuse/ misuse by rubbing the surface with gritty matter to damage the paint –irritating the teacher well before parents could detect the misdemeanor as an act of personal displeasure. If caught in that act, brutal punishment was inevitable.   

The [Hi]story of Pen

In good old days of our grandparents, bird quills served as Pens. The quill has a central tubular shaft from which bilateral emergences form the feather. The quill has a finer free tip –the writing end. The free end of quill, if dipped in ink and used , would deliver ink for a while to write. Every now and then the quill would be dipped in ink for writing. The quill must have been a proud possession, as all quills may not be elegant tools for writing.

The Stylus

These were standard gadgets of wooden handle with a ‘nib-holder’, were very popular as pens until fountain pens dominated. The nib was a curved piece of metal with a ‘writing’ tip. The nib was dipped in ink and used as a pen, holding the wooden handle. Undoubtedly, using such gadgets, people had developed a highly refined ‘cursive form of writing’. Recall the elegance of hand writing by our leaders- MK Gandhi, Nehru, Rajaji and others that stand apart by the artistic strokes in writing. Later gadgets have ‘spoiled’ the elegance of writing through the ease of writing. Gadgets which demanded careful orientation of the nib angle for uniform  ink flow, habituated those hands for appropriate orientation, pressure and right progression for steady writing.  In several schools of long standing, even now we can notice desks with shallow circular pocket-like cavity to keep ink bottle and a longer elliptic shallow groove for placing the Stylus.

Fountain Pen

Later, ‘ink-holding’ fountain pens were marketed. They were marketed by industries. The most popular brand of the 1960s was ‘WRITER’ pen priced at a modest Re 1/- and the product was extremely popular for its smooth flow and long-lasting performance. At around the same time Madurai had a product ‘NAVY’ Pen. Most of those pens had a barrel for holding ink and properly closed by the Nib-holding Neck. Inferior pens were notoriously leaky, soiling the fingers and shirt pockets of users.

India witnessed the imported pens like PILOT, SCHEEFERS and other names - high-priced beyond the buying power of those school boys then. Cashing in on the euphoria for ‘imported stuff’ Hero pens were marketed. They were self-filling [ by a suction arrangement] taking ink from container but did not meet the ink-holding capacity of our native fountain pens and the rubber tube for ink holding was prone to damage and had a natural death . By late 1970s and after , ball pens were marketed. But, the writing fluid in them was ‘oil-based’ and in due course, the oil used to spread through the paper making an unpleasant appearance. Ball pens of those times required application of pressure to make the writing tip permit the rolling of ball for ink delivery. The pressure used could cause physical impressions on backing PAPERS or cheque leaves of banks, making it easy for forgery.  So, Universities, Banks, Examination boards placed severe restrictions over the use of ball pen and rather discouraged the practice.      It was not until refined writing fluids were used, that relaxation on use of ball pens witnessed wider acceptance. Now, the ball-pen is the norm and refills are not in demand as complete pens can be had for as low as Rs 2/- and very good ones at around Rs. 5/- or so. All said and done hand writing of boys and girls show a downtrend as against those of the era of fountain pens. Free-flowing fluid gels were a craze in the early part of the millennium. However, the volume of used debris of ball pens is a menace of plastic pollution. Some boys forget to carry the pen and buy it almost daily. Frugality looks a cruelty now-a-days.

Prof. K.Raman