THE JOYS OF OLD SCHOOL
We can’t help but be nostalgic for childhood. Simplicity and innocence are both attractive. Invariably, though, it’s the objects we long for—scented erasers, ink pens, typewriters—that tell the more surprising story. Long before screens replaced books, pieces of stationery recorded a history of new enterprise. Between Independence and liberalisation, education was fetishised by our parents, while we distracted ourselves with its tools. Pen and paper, we saw, clearly matter more than pen to paper.
India Ink
Graduating from the primary section of your school afforded one joy—the freedom to use ink pens. The ink itself stained your shirt and fingers, but these were signs of nerdiness and growing up. Brands like Chelpark, Quink and Sulekha knew this. They lured us with colour and their anticlogging promises.
Typewriters
It provided notaries and novelists their livelihood, but the typewriter far exceeded its cliché. When Godrej typewriters challenged Remington’s monopoly in 1955, it quickly became a symbol of Indian industry. Right until the early 2000s, those ribbons were synonymous with our collective application.
Camlin geometry box
For decades now, Camlin has monopolised the fun that protractors, dividers and compasses bring to math. Around since 1931, Camlin changed in 2012, after Japanese stationery major Kokuyo acquired a 51 per cent stake in the company. Their new geometry boxes are “unbreakable and ergonomically tested”.
Swadeshi Pen
In 1932, Kosuri Venkata Raman, “the grandfather of pens in India”, used silver to make India’s first fountain pen. By 1934, he had a fully Swadeshi ebonite (hardened vulcanised rubber) pen to gift Gandhiji. Ratnam Pen Works has since been taking his legacy forward, while other brands, like Ranga, are keeping alive the lure of handmade, lightweight, durable and sturdy ebonite.
Spirograph sets
The Spirograph was a rage in the early 1970s. A toy that helped one draw geometric roulette curves, the Spirograph set was coveted by a whole generation of children who couldn’t have enough of this trippy yet educational wonder. It’s still available today, on select pavements and the Funskool website.
Nataraj pencils
It’s hard not to think of those iconic red-and-black stripes when someone says “Nataraj 621 HB”. In production since 1958, Nataraj has certainly lived up to its promise of “lasting longer”. There’s also an added perk to this item. The wood of these pencils proves easy to chew on when classes grow boring.
Artex
For some of us, Artex was our first pen. Having an Artex gave you an edge. You believed you could write faster. While in the 1970s, the sober Artex 120 was a must-have, it gave way to Platinex in the ’80s and then the garish Artex 75. In 1985, the Platinex cost Rs 2. There’s a reason why old betters gold.