‘No. of fountain pen users increasing’

kolkata: The number of fountain pen users in the city have grown in the past few months, the proprietor of 77-year-old Pen Hospital at Jawaharlal Nehru Road in Esplanade Md Imtiaz said.

Sandwiched between the pedestrian hawkers of Esplanade is the 77-year-old Pen Hospital which repairs fountain pens and sells vintage fountain pens, which are more than 40 to 50 years old.

In an era of use and throw pens, Imtiaz (61), who has been fixing fountain pens in the tiny hospital, claims that after a few years of slump, the customers have increased for fountain pens.

“We have eight to ten loyal customers who choose to come here often to get their fountain pens, which they might have acquired from their grandparents, to repair. But lately, we have witnessed a growing number of youth taking interest in collecting the pens,” Imtiaz said.

According to Md Shahraaz Reyaz who is Imtiaz’s nephew, the shop sees a footfall of around 100 customers in a month.

Although the owners did not disclose the revenue collected by selling and repairing pens. The shop has fountain pens with costs ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5,000 and more.

The sale of fountain pens has not always been this strong. During the two years of pandemic, the business had suffered magnificently financially.

But in the last couple of months, they saw more young people come to buy fountain pens or repair them.