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Notebooks From India


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One of the delights of India is the fine range of paper products available from many stationers such as those in Nai Sarak, Old Delhi. Here are two notebooks I bought there.

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t411/amk-fpn/delhinotebook3.jpg

The first will be familiar to anyone who has seen Indian shopkeepers keeping their accounts. I'm more used to seeing these stitched card and cloth covers in orange, but in Delhi they come in green, at 100 rupees for a small book (roughly £1.15). The paper inside is quite heavy, and extremely friendly to fountain pens. I found out that this shop also carries books of hand made paper, bound in sari fabric, destined for tourists, at three times the price; avoid these! they're horribly unfriendly to FPs. I now use these little books for all my travel notes.

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t411/amk-fpn/delhinotebook.jpg

The second book is a real beauty, intended for hotel front desk use perhaps, quarter bound in red leather. Again the paper is rather lovely and quite friendly to my pens, from Lamy 2000 to Camlin Cute, though the end papers are a little blotched by glue. All done on the premises, with lovely gold blocking, and I believe it cost me about 300 rupees (£3.30 or so).

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t411/amk-fpn/delhinotebook2.jpg

 

Calcutta's Shakespeare Sarani shops offer a similar range of wares, their leather-bound ledgers reminding me of the great days of the East India Company - when London too would have resounded to the scritchy scratch of quill on paper in hundreds of small offices...

 

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

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:puddle: or :sick: for the leatherbound one...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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Probably every major city has a notebook maker here.

 

Personally I write my accounts on a beautifully bound account book manufactured by a neighbourhood stationery store. The paper used is the so called 90gsm "ledger paper" slightly pale green in color(BILT and a few other companies make this paper in India). they also make plain unruled notebooks. More expensive than the school exercise notebooks but well worth the money IMO.

 

thanks for sharing!

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  • 2 months later...

I got one notebook from India as well, with a leather cover and home made recycled paper. Unfortunately the paper is like a sponge and feathers like hell, I can use it only with my driest pens... :(

 

It seems I was not very lucky...

Nick Apostolakis

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  • 9 months later...

@ amk, those notebooks look beautiful. I particularly liked the green one. How do you figure out which one will not feather (you mentioned avoiding the touristy ones)?

 

@ hari, would you know of manufacturers or retail outlets where I could get FP-friendly journals and paper in Bangalore and Bombay?

"When in doubt, write."

 

-- Bangalore, India

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Can these be exported? Can India based online vendors sell notebooks as well as pens? Are there legal restrictions on import export for the various potential consumer countries?

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@ hari, would you know of manufacturers or retail outlets where I could get FP-friendly journals and paper in Bangalore and Bombay?

there are atleast 50 shops selling just notebooks paper and account books for every budget on AR street in Mumbai.

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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Can these be exported? Can India based online vendors sell notebooks as well as pens? Are there legal restrictions on import export for the various potential consumer countries?

 

no restrictions are there for legitimate exporters. India is a significant paper exporter BTW.

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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I got one notebook from India as well, with a leather cover and home made recycled paper. Unfortunately the paper is like a sponge and feathers like hell, I can use it only with my driest pens... :(

 

It seems I was not very lucky...

avoid handmade paper, not FP friendly at all.

In case you wish to write to me, pls use ONLY email by clicking here. I do not check PMs. Thank you.

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Next time I am in India I will inquire about getting some stock to export. I think the friendly chaps I know on Nai Sarak might be happy to help. But... that won't be for a while, alas. (And I'm missing India badly: was dreaming about Orchha the other night... even in my dreams, though, I do not beat my friend Ram Babu at karrom.)

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

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Next time I am in India I will inquire about getting some stock to export. I think the friendly chaps I know on Nai Sarak might be happy to help. But... that won't be for a while, alas. (And I'm missing India badly: was dreaming about Orchha the other night... even in my dreams, though, I do not beat my friend Ram Babu at karrom.)

 

Give us a holler if you could locate few serwex pens in Nai sarak this time. I had a terrible experience couple weeks back. :(

And avoid that Arora Sons shop. :angry:

Opensuse_2.png http://www.gnu.org/graphics/gnubanner-2.png

Looking for: Camlin pens (minus SD/Trinity/Elegante)

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no restrictions are there for legitimate exporters. India is a significant paper exporter BTW.

 

Perhaps someone can get ASAPens to start carrying a selection. If priced well, I would buy some.

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Perhaps someone can get ASAPens to start carrying a selection. If priced well, I would buy some.

As would I, at the drop of the proverbial hat. But I do hope they unbundle postage from paper products, and charge the actual cost of mailing them to us...

a fountain pen is physics in action... Proud member of the SuperPinks

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