Mumbai Pen Shops

[OldGandy]

What a wonderful essay! Thank you very much.

[ameya bhabal]

...but i was interested in purchasing a Rotring 600 black knurled grip fountain pen, since i'm doing architecture and i'm smitten with pen. I wanted to know if any of those shops still sell the pen, or if i could get the pen anywhere. I cannot buy it online so the only way i can buy it is from a shop in mumbai. Will be awesome if u could help me with the the info.

 

Ameya, I have not seen those pens for quite some time during my regular visits to the market... Maybe you can try the Fort area shops if they have old stock, just ask them if they have any Rotring fountain pens. presently Rotring Esprits are easily available.

 

Best,

Hari

 

Hi,

I did find the Rotring Esprit in Crawford Market while hunting for the 600. But then the pen didn't appeal as much as the 600 does. There is a showroom called William Penn in a mall called InOrbit in Malad which i'd like to check. I've been asked to check a shop called apsara near the fountain or fort<i'm kinda new to india, spent my life in uae, so i'm not too familiar with the place>. I'd also like to know how much it would cost as well, if it's really expensive, i'll have to seriously restrict my expenses.

 

Thanks,

Ameya

[hari317]

There is a showroom called William Penn in a mall called InOrbit in Malad which i'd like to check.

 

Here is the website for William penn, they don't carry rotring: http://www.williampenn.net/

 

I've been asked to check a shop called apsara near the fountain or fort

 

Hey, Apsara is described in my first post above, directions to reach are there. I paid 1200 a few years back for my 600 with the 18K nib, I doubt you will get it at that same price if at all the pen is available.

 

Best,

Hari

Edited October 11, 2009 by hari317

[ameya bhabal]

There is a showroom called William Penn in a mall called InOrbit in Malad which i'd like to check.

 

Here is the website for William penn, they don't carry rotring: http://www.williampenn.net/

 

I've been asked to check a shop called apsara near the fountain or fort

 

Hey, Apsara is described in my first post above, directions to reach are there. I paid 1200 a few years back for my 600 with the 18K nib, I doubt you will get it at that same price if at all the pen is available.

 

Best,

Hari

 

Hi,

I had been to the crawford market and i've been to bombay stationary to get my architecture supplies. i came across a few shops then and asked for thr 600, but to no avail. I've yet to check apsara but since i'm in dubai now. And 1200?? woah, that's quite a deal...i hav saved up 4k for it, so once i'm in mumbai, i'll have to start looking there, i'm gonna search here as well though...maybe i can get lucky here...

[spotted and speckled]

Thanks for the tour!!

 

 

Guess I'll have to put Mumbay a little higher on my places-to-go-to list.....

 

 

[Anne-Sophie]

Thank you for the wonderful tour Hari!

 

I am surprise I missed this wonderful post, a great treat and a great way to travel without dealing with airlines.

 

As others have said a great piece of photojournalism.

[penburg]

Fascinating, Hari! I'd love to visit those shops! Thanks for the pictures.

[hari317]

Guess I'll have to put Mumbay a little higher on my places-to-go-to list.....

I am surprise I missed this wonderful post, a great treat and a great way to travel without dealing with airlines.

Fascinating, Hari! I'd love to visit those shops! Thanks for the pictures.

 

Thank you all for your kind comments!

 

Regards,

Hari

[grox]

I'll be sure to visit these shops when I travel to Mumbai - thank you for being our virtual tour guide!

[returnofpenguy]

Hari,

 

Thanks for the pictures. It just reminded me of my old days spent in Fort area. When I visit India again, I will have to keep pen purchase in mind as well.

[FranklinChristoph]

Actually reminds me a bit of some back street shops in Milan. Great visual tour, thanks so much -

[Taurean]

That was a fabulous tour Hari..thank you very much for the effort.

I've been planning to explore the pen shops in bangalore, hope there are some nice stores waiting

[inkypete]

Great tour Hari - thank you. I could get lost rumaging in some of those shops for hours. I think I have a new career opportunity for someone - signwriting in Mumbai.

Edited November 16, 2009 by inkypete

[hari317]

That was a fabulous tour Hari..thank you very much for the effort.

I've been planning to explore the pen shops in bangalore, hope there are some nice stores waiting

 

Thanks! and Good luck, there are some good shops in the nooks of Avenue Road in Blr.

 

Great tour Hari - thank you. I could get lost rumaging in some of those shops for hours. I think I have a new career opportunity for someone - signwriting in Mumbai.

 

Haha Thanks Pete, but I guess they really do not care that much.

 

Best,

hari

[HenryLouis]

Great Pics!

[Taurean]

Yes Hari, thats where I am headed.

I have a slight bias towards such shops as compared to the likes of Staples/ William Penn, they are not as conspicuous but somehow offer more (pleasant) surprises.

Edited November 20, 2009 by Taurean

[phatholz]

Hari,

 

I'm in Mumbai currently and was wondering if you can provide telephone numbers, and addresses, (and business hours of operation if possible)? I'm especially interested in Pelikan fountain pens (vintage and new).

 

Thanks,

 

Brandon

[hari317]

Hari,

 

I'm in Mumbai currently and was wondering if you can provide telephone numbers, and addresses, (and business hours of operation if possible)? I'm especially interested in Pelikan fountain pens (vintage and new).

 

Thanks,

 

Brandon

 

Brandon,

 

I would love to type all that here, but it will get too tedious, pls send me a PM and I will give you the telephone number of the shop where you can find modern Pelikans. Vintage pens esp pelikans are very uncommon here. Hope you are enjoying your stay here.

 

Best,

hari

[shailendra]

It was a holiday for my office this Friday and I went off to hunt pens and took my camera along. I decided to take snaps of the pen shops I frequent regularly and make a kind of <i>Photo Documentary</i> about the pen shops in Mumbai. Some of them are not so well known but sometimes you can find some good pens.

 

Most of the pen shops are concentrated in the southern part of Mumbai particularly in the <i>Fort</i> area. Generally I travel on my trusty Enfield Bullet and park it near VT (Victoria Terminus) station. From there walking towards a place called the <i>Flora Fountain</i> both the sides of the road are lined with a sprinkling of pen shops. The first good shop on the left is the <b>Mitha Pen mart </b>owned by Mr. Taher. He generally has good vintage as well as modern pens on display. He repairs pens himself and is a master pen engraver. Yesterday he had on display for sale a vintage Omas, a snorkel filling PFM, some Parker 75s, some GF MBs and a Duofold.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Mitha/IMG_0639.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

They are also the service collection centre for Parker pens.

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Mitha/IMG_0633.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Mitha/IMG_0635.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

Mr. Taher showing me a PFM:

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Mitha/IMG_0637.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

 

The next shop you can't miss to notice is the <b>Apsara Pen Mart</b> bang opposite Flora Fountain. This shop has been around in the same place from the 1940's. They usually have a nice collection of moderns and a separate vintage pen chest. Yesterday they had about 50 NOS Sheaffer No-Nonsense pens in original blister packing at a throwaway price of approx 4USD. Of course, I picked up three.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Apsara/IMG_0642.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Apsara/IMG_0646.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

The Vintage pens' chest, They had some nice Duofolds, but were pricey.

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Apsara/IMG_0643.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

The No-Nonsense pens, notice the blister cards at the back.

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Apsara/IMG_0644.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

In the lane adjacent to Apsara pen mart called the <i>Nagindas Master Lane</i> is another reliable shop called the <b>Shukla pen mart</b>. I had bought my NOS old style Pelikan M800 from him at a very reasonable price. Yesterday he had only moderns. He keeps the entire waterman range.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/shukla/IMG_0649.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/shukla/IMG_0650.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/shukla/IMG_0652.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

There is a large wholesale Stationery market in Mumbai which caters to the needs of the whole of India. This is located in on the Abdul Rahman street, bang opposite Crawford Market. Needless to say there are lots of shops here who have been doing business for more than 60 yrs and they do sometimes entertain pen lovers and even sell them a couple of pens at wholesale rates.

 

The first shop on the left is <b>Enayat Ali and Sons</b>

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0682.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0679.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

Adjacent to it is the <b>Bombay Fountain Pen depot</b> from who I have bought my Rotring 600 with 18K nib and various Watermans at fantastic rates.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0677.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

Yesterday he showed me this Chinese pen that had a lever in the feed to floss out the nib slit!

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0680.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

Two shops away is the sole national distributor of Airmail pens, <b>Vrajlal</b>. Whatever Airmail pen has been made, you can find it here.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0676.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

A little further away to the left on the <i>Sutar Chawl</i> lane is a shop called <b>Pen Point</b> owned by Mr. Pradeep Gala. He has a good collection of Pelikans, and sometimes vintages also turn up with him as consignment sales.

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0675.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

<img src="http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii197/hari317/Pen%20Stores/Pen%20point%20etc/IMG_0672.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

 

 

There are a lot of other good pen shops also in Mumbai. I hope you enjoyed this little <i>Pen Tour</i> of Mumbai as much as I enjoy on every weekend.

 

Cheers,

Hari

[shailendra]

Hari,

 

thanks for the pic. I will visit when ever i will be mimbai .Can you pl. tell me where i will get old ink wells?

 

regards,

 

Shailendra