Jump to content

Pen In South India


duende

Recommended Posts

I previously asked whether there were any pen sellers in Goa that I should look up when I travel there later this year. My plans have expanded, and I am now planning to travel to Goa, Hampi, Bangalore, Mysore, Madikeri, and Kochi. I was wondering if any of you know if there are fountain pen stores along the way. From what I understand South India is FP dry, but I thought I would check with you.

 

As a side note, I'm planning to take my Twsbi Vac mini (with FPR nib) to India. Are there any potential climate-related issues that I should be aware of? I've heard people say that the heat can affect eyedroppers, but what about vacuum fillers?

Edited by duende
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 14
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • duende

    6

  • Aditkamath26

    3

  • pankaj

    2

  • deepak23

    1

Well, it IS tropical ! When not using the pen, keep it nib-up. Don't leave your fountain pen in the heat, regardless of location. Be aware that ink dries more slowly in humid climates.

 

Please keep in touch.

Edited by Sasha Royale

Auf freiem Grund mit freiem Volke stehn.
Zum Augenblicke dürft ich sagen:
Verweile doch, du bist so schön !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it IS tropical ! When not using the pen, keep it nib-up. Don't leave your fountain pen in the heat, regardless of location. Be aware that ink dries more slowly in humid climates.

 

Please keep in touch.

Thank you, Sasha. Very good advise. I didn't know that ink dries slower in humid climates. This could be an issue because I'm left handed. Might have to look into any of the fast drying inks by Noodlers.

 

I'll do a write up of my stationery adventures in India.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

three things.

 

1. if you fly in to mumbai, it's fountain pen central, take a day to visit the shops at flora fountain and the wholesalers near crawford market.

 

2. i think bangalore is your best bet gor stationery out of the cities you listed.

 

3. spend lots of time in hampi. it's magical, particularly if you do a bit of hiking.

 

oh, and 4: kochi has the best falooda outside gujarat. has to be tried!

Too many pens, too little time!

http://fountainpenlove.blogspot.fr/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

three things.

 

1. if you fly in to mumbai, it's fountain pen central, take a day to visit the shops at flora fountain and the wholesalers near crawford market.

 

2. i think bangalore is your best bet gor stationery out of the cities you listed.

 

3. spend lots of time in hampi. it's magical, particularly if you do a bit of hiking.

 

oh, and 4: kochi has the best falooda outside gujarat. has to be tried!

It looks like I will miss having FP fun in Mumbai, as I only have a short layover on the way back.

 

I will check out Bangalore if I make my way there.

 

Hampi looks intriguing and I do enjoy hiking.

 

I don't know what falooda is, but I will definitely try it out.😊

Edited by duende
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like I will miss having FP fun in Mumbai, as I only have a short layover on the way back.

I will check out Bangalore if I make my way there.

Hampi looks intriguing and I do enjoy hiking.

I don't know what falooda is, but I will definitely try it out.

 

Falooda is a sort of mixture of ice cream, fruits, dry fruit and nuts and safron etc. Basically a mixed ice cream with indian flavours. You definetly have to eat non veg in kochi for the best experience. Be sure to visit mattancherry for ice cream stalls.

Now for pen shops.

There is a place called broadway. There, there is a store called St. Francis de Sales where you get many indian pens from camlin and pens from Cross, Waterman and Parker. They also have Swiss military. You can also get indian ink like camlin and chelpark. Then there are indian exclusive parkers like Beta, special edition Vectors like kathakalli etc.

Then you have LuLu mall. There is a store called William Penn on the ground floor. You get Montblanc, Lamy, Waterman, Sailor, Parker etc. There is also Crossword on the second floor with Parker, Cross and Lamy.

I am from Kochi btw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Falooda is a sort of mixture of ice cream, fruits, dry fruit and nuts and safron etc. Basically a mixed ice cream with indian flavours. You definetly have to eat non veg in kochi for the best experience. Be sure to visit mattancherry for ice cream stalls.

Now for pen shops.

There is a place called broadway. There, there is a store called St. Francis de Sales where you get many indian pens from camlin and pens from Cross, Waterman and Parker. They also have Swiss military. You can also get indian ink like camlin and chelpark. Then there are indian exclusive parkers like Beta, special edition Vectors like kathakalli etc.

Then you have LuLu mall. There is a store called William Penn on the ground floor. You get Montblanc, Lamy, Waterman, Sailor, Parker etc. There is also Crossword on the second floor with Parker, Cross and Lamy.

I am from Kochi btw

 

I have a sweet tooth, so I can't wait to try it. Sounds delicious!

 

I'm really excited for my first visit to India- a culture that has greatly influenced the West. My trip will be at the end of the year, so I'm taking my time to plan it carefully. Already bought the plane tickets, so there's no turning back. I will make sure to visit the places you suggested in Kochi, which is my last stop in the itinerary. I would like to buy a nice Indian pen and ink. If nothing else, it will give me an excuse to explore the towns and cities.

 

Thank you for the information and the well-wishes. I'm currently residing in Vancouver, located in the beautiful province of British Columbia in Canada. So, it will be a long journey to India. Can't wait!

Edited by duende
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're in Kochi, rent out a motorcycle. It's cheap and very convenient.

 

Good idea. Searching for fountain pens in a motor bike sounds epic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're in Kochi, rent out a motorcycle. It's cheap and very convenient.

It may have been a good idea if Kochi wasn't too crowded. Nowadays, it is best to travel in either a taxi or auto rickshaw. For people visiting Kochi for the first time, the driving is going to surprise you. Just to be on the safe side, I would advise duende don't. People in kochi just want to get to the place they want and that too as soon as possible. They don't mind how they do it. To drive a motorcycle in kochi, you have to be quite experienced as per me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I previously asked whether there were any pen sellers in Goa that I should look up when I travel there later this year. My plans have expanded, and I am now planning to travel to Goa, Hampi, Bangalore, Mysore, Madikeri, and Kochi. I was wondering if any of you know if there are fountain pen stores along the way. From what I understand South India is FP dry, but I thought I would check with you.

 

As a side note, I'm planning to take my Twsbi Vac mini (with FPR nib) to India. Are there any potential climate-related issues that I should be aware of? I've heard people say that the heat can affect eyedroppers, but what about vacuum fillers?

@duende : First, a warm welcome to India. Appreciate your choice of places, sure thing you would be really enjoying especially in winter.

Excepting Kochi and B'lore , rest of the places on your itinerary are more or less FP neutral. One could hardly come across any upscale stationery b&m shops. FP obviously are last on the list.

While in Goa, you may want to just take an unchartered walk around the busy market area of Panaji ( pronounced paanji ) . May be you could see some trace element of pens in that business hub.

 

I wd rather prefer to enjoy the blue water and the local exotic food in Goa.

Madikeri / Coorg is simply no no to FP. Simply enjoy the hills and the lush green forest over there.

Hampi situation is the same. BTW you will get good food and good sweets in Hampi and Coorg , particularly in the Orange County resort.

Aditkamath has kindly given you a lowdown on Kochi, being a local you should go by his authenticity.

 

Enjoy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@duende :

 

Oh I missed to tell you. While in Bombay ( Mumbai ), since you say you only have a short layover and obviously you wd be surely missing The Pen city in India, you may want to spend some time in William Pens b&m shop inside the airport itself.

 

William Pen runs its shop in the international as well as domestic airports in the terminal ( you may be knowing there are two different airports , one intl ( Sahar ) and the other domestic ( Santacruz ). William happens to store high end pens as well as budget friendly pens . Big airport, decent places for window-shopping.

 

Bangalore ( Bangaluru ) is proud of a few good pen places : MG Road, Central Avenue, Forum mall and a few other places. But I suspect if you could bump into much of indian ebonite pens. The much liked Indian country made pens are appreciated by many, but not so omnipresent in B&M stores ! Sorry to disappoint you.

 

Since we are not that lucky to see you around the city, no point to take you along the Flora fountain pen hubs in Bombay for now. :)

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, South India is dead as an FP destination.

 

The only place where you can get some stuff is probably in Calicut

A lifelong FP user...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@duende :

 

Oh I missed to tell you. While in Bombay ( Mumbai ), since you say you only have a short layover and obviously you wd be surely missing The Pen city in India, you may want to spend some time in William Pens b&m shop inside the airport itself.

 

William Pen runs its shop in the international as well as domestic airports in the terminal ( you may be knowing there are two different airports , one intl ( Sahar ) and the other domestic ( Santacruz ). William happens to store high end pens as well as budget friendly pens . Big airport, decent places for window-shopping.

 

Bangalore ( Bangaluru ) is proud of a few good pen places : MG Road, Central Avenue, Forum mall and a few other places. But I suspect if you could bump into much of indian ebonite pens. The much liked Indian country made pens are appreciated by many, but not so omnipresent in B&M stores ! Sorry to disappoint you.

 

Since we are not that lucky to see you around the city, no point to take you along the Flora fountain pen hubs in Bombay for now. :)

 

 

 

This is great news! Thanks for the heads up about the pen store in the airport. Very useful information. It is disappointing that fountain pens are not as popular as they used to be in the olden days. Equally disappointing is that we didn't have the Internet back in those days so that we could share our enthusiasm for this noble instrument. But better late than never. =)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...