Amar Jyoti Sarma .. An FP_Enthusiast from Assam (The Land of Tea Gardens)

Amar Jyoti, if translated means The Eternal Light. One can feel his energy,his enthusiasm and his love for Fountain pen radiating, just by having conversation with him. A very candid session with him follows. Enjoy

What does the word Fountain Pen mean to you?

Amar Jyoti Sarma: For me, a pen or pencil is an instrument to jot down down thoughts, take notes, scribble on a pad. On the other hand Fountain pens are the classical writing instruments, that has an emotional connect. It may not be perfect at beginning when you first handle it, it may need fine tuning like a musical instrument. This makes them more personal than any other writing instruments. You work on wetness, fineness, smoothness of nibs, feeds till it represents you, becomes an extension of you, your soul. Its starts defining and reflecting your personality.  That is how I feel. 

 I inherited a Wingsung from my father. I first used it in 2010, I instantly liked the feel of ink and the sound of the nib due to friction between nib tip and paper. Though, the nib was not at it's best. I started looking for nibs to replace it, but it was very difficult to find spare nibs for these pens those days. One thing led to another and I started exploring internet for Fountain pens made in India especially handmade Ebonite pens. I ordered two fountain pens that I could afford at that time from ASA website (I didn't want to lose money as online transactions were still very new). The pens were made by Gama. And I got hooked. Subsequently I became fascinated with ebonite pens made by ASA, Gama a. However, i like to believe that I am a user rather than a collector as I buy pens that I believe will give me a better experience than its aesthetic value.

 How and when did you shift to fountain pens from generally used ball pens, gel pens and roller pens?

In In 2011, when I got back home after studies in Pune. I found my father's pen and a few of my old pens. Out of curiosity, I bought a bottle of Ink and started writing and I never stopped.

What drives you towards a pen? Over this 10 years, I have become very particular about my pens. I am a user and therefore, writing experience is my utmost priority. The feel of the nib scratching on the paper and the ink trail giving shape to my thoughts, feel magical. I like my handwriting to be as personal as possible. The wetness of the ink, the color, the fineness everything is personalised for me. This can happen only with a fountain pen. There is no perfect fountain pen. You have to work on it and make it perfect for yourself. You have to get your hands dirty sometimes and when you are done, you have a pen that is an extension of yourself. Many people donot like my settings of a pen but that is me. I like my pen that way.

. Which is your go to pen and why?

AA few pens that I can never do without would be

1. My Kanwrite Desire with a semi flex M nib. 

2. My Pilot 78 G with an F nib.

3. My Deccan Advocate with an F nib.

I like my pen as fine as possible, slightly dry so that it dries quickly on paper and it should have a mid sized section and neither too heavy, nor too light.I am very particular when it comes to my writing experience. Besides those, ASA Maya is also my favourite. I have got few vintage Parkers, Sheaffers, Waterman Expert, Carene and a Pilot Custom 74 too but I dont enjoy them as much. 

I believe one must have wide array of fountain pens in your caskets. 

Can you share their pics and details, how you feel about each one of them?

I have about 300 pens, mostly Indian from Gama, ASA, Guider, Ratnam and Ranga. I have a few Kanwrites. I have about 100 Chinese pens and some vintage Parkers, Sheaffers and Indian vintage too. But i am primarily in Indian handmade ebonites and an occasional acrylic. However, I collect Indian vintage pens as I feel that they need to be preserved for posterity. Nothing beats the feel of ebonite in hand though i like acrylic for its vibrant colors.  

What measures you feel are essential on part of manufacturers and FP dealer/ retailers in India to make it a part of daily routine, writing with FP? 

Japan and Germany had the advantage of starting earlier in a perfect multinational conglomerate way. They have over the period of time, build their brand in such a way that people do not mind buying their products at a premium because they are assured of the quality and after sales service. Indian manufacturers are more or less operating like cottage industries. Further, India still doesn't produce every raw material required to make pens. So, certain compromises has to be made. You may get quality but the price goes high or you may make it affordable but the effect of cost cutting is apparent. We do not have steady supply of clips and rings of good quality or the rods or sheets to make the body. So, without these, our pen makers can only go so far. However, even with this limitations our pens can do much better by investing more time on quality check and creating a network for after sales service. Most people want a good experience out of the box. No body really has time to work on the pen or send it back again for servicing. Consumers will think twice before sending a pen back for servicing and wait for its re arrival. Therefore some kind of network of after sales service is the need of the hour. But quality check before the user uses the pen is the utmost priority.



How active are you on Social media? Would you like to share the URL, handle? 

I am mostly in FB and I am working actively in a new FB group called Pen's and Calligraphers forum. The idea of this group is not just to collect pens but to enjoy creating something with it, even if it's just a scribble. After all, a pen is a writing instrument. You are better of collecting or investing in Gold or something else if you dont use or pen. A pen should help you express yourself. If having a pen is your only way of connecting to the world or your only claim to fame then you are probably into it for all the wrong reasons. Just enjoy your pen.

Well giving messages to all is easy and most common question, but i would like to ask, whats your gut feel? 

I feel that a pen must be enjoyed first. It must be, as my friend HD says, exploited. Get the maximum out of it. Yes, collecting them strategically as investments is also a viable option but beyond that don't ever get into the rat race of buying pens just because somebody else bought it. Ask yourself, do you really need another pen and why do you need another pen? If you are satisfied with your answer then definitely go for it.

Tell me about your profession and hobbies, apart from FP and inks

I am a weird person. Do you know I collect or rather can't throw away the card board boxes of my pens, mobiles, cameras. 😂😂

Besides pen, I love electronic gadgets like mobiles, cameras. I love tinkering with electrical or electronic goods. I have spoiled 3 of my phones trying to repair them myself by YouTube video guides. I love riding motorcycles. I have a Pulsar when I feel sporty and a Enfield Classic 500 when I want a long ride. I do amateur gardening. I love reading about astrophysics. Everything about Origin of the universe, relativity quantum mechanics. I don't understand it like a scientist but I like reading it in its simplified form. Do you know that your time will stand still if you can travel at the speed of light. Unfortunately, that would require infinite energy. The unsolved mysteries of the world really fascinates me. I go to sleep trying to visualise falling into a black hole and its consequences.

Professionally, I am a senior lecturer of law in BRM Govt. Law College at Guwahati

Ayush Surana : An emerging name in the field of Fountain Pen Friendly Papers

Inks, Papers, Pens and More

 

 

So you all would have played this game in your childhood, Let me confess that I never heard about it and watched my children play, But got the first taste of this game last sunday for the first time. We used to play X & O or join the dots to make a square your own :)

Well here  instead of Rock, paper and scissors..we have Inks, Papers, Pens and More. After sharing the experiences of an Fountain pen Lover (FPL), biker, photographer, Amar sarma in last session, this time I had the opportunity to Rope in the owner of Brand The Ayush Papers ...Ayush Surana.

He gracefully accepted my request to answer the questions, which I felt were playing in my mind.

Here we Go

What does the word Pen meant to you?

Initially I never cared about what pens I used.

I started writing a gratitude letter with every order I shipped. I had few pens that I wanted to sell but, one day I thought of opening one and using it for myself.

My first pen was Stabilio Easy buddy. I felt that whatever I wrote using a Fountain pen had more value as compared to when I used ball pens. I was never a gel pen person.

Where did you get your inspiration from, for opening this venture for Fountain Pen(FP) friendly paper?

My inspiration was my father and mother who wanted me to be focused and start working at an early age and not waste time like other kids during their college time. They also motivated me to try and fail rather than be a passenger. 

What does your family say about your passion?

I live in a joint family.

Not everyone understands my new love for these pens..

A few members in my family, however write everyday so I started handing them these pens for them to try and use on a daily basis...  I keep tempting them with the new range of pen images and videos that are shared on social media. I guess my family knows what to gift me for my next birthday 😊

I believe you must have wide array of fountain pens in your caskets. Can you share their pics and details, how you feel about each one of them?

Don't really have a wide range of pens but I wish to buy a pen every 4 months. For now my budget is 4k max for any pen.

What drives you towards Indian fountain pen?

I get fascinated by the facts that they are handcrafted and a craftsman has put in so much of time and effort to create a master piece that is most likely a unique one...

What measures you feel are essential on part of manufacturers and FP dealer/ retailers in India to make it a part of daily routine, writing with an FP? 

I feel in order to expand this products usage and reach out to new users trying to convert them into using something that's is eco-friendly and therapeutic at the same time. Brands should have some experience center or samples given to various good shops so it's easy for sales person to promote the product. We plan to start such activity in our city. We have taken up work for click pens and plan to have an executive sit at a store explain people about the product let them use it. Even though the conversion rate will be low it's about giving them a new experience.

 What was your childhood dream.. writing with FP, having a good paper or some dream ink?

Um I first used a hero pen that was recommended by my handwriting teacher. When I was in my 3/4th grade. I stopped using them because they used to leak.

Slowly i started experiencing different pens and like i said Stabilio was the one I re-ignited my passion  for FP

I'm glad the Fountain pen segment has grown so much and I'm back to using them for my everyday purpose 

When did this bug hit you.. to get into the Quality papers for fp and sketching ?

I've always been into creating interesting products for artists and painters it's been a fun journey...

When I opened my first pen the stabilio I felt there is a need and market for good paper in India. So many inks don't work well on regular paper.. my friend Swaroop from Banglore helped and pushed me a lot to create these books, helped me by suggesting how to go about its design, papers thickness and other aspects.

So now coming to Your brand Ayush Papers. Tell us about it. How did it start?

Ayush paper started in 2013-2014 when I was in my 1st year of graduation. We started with an investment of 12,000/- Our first product was fancy envelopes. Then we purchased some handmade papers and started selling them to local shopkeepers. In 2017 we came up with our first sketchbook a 7*7 inch square book that has been our best seller till date.

Now we have ventured into a very unique concept of designing a letter-pad like Inland Letter, if you remeber those pale Blue foldable letters with self adhesive, (closed using our saliva 😜) to give a feeling of bygone era when Snail mail was everything and one used to wait for Dak Babu to deliver a letter. And you don't have to look for a separate envelope to send ..just write address after folding it.

Inland Letter Pad

What is your USP? What do you think is strong point of your brand?

Paper is a common comodity and there are many brands out there..I feel our USP is connecting to users on one to one level, fast service, trying to innovate new products, having artists involved in our products. For example we organise a cover painting contest so the artist has to use our paper paint as per the theme given to them and selected one will be printed as our book cover. We make sure the artist's name is written on the book cover.

Apart from this I am a user of my products which makes me think more creatively as to how more value could be added to these products...

Do you make it inhouse or you have a manufacturer working on your directions to mqke papers as per specific requirements?

As off now we don't make them in house our papers are made as per our requirement. We hope to attain good volumes that we can manufacture them in-house some day soon.

What are different types of papers? How does one differentiate between different types of papers

Papers that we have are
140 gsm sketching paper
200 gsm sketching paper
250 gsm mix media paper
270 gsm watercolor paper 100% cotton
260 gsm acrylic paper
100 gsm Fountain pen friendly books
140 gsm Fountain pen sketchbook
And some handmade papers

Differentiate between papers would be through its usage primarily. If you are an artist and a beginner 140 gsm book is sufficient for your usage you don't need a 200 gsm book to start with.

We are also launching some new products in Pen Mahotsava at Kolkota

What is GSM? What does it signify? We often say this is 75 gsm paper or 100 gsm paper etc?

Gsm stands for grams per square meter. It's the weight of paper. 

It's how much pulp is there in per sq meter of paper. So to calculate paper gsm cut paper in 4*4 inches fold it and put it on weighing scale. If your weighing scale shows a weight of 0.90 your paper thicknese

s is 90 GSM. Similarly 1.4 grams your paper thickness is 140 GS

Apart from the gsm of paper, correct composition of raw material is important plus it's application. So you don't always buy paper based on its gsm but choose a paper based on its application.

 

What are your recent ventures that you forayed into, inorder to provide quality experiences and combos for FP enthusiast in India?

Well as you know , We have recently addressed the problem faced by all FP lover who love to collect these beauties...a proper storage box. So we  had this  multi tray, a storage box made out of teak wood that can sit pretty on your writing desk as well as on the side table, looking elegant. It has a side rack for your scribble pads and notebooks too.

Teak wood Pen storage

A litle bit about Ayush as I have come to know in past couple of years.....

He is a young enthusiast, barely out of teens , fool of charm and boyish looks, innocence written all over his face. Very mature for his age and pleasant to interact with, Ayush has indeed got all the signs of a successful entrepreneur and a good person

Wishing him all the best for his future endeavours

About Calligraphy

Calligraphy pens for beginners
Excerpts

Calligraphy is an art form that requires very little when it comes to tools. A piece of paper and a good quality Calligraphy Pen is all you require to create some of the most visually pleasing letters and symbols that your hands can draw!

It’s an ancient art form that requires years of dedicated practice to master, and using a good quality Calligraphy Pen can go a long way in enhancing your skills.

As a beginner, it can be quite a challenge to choose a pen that is suitable for your needs, especially with the massive variety of models available in the market.