I have alighted from the auto-rickshaw at the iconic “Sivudi
bomma” junction. (Auto-rickshaw, is my usual means of commuting and I have a
phobia for driving motor vehicles) The driver of the vehicle, thinking me as a
stranger to the city points me the opposite road and says,” That is
Rajahmundry main road; you get everything there-from a pin to the diamond”. (గుండు సూది కాడ
నుంచి వజ్రం దాకా దొరుకుతుంది sir..)
It was 7
pm. The drizzles in the evening made the climate pleasant. Waded through the crowds
and busy hawkers and reached my famous destination, the Ratnam Pen Works.
My visit to
the shop today is two pronged. Mr Durga Prasad, one of the last surviving pen
smiths of the country has been convalescing from some sickness and I wanted to
pay a courtesy visit. Also a friend from Chennai wanted to buy few pens
from them. As always, I acted as commission free liaison agent.
Ratnam pen works
is housed in old terracotta tiled roof building with an open courtyard. These
are now fashionably called as heritage houses. The famous Ratnam Pen Works was
started at Rajahmundry from this house in 1932 by a collaborative effort of two
brothers named, Venkataratnam and Satyanarayana. They belonged to the gold smith
ancestry. When I asked him to briefly explain about the family history, Durga
Prasad garu felt relieved, and started to tell how their family adopted
pen making profession hereditarily. His uncles, his siblings, cousins and their
progeny were gradually involved in pen making, and on few instances the members
of the clan has even started separate pen making units at the city. Few
workmen, who undertook training from them have also started pen making units
successfully at Rajahmundry, he asserts.
Though they
specialise in making gold and silver pens, their handcrafted ebonite models are
very popular. The ebonite’ basic models start from 1000 inr and the price of
more complex models might cost you slightly higher owing to the time consumed
in making them. The ebonite is a hard form of rubber, they come in various
shades; some in flat colours like pink, black and green, while others have
grains imitating wood on them. Mr Durga Prasad compares the grains on the pen
to the stripes of zebra, though the pens look similar to each other, each
pen has a very distinct and unique pattern. The blank ebonite rods are fitted
to the precision lathe and turned. Hand held tools are used to fashion the rods
into the desired shapes. High quality nibs are fitted to their pens which gives
the user pleasant writing experience with unhindered flow of the ink.
Back then, when Late
J C Kumarappa, the famous leader and activist visited
Rajahmundry, He had bought a pen from the Ratnam's shop and later gifted in to the Mahatma
Gandhi. Mr Gandhi , on using the pen had sent a testimonial to the Ratnam Pen Works,
praising their efforts in making pens through indigenous ”swadeshi” technology.
While
having the tête-à-tête with
the Durga Prasad garu on his long five decade journey in the field of hand-made
pens, Thanks to the information technology, I could show the available samples
of the pens to my friend in Mogappair, Chennai through - Whatsapp video call. A
deal was stricken for the amount of 4000/- inr for purchase of three pens. (and by the by, they accept all kinds of mobile based payments.)
It is a
general theory of craft economics, when the craftsmen involve their children
into the trade, the craft can be stated to be in a flourishing position. I knew
that Durga Prasad garu’s children are not in the trade. Of his two sons, one is
a Medical Practitioner and another prospective Chartered Accountant. With
little hesitation, I asked him why his children were not involved in the craft. He said
there is lot of time yet. He said that there are many important tasks that have
to be done in future. He said “with my long experience in this field I hope, I can
train many youngsters into skillful artists of pen making, and especially in
making intricately carved gold and silver pens”.
At around
8-00 pm, when I was exiting from their shop, Durga Prasad garu reckons that there
would be no more customers for the day, and gently instructs his brother to
close the shop!!
Srinivas
Krothapally.
10-10-2020
All photographs that follow this article is by Mr V C Arun, Wayanad, Kerala
