“It’s mine Nesha no more profession [it’s an addiction and not just a profession]Dilip Basak, 56, says of his livelihood as a fountain pen repairman. If the Mont Blanc or Waterman at your desk – whether inherited from your grandfather or a new purchase – has developed a snag, Mr. Basak can not only diagnose the problem but fix it for you Huh.
“I am the only person in the whole of India who is still in this profession,” declared Mr. Basak, “and I am able to make both ends meet.” While it may be debatable whether he is the only one in the entire country to do this work, there is no doubt that he is one of the very few, and certainly a high one in the many groups on Facebook and WhatsApp. Respected members, created by connoisseurs. Nice, old fountain pen.
Mr Basak’s fame among pen lovers is inversely proportional to the size of his workplace – a narrow rectangular space under the stairwell of an old building in Bhabnipur – which he, along with the profession, had inherited from his father, Bholanath Basak, who died in 1998. had died. .
“I was barely 11 or 12 years old when I came across this line holding my father’s hand. I will tell you why I got into this profession so early. I was a good student in the school, always stood first or second, but one particular year, they refused to give me the result because I had not paid the fee. My father eventually got the money, but by then I had decided I would never return to school,” Mr Basak said.
After leaving school so early, Mr. Basak himself may not be highly proficient with the written word, but the fountain pen he repairs probably chronicled important moments in history. The pens he has installed include those of Satyajit Ray and Jyoti Basu. “Of course, they never came to me personally. Their pens were brought to me by dealers or showroom people who used to tell me, ‘handle it carefully, they are of such a nature’. Pens from Raj Bhavan for a long time Also came for repair.
Fountain pens falling out of fashion – Mr Basak has decided to stick to his profession – only helped add to his popularity as a restorer. In those days, he was one of the many mechanics in Kolkata who could fix fountain pens. Today, he is known nationwide to fountain pen connoisseurs who regularly courier their expensive pens for repairs.
“My father, though he was a skilled craftsman, had one drawback – he was nervous about handling very expensive pens. While I don’t care if the pen I am repairing costs ₹1 lakh Or ₹1.5 lakh. If I start worrying about its value, I will never be able to work on it. This confidence I gained early in life,” said Mr. Basak.
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