March seems to be looking up for Chennai’s pen collectors and stationary enthusiasts. As Mokoba wrapped up their pen show last week, another showcase that had its previous editions in cities like Mumbai and Pune comes to Chennai this weekend. Chennai Pen Show, a three-day event promises to be unlike anything that the city has seen before. With over 30 exhibitors from across the world in attendance and over 100 brands, the show will have everything from inks, hand-carved pens, nibs, notebooks and collectibles.
“We thought it was high time that Chennai had a pen show of this scale,” says Aditya Bhansali, organiser of the event and the co-founder of Endless Stationery. “We wanted the community to come together and meet the pen makers themselves. A lot of the people come looking for specific brands, and want to engage with the people behind them,” he adds. Aditya says that Chennai is home to many independent collectors.
Among the 30-plus exhibitors are Indian pen makers, vintage pen sellers and importers of international brands . Some of the major Indian brands include the world’s largest nib makers, Kanwrite and India’s first indigenous ink maker, Sulekha Inks, as well as Sheaffer (the 110-year-old American brand acquired by William Penn, a Bangalore based company in 2022), ASA Pens, Mylapore, Ranga Pens, Thiruvallur, Gamma Pens, and Gem & Co.
An impressive list of international players are also part of the line-up. J Herbin, which is the world’s oldest surviving ink maker from the 1670s; Aurora, the 105- year-old Italian fountain pen specialist; Pelikan from Germany and , Montblanc.
One can also catch a rare sighting of music nibs, Aditya explains, “A music nib has two holes and two cuts, typically used to write musical notations. This was created in the 1930s in Germany. There are only three companies in the world making them right now and Kanwrite is one of them.”
The event will also have workshops on fountain pen nib-tuning, care and maintenance and calligraphy.
Chennai Pen Show is from March 8 to 10 at Fika, Adyar from 2pm to 7pm. Register at www.chennaipenshow.com.
