The
1970s and 80s in India were times when imported fountain pens like the
American Parker and Sheaffer, and the
Chinese Hero pens were quite the in-thing. Only one hitch- these were
expensive.
Capitalizing
on this, few Indians came with cheaper variants, although many mimicked the
designs of the imported ones.
One
such native brand was the Bismi Pen in Kerala, then a rage among
college-going students from the 70s to the late 80s. Established in 1970 at
Ernakulam by the late Haji S. Mohammed Bismi, the company introduced
beautifully crafted yet economic fountain pens, thereby making it a preferred
option for most.
Though
acrylic and plastic fountain pens were their forte, once ball-point pens came
into the picture, Bismi ventured into manufacturing these too.
But
due to an overall decrease in the demand for fountain pens and availability of
cheaper imported ball pens, the company soon ran into losses. The production
of Bismi Pens thus came to a standstill.
But even today, the name invokes childhood memories among quite a few of the middle generation. For Deepak Prabhakar who hails from Ernakulam and currently works in the UAE, Bismi was his first pen.
Speaking
to The News Minute, Deepak recalls: "Bismi was my first pen. It
was probably in 1979 or 80 that I started using pens and as with all
Kochiites, Bismi was the first choice, with Camlin and Jubilee being
the other makes available.
He
adds, “A sky-blue Bismi with slotted ink windows occupied a place of
pride. Even when the nib turned scratchy or the pen leaked at the
threads, Bismi was always the one. God-forbid if someone turned up
with a Camlin. Even more sacrilegious to use was the Kunnukulam-made
(a place in Thrissur) Jubilee. The Syed
Agencies shop was a literal haven with its smell of acrylic and ink. The
friendly owner behind the glass case would let us youngsters gingerly touch the
more exotic ones on display. This love
for pens has lingered all through the years, resulting in a collection of more
than 100 pens from around the world. But the memory of that
blue Bismi still reigns supreme.”
Subbu
-an Ernakulam native who works in Abu Dhabi- shares his own association with
the brand right from his schooldays. “I too used to frequent Syed
Agencies on that by-lane in Broadway. Pens used to be given to us only for
important exams. Had we then known that silicone grease could effectively stop
leaks, most of the pens that we threw out would have still been around to at
least be photographed.”
Speaking
to The News Minute, Rifaz Mohammed- grandson of the founder of Bismi
Pens- spoke about his father M Abdul Latif who succumbed to a sudden cardiac
arrest at Pollachi last week. He was just 57. It was in 1993 that Latif had
taken over Bismi Pens from his father.
“Papa
used to often express his desire to resume production, but somehow we could not
do it while he was still alive. His sudden demise has left us distraught, but
we now feel the urge to fulfill his wish. Some sort of a brand-revival will be
the best way to bring peace to the departed soul,” says Rifaz.
If
such a revival is actually on the cards, several pen-collectors and those who
have fond memories associated with the brand would definitely be one happy lot.
(This story appeared first in The News Minute)
