Nurungukal..2…contd…

      I do not remember exactly when I started using ball point pens discarding the fountain pen. It can be probably in the early part of nineteen sixty's. Because I am sure in the primary school we were allowed to use only slate and pencil. The pencil was just a piece of soft stone, which came in different colours and texture. Some were very hard which refused to make impressions on the slate, instead made deep etchings, damaging the surface of the slate. We used to clean the slate  every morning using the leaves of hibiscus before going to school. A few cuttings of a grass which store water in its stems for cleaning the slate, would be always available in the jute bag in which we carried our books, slate etc.We managed to get the jute or very rarely a cloth bag from mother after a prolonged pleading. Invariably our request would be considered only after producing the one in use and confirming that it is in an irreparable condition. These bags are used to hold packets of LG brand of asafoetida [kaayam] which is popular even now.  Where as now children get costly back packs just for a song, new in every academic year.

       As we reached higher class, slate and pencil were replaced by still pens along with an ink bottle, which we precariously balanced in our left hand while running to school. Very often we came back from school smearing the ink on our dress and of course inviting painful smacks from mother. I remember that often the ink used to either drop or flow in excess forcing us to blot with dry sand collected from the class room floor.Blotting paper was unreachable then to kids. If the quality of the paper is poor the ink will spread, drawing weary designs and inviting unpleasant reactions from our teachers.  Those wooden desks with a provision for keeping the ink bottle and still pens have disappeared from the class rooms now.  Then came the fountain pens in various designs. We never had a chance to own a new pen and was satisfied with those used by our elders. Parker, Blackbird or Waterman with platinum point nibs were elusive in our student life. But there were a few students who enjoyed the elite status of owning the glittering pens.

        Yesterday once again I ventured to purchase a fountain pen in order to be a part of discarding plastics. A trend our community is now pursuing after enduring the damage for the last many years. The sales girl showed me many types, even a ‘Parker’ with a disposable ink cartridge!!. Then I thought about my school days and the elite club, but manged to resist the temptation and choose an ordinary brand so that it will remain with me as a  reminder of the distant past, the rest of my life.

   Dum…dum…dum…pee…pee…pi…..