A Deccan Sojourn

The Deccan Materpiece and the Deccan Cigar are being showcased for you to ogle at. Both are classic Indian ebonite pens, hand turned by master craftsmen from this premier fountain pen establishment from South India. One has a beautiful slit nib from Kanwrite, while the other comes fitted with an Ambitious Medium nib. Both, as you can see, write exceedingly well. Both, for the inquisitive, have handcrafted ebonite feeds which ensure that just the right amount of ink is transferred on to the nib.

I have been a long fan of Deccan pens and they never cease to amaze me with the traditional craftsmanship that their pens exhibit. They are not the typical 3-in-1s and take the ink straight into the barrel, which makes them workhorses capable of running with the Mongol hordes. And now that we are at it, let me also point out that these pens are not for the faint-hearted, as except when wielded by a master, they are capable of burping and spilling ink when the air balance within the barrel plays truant. I allude to the master as the true writer becomes one with his mount – be that a horse or a masterpiece and knows exactly when to feed it so as to extract the best out of it.

Yes, everything here is made for the pens like they used to be in the days of yore – as opposed to imported bits and pieces procured from different sources that are hastily clamped together these days to pass off as Indian pens.

As for the pens themselves, they are breathtakingly beautiful, aren’t they? I do have a weakness for ebonite pens, especially the large ones that fill the hand, and these two, look like they will spend many months and years with me, translating my thoughts on to the paper.

The Deccan as an establishment has a reputation that has been unblemished for many decades and though I have never had the pleasure of visiting them personally, I have been a satisfied customer for many pens now. May their tribe increase.