I had a fascinating conversation with a woman, on a train a few days ago. Actually, it wasn't that fascinating - it was quite silly and bizarre! I was minding my own business, writing (as I always do, nearly all the time these days) and I noticed her glancing in my direction. I didn't think much of it, but when I knew she had been staring for about two or three minutes non stop, I had to look up and meet her eye.
She said " oh, I'm sorry, it's very rude of me, but can I ask you, what are you writing with?"
I honestly thought she was a bit nuts, but since there is something about me that attracts all the crazies,I answered anyway "a.....a pen!" - Did she think I was writing with chalk? I wondered.
" No, no, I know that - but isn't that a fountain pen?"
" Er, yes it is." I said. "Why do you ask?"
" Oh my God, it's been so long since I've seen one of those, let alone write with them!! Are you a writer?"
By now she was roaring animatedly - a bunch of college students who were seating across from me looked fascinated and bored in equal measure.
" No, I'm not a writer. Well, I'm writing. With an ink pen, but that's because I can't write properly with ball point pens or any other kind of pens I guess" - even I knew I was mumbling.
We then proceeded to talk about the weather,and about where she was getting down. When she found out I was going to the same place as she was, she became even more excited! We eventually parted ways at the bus stop upon arriving at our destination, but it was nice to have a chat with someone friendly after travelling in silence for over three hours. In this case, the ice was broken over such a strange subject: a fountain pen!
I remember similar instances - a long time ago, a piano pupil remarked on me writing some notes in his notebook with my ink pen. When I worked as Receptionist in an office, I would only use my own pen to sign for couriers , and one time a courier delivery driver who wanted to write the time of delivery asked to use my pen. When I handed him my own ink pen, he remarked " Jaysus, haven't used one of them pens in a long time!!" and looked at me as if I was a bit bonkers.
I have always enjoyed writing - writing anything and everything on paper. It may come as a surprise to most people that every single thing written on this website, or on any website or blog, has been written on paper first, and then copy typed on to the internet. I didn't write as much as I used to for about three or four years, between 2005 and mid 2009 because I simply didn't have the time, except for writing stuff for Offbeat. However, when I returned to India in mid 2009, following another health crisis, I was spending a lot of time with my trusted friend: the fountain pen! The frequent power cuts, often for hours every day mean that you can't rely on electricity for all your entertainment and correspondance. Not having a computer at home, and not having easy access to the internet (it's not as though I have to backpack for days to go online, but it's certainly not as easy when one is dependent on library computers and the like) means that every spare minute is spent reading or writing. I hardly ever email anyone unless it's related to something important like my radio program (in which case I reply once a week to every single email that I receive). I have always kept in touch with those closest to me by writing letters - it's not old fashioned or Dickensian or a pain in the arse for me, even though I know one dear friend who admits that by the time she finds paper, an envelope, a postal stamp and then actually joins a queue in the post office, she's lost the will to live, let alone post a letter that contains " old news" so to speak! So I write to her, and she responds by email! I also find that when I actually put pen to paper, I write exactly how I feel rather than pressing backspace, or delete, or .........................!
I have always enjoyed writing - writing anything and everything on paper. It may come as a surprise to most people that every single thing written on this website, or on any website or blog, has been written on paper first, and then copy typed on to the internet. I didn't write as much as I used to for about three or four years, between 2005 and mid 2009 because I simply didn't have the time, except for writing stuff for Offbeat. However, when I returned to India in mid 2009, following another health crisis, I was spending a lot of time with my trusted friend: the fountain pen! The frequent power cuts, often for hours every day mean that you can't rely on electricity for all your entertainment and correspondance. Not having a computer at home, and not having easy access to the internet (it's not as though I have to backpack for days to go online, but it's certainly not as easy when one is dependent on library computers and the like) means that every spare minute is spent reading or writing. I hardly ever email anyone unless it's related to something important like my radio program (in which case I reply once a week to every single email that I receive). I have always kept in touch with those closest to me by writing letters - it's not old fashioned or Dickensian or a pain in the arse for me, even though I know one dear friend who admits that by the time she finds paper, an envelope, a postal stamp and then actually joins a queue in the post office, she's lost the will to live, let alone post a letter that contains " old news" so to speak! So I write to her, and she responds by email! I also find that when I actually put pen to paper, I write exactly how I feel rather than pressing backspace, or delete, or .........................!
Yesterday, when I was at the post office, I noticed that the queue was very long. I felt really happy - I know many people pay bills at the post office, or use it to send and receive money and all of that, but most people who were in that queue were actually there to either buy stamps or send parcels and packages! I'm only seriously depressed when there are postal strikes, because it means I can't actually communicate with the people I care about in the only way I feel most comfortable. As for wasting paper and all that - we waste far more paper printing out on one side of the paper and binning it, or on things like tissue paper, and that's senseless waste. It's becoming impossible to find pretty letter paper, so recycled note paper works just as well. Anyway, I thought I would share this silly annecdote while I could still decipher my own hand-writing and copy type it on to this site! When I read diary entries going back seven or eight years, I can barely figure out what I wrote. I think that's not such a bad thing after all.
