I ndependent journalist and former editor of several Kannada newspapers, Ishwar Daitota has the most unusual hobby.
He collects pens. The scribe's personal collection numbers a whopping 18,000.
As a child, I remember being fascinated by pens.
It just grew into a passion for collecting them. And before I knew it, I had collected 18,000 of them from 56 countries.
I still spend around Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 30,000 on buying pens every year.
As for writing, I do not use any of the pens in my collection!
My collection comprises every kind
From those made of biodegradable paper mache to waterproof ones that can be used in space and write without gravity, they all find a place. I have a fountain pen that is just 3-cm-long, and I have a custom-made pen of 168 cm, which is my height.
One of my most prized pens
… is one given to me by an Aboriginal child in Australia where I had spent some time working with a community newspaper.
I presented him a sandalwood pen and in return he fashioned a lovely pen carved out of wood in the shape of a crocodile. Another one that deserves mention is an antique 200-year-old style from a Rajasthani royal family.
My collection inspires quite some curiosity
People often ask to come in and have a look. I have to remind them that this is my personal collection, in my house, and not for public display!
I would like to start a museum
I do not have the resources to do so now, but I would like to have a museum for pens one day.
There is a museum of pens in London… I don't see why we shouldn't have one here.
Pens have got to be the perfect invention of humankind — the principle on which they work has remained by and large the same. From the day they were invented, they have been used the same way — between the forefinger and thumb.
Pens will never go out of fashion.
Bill Gates once said he looked forward to a world without pen and paper. But the keyboard can never replace the good old pen!
