If the pen is mightier than the sword, then 42-year-old V.T. Jolly from Manjummal is perhaps the mightiest man around.
Only, his might rests not in putting pen to paper, but in collecting pens in their thousands and that too used ones. No wonder he goes by the nickname ‘Penman’ Jolly.
Going by Jolly’s claim, he has got over 30,000-odd pens arranged by their colour in 100-odd boxes at his house. Out of this collection, 95 per cent are used ones and the rest are new ones received as gifts. The unique hobby has won him multiple records, including the Limca Book of Records.
On Wednesday, Jolly conducted his first ever exhibition at Women’s Association Hall in the city. “My aim is to enter the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records for having the largest collection of most varieties of used pens,” he said.
So, he put on display, by his claim, 6,300 different varieties of pens painstakingly chosen from his huge collection. There was the big-sized pen, which extends the length of the forehand, gifted to him by his church pastor on his return from Israel. Extremely small pens, heavy weight pens, and pens that can record, spray perfumes and even light a cigarette, are all part of his collection.
A painting worker by profession, Jolly started the hobby 14 years ago, though it turned a real obsession eight years ago. This saw him religiously collect thrown away pens at households and institutions where he goes to work.
“I always longed for a costly pen whenever I saw one with others during my childhood. But, of course, I could hardly afford them,” Jolly explained how the seeds of the unique hobby was sown early in his life.
While he is passionate about his collection, he is proud flashing the ‘celebrity pens,’ the ones used by important personalities.
He claims to have pens used by the late jurist V.R. Krishna Iyer, literary critics M.K. Sanoo and M. Leelavathy, poet Chemmanam Chacko, senior journalist K.M. Roy, and media critic Sebastian Paul.
