THEN AND NOW
There was a time when there were no ballpens.
There used to be fountain pens. And these were a little expensive even at the lowest price.. Those who could afford it bought imported waterman, Parker or sheaffers pens costing thousands of rupees in today's value.
Others settled for the much cheaper made in India pens costing a strong Rs 5/- of early nineteen fifties (over seven hundred in today'value)
All school desks had brass inkwells on the right hand upper corner. These were used for the other pen - the holder pen- that had to be contantly dipped in ink pot for writing. For these cheap holder pens one had to regulàrly buy nibs. The most popular nib was the pink coloured Gee nib made of pure pink copper. There were no ball pens till mid nineteen fifties. When they first came these were a little expensive. Now they are dirt cheap.
Schools had three types of students. The studious , the michivious and the 'none of the above'. The mischief mongers provided entertainment in the class such as wrapping up frogs in the cloth duster (meant for cleaning black board), fixíng ball pins (आल पिन), with sharp point upwards, on teacher's chair or bringing a street dog inside the class room.
Teacher were creative. They found new ways of punishing the students. But the most popular ageless punishment was making a MURGA of the student.
We are in a different world now . No holder pens, no fountain pens, no Murga.
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