Re-acquainting myself with fountain pens

I am Aswin, living in the city of Bangalore in India. I do academic research in biology for a living. It was only a few years ago, as a 23-year-old PhD student in Cambridge, that I developed a fascination for fountain pens. I had used fountain pens in school, and a variety of constraints, including the need-affordability balance, availability (in India), and the tendency of school kids to lose a pen every other day, meant that a fountain pen called Hero - of dubious pedigree but excellent writing - that cost all of Rs. 30 (~0.5 USD at today's abysmal-for-the-rupee exchange rate) became the crowning possession. With the advent of "gel" pens, a move to college and the acquisition of a personal computer at home, fountain pens ceased to exist for me. That is until one day in the British summer of 2006, I walked into "The Pen Shop" at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4, and in a rush of blood, decided to buy a Waterman fountain pen, which cost me over a 100-times more than the afore-mentioned Hero pen. One thing led to another, many phases passed in life, and I am very proud of my little collection of fountain pens of all hues and colours, with a range of price-tags, with and without brand names to flaunt, purchased in three different countries. The fad has now reached a point where the prominent place among the small set of gift types that I really give me pleasure is occupied by The Fountain Pen; and the only class of gifts that I think is worth giving is represented by The Fountain Pen.

In this day and age, any fascination for fountain pens should count as freakish. May be that is what prompted a colleague of mine to suggest that I write a blog on this subject. While I do adore the Fountain Pen, I am not an expert on this subject. I am not sure what I will write on this blog. Whatever it is, it will convey the enthusiasm that I have for acquiring and using fountain pens, irrespective of the brand badge.