Fountain Pens Make A Comeback As Hyderabad Stores Report Summer Sales Surge

Hyderabad: After decades of decline, the humble fountain pen is enjoying an unexpected revival. Pen shops in the city’s Abids market say sales have jumped sharply this summer, fuelled by parents buying pens for school-age children and adults rediscovering the nostalgia—and calm—of writing with ink.

“Since the lockdown we’ve seen interest rising, but this year has been the best in a long time,” said Khaleed Mahmood, second-generation proprietor of 52-year-old JK Pen Stores. “Parents come in asking specifically for starter pens, and professionals pick up mid-range and premium models. It’s a welcome turnaround.”

Fountain pens dominated school desks until the late 1980s, when low-cost ball-points such as the Reynolds 045 swept the student market. The shift forced many of Abids’ once-famous pen emporia—Deccan, Shiraz, Pilot and others—to shutter or scale down. Only a handful remain.

Handwriting expert Mallikarjuna Rao, who has researched script techniques in 15 countries, credits the resurgence to both nostalgia and wellbeing. “Flowing ink captures the rhythm of the mind better than ball pens,” he said. “Writing with a fountain pen reduces stress, which is vital in our screen-heavy lives.”

For Dr Rajshree R., principal of a leading Hyderabad degree college, the ink pen evokes childhood Sundays spent cleaning nibs. “Good handwriting was prized, and a new fountain pen was the ultimate reward,” she recalled. “Seeing students take them up again is wonderful.”

While top-end luxury brands still serve collectors, much of the current boom lies in affordable school models—echoing the 1980s heyday of Chinese-made Hero pens. Retailers hope the trend will keep the remaining specialty stores in business and perhaps inspire new writers—of both love poems and legal briefs—to put ink to paper once more.