A City That Writes Its Soul, Kolkata’s 77-Year-Old Pen Hospital Keeps The Ink Flowing By Healing Broken Pens And Memories

Kolkata Pen Hospital: Kolkata, the City of Joy, is also regarded as “Shritir Shohor”, the city of memories. Staying true to its name, nostalgia hums through every lane and bylane. Whether it is the crumbling colonial buildings and yellow taxis or trams rattling past College Street’s endless bookshops, the city wears its past with pride. Over steaming cups of coffee and the smoke of cigars at the Indian Coffee House, ideas still flow as freely as ink once did from the pens of Tagore and Sukanta.

In Kolkata, words have always mattered. Pens were not just tools, but were companions of thought, of art and of protest. Even today, in this city where writing never dies, there stands an unusual little place called Pen Hospital, where pens are patients, and memories are lovingly healed.

Pen Hospital In Kolkata, Where Pens Heal (Image Credits: Bornika Das)

In a world which is ruled by Word docs and Notepad, Kolkata still clings to its old soul and the Pen Hospital is proof. For over 77 years, this little ‘clinic’ has been healing more than broken pens, but reviving memories. While the city keeps changing, Kolkata somehow knows how to hold on to its legacy, its pride and the poetry of things that refuse to fade in this disposable world, just like the Pen Hospital.

Pen Hospital: Where Pens Are Repaired, Not Discarded

My birthday always arrives with Shorot (Sarat) kal, along with the Durga Pujo buzz and that golden Kolkata glow. Unlike every year, this year I made a birthday resolution, that is, to start journaling. Being a bit old-school, I wanted to do it with a fountain pen, the kind that feels alive in the hand. After a rigorous search between the shiny stationery shops and sleek malls, nothing felt right until I found the Pen Hospital.

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Tucked amid the flashy LED signage, market-turned-marts and fancy showrooms at Esplanade, there stood a tiny asbestos-roofed shop, beneath the ramshackle buildings, where faded painted letters are written on a worn-out signboard that looked straight out of another era. The Pen Hospital, as known by pen lovers, was founded in the late ’50s by Muhammad Samsuddin and a few fountain-pen craftsmen. This 77-year-old shop still “heals” pens that others would throw away.

Pen Hospital: Kolkata’s Clinic For Broken Pens (Image Credits: Bornika Das)

As I searched for my first fountain pen, I realised that this wasn’t just about buying stationery, but holding on to something real, something that still refuses to fade, even in the hands of Gen Z and millennials, much like Kolkata itself.

The Pen Doctor - The Man Who Heals Memories

Choosing through stacks of fountain pens at Kolkata’s Pen Hospital, Muhammad Imtiaz, the city’s beloved Pen Doctor, helped me pick my first fountain pen.“Fountain pens are a labour of love,” he said while showing me how to hold the nib just right, letting ink glide smoothly across the paper.

Sensing my curiosity, Imtiaz chuckled, “Younger generations like you are falling in love with fountain pens again.” Imtiaz is the third generation in his family to heal pens. He added, “What was once a necessity has become something personal, even precious.” Imtiaz has seen it all, from the near disappearance in the 2000s, when ball pens took over and brands like Pilot and Wilson shut shop, to its current revival. “We survived only because of our loyal customers,” he said proudly.

Pen Doctor: The Pen Healer Of Kolkata (Image Credits: Bornika Das)

For many, these pens are heirlooms. “Some bring the pens their grandparents gifted them, others the first pen they ever wrote with. They don’t want new ones. They want theirs back.” His nephew Shahbaaz Reyaz, who joined the business in recent years, calls it a “vintage revival.” “Like film cameras or old Casio watches, fountain pens are finding love again.”

Maybe he’s true. For our generation, these pens are no longer just about writing, but about feeling. They’re collectables, keepsakes and quiet acts of rebellion against the disposable world we live in.

The Stories The Pens Carry

While chatting with Muhammad Imtiaz about his family’s pen-repair legacy, I watched a steady line of pen lovers walk in. One of them, in his 40s, waited patiently as Reyaz worked on his small collection of pens. Curiously, I asked how long he’d been coming. He smiled and answered, “Almost a decade. I still write only with fountain pens as a habit and part of my profession,” said Titash Harry Mayne, who is a teacher from The Scottish Church Collegiate School. He further stated, “My father gifted me my first pen in Class 4. I remember blotting paper saving me from ink disasters.” He sighed and said, “Those sheets are rare now.”

Pen Lovers Who Are Living The Legacy Of Ink (Image Credits: Bornika Das)

Before leaving, he admitted that fountain pens have lost their everyday presence, but “Your generation must keep this legacy alive. Technology helps us grow, but if you want beautiful handwriting and a calm mind, pick up a fountain pen.”

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In a world where ball pens and touchscreens dominate, the fountain pen is making a soulful comeback. For many Gen Zs and millennials, it is more about slowing down - journaling their thoughts, practising calligraphy or signing something important that truly matters.

And only in Kolkata, where the city still believes in “repair culture,” where professionals like typewriter repairers, watch fixers and camera mechanics exist, the city hides little workshops that keep history alive. Among them stands the Pen Hospital, where pens are treated and memories are mended, and time flows in ink. It’s more than just a shop now; rather, a metaphor for Kolkata itself.