This
was truly unreal...I had to hide my excitement... I tried to look nonchalant...
I opened the caps one by one...the first FP had a gold band on the cap...the
nib had Misak on it...wonderful...the second one had no cap band... this nib
also had Misak on it...more wonderful...the third one with the arrow clip
turned out to be a ball pen with an ‘ancient’ looking refill still in it...no
harm... it is always nice to have a complete range of a pen brand, if
possible...in fact, I did not want to leave any Misak behind...I then asked him
some general questions about the Misak brand...he said it was a very popular
brand in Hyderabad at one point of time and of course now it is closed and the
owner has migrated to the US or Dubai, he was not sure... very casually, I
asked him the price of these 3 pens...by now I think he realised that I was
hooked...and told me that he is offering me these pens at cost price, although
these are now antique pieces...and he can ask for more...I just smiled...and he
offered me each pen at cost price...which was fabulous...
Now I
had 3 Misaks...two FPs with custom Misak nibs, something I was searching for...the
ball-pen added variety...and there was a tremendous sense of satisfaction...as
if I had made the pens myself...
What
is special about these pens? Nothing much...they are simple looking ebonite FPs
with no frills or fuss...but for a whole generation of Hyderabadis...Misak meant
‘fountain pens’...
And
this happened around a year ago and I had wanted to write about my search and
post pictures of my Misaks...and it never seemed to happen...a couple of weeks
ago, I finally decided to create my Misak post...and as some kind of preparatory
work, wanted to see if I can get some information on the Internet (though I
have scoured the net many times earlier in search of information on Misak...)...and
I found a piece of conversation (in a Hyderabadi forum chat) between two
Hyderabadis...one living in Chicago and the other in Hyderabad...I have not
mentioned their names here for obvious reasons...
The
Hyderabadi living in Chicago writes in a nostalgic mood (in English transcribed
Urdu) about how in the 1960s there was a shop in Putli Bawli called the Misak
Pen Store and the pens sold here were inexpensive...Mr Kasim Husain was the
owner of this pen store and that the name of pen was the reverse of his
name...KASIM...MISAK...and because the pens were inexpensive, they were very
popular and the owner used to repair pens for free in his shop...now I think
the shop is closed...
The one in Hyderabad responds to this and writes in
English that Misak Pens were popular in his school too... and that he was
thankful for some of the useful details supplied by his compatriot in
Chicago...he goes on to write that some samples of Misak could still be
available in one of the book shops in Charminar area and that he wanted to buy
one and keep it as a collectible... but had forgotten...and now this nostalgic
reminiscence from Chicago has refreshed his memory and he offers to buy one and
send it across to Chicago as a gift...
Well...after this very long narrative...here are
the pictures...
 |
| The ‘original’ Misaks...2 FPs and 1 ball-pen... |
 |
| This is the FP with Misak only on the clip... |
 |
| Misak 1 – The one with the broad gold band on the cap... |
 |
| The clip of the same pen... |
 |
| Aha...the nib...with Misak on it... |
 |
| Cap and nib |
 |
| The Misak without the Misak nib... |
 |
Yeah...it has got an Ambitious nib...
|
 |
| This picture is lovely...the name is etched very cleanly on the clip... |
 |
| Misak 2 – the one without the cap band.. |
 |
| Misak 2 - clip with brand name... |
 |
| The Misak ball-pen... |
 |
| The arrow clip with Misak on it... |
 |
The ancient looking refill...I bought this pen just for that...
|
Thanks for all the patience...I hope you liked reading this as much as I enjoyed recounting this search...
Ok...here endeth Part 2 (with photos) as promised in Part 1...but there is a surprise...there is going to be another post on Misak...a kind of Part 3...this is going to be a guest post...'soon' is all I can say to 'when?'
29 comments:
Nice to find a post on Misak pens and I must say you are a lucky guy to get hold of these pens. I've been searching for them with no luck, :). I was Camlin guy, but I have used a few Misak pens that my father would give me. I was not a fan of Misaks back then, but now it is a nostalgic feeling. I had few Misaks stored, but I'm no more able to locate them after a few house moves.
My father must have used a few hundred Misak pens. He used to run a business and travel a lot. He would loose a pen every few days and then use a new one.
Back in those days, Misak used to have a big stall in the yearly January exhibition in Hyderabad(or may be a general pen stall with a seperate section for Misak, I do not remember). My dad used to buy a few boxes every year at the exhibition.
Now, I'm on hunt to find atleast one Misak. I should search more seriously like you did.
I Was just searching for Misak Pen on google and got your blog. Excellent Nostalgic moment!!
Hakeem
you are so lucky.
This used to be dream pen for us when we were in school.
It used to cost around Rs. 10 to 12 in late 80s and early 90s.
but yeah it was hell costly for us at that time.
Well I'm a die hard fan of ink pens, used Parker, jinhao etc, I still use ink pens at an age of 49, meaning I've been using at least for about 35 and more years, but I still remember my first Misak pen, the smell, Style etc, are extraordinary, but after advent of Hero Chinese pens, slowly people shifted to them, but misak is misak, great pens at least prices, I still remember the genuine smile on the old man's face in Deccan pen store, Hyderabad when ever I would ask for a costly ink pen and turquoise blue ink, which I'm continually using till to date.Thankyou Sri, reminding childhood memories
I tried Misak which I used in late 1960s as high school kid at Deccan pen stores recently, but the children and grandchildren of grand oldman smiled at me exercising themselves. I am stll in search of Misak. I am 66. Those days, I was a regular visitor to Misak Pen Store, Putlibowli with low ceiling. I must have purchased at 5 Misak FPs. I still remember it's fragrance and touch. Several times I used to pull out the nib assembly and put it back. It is painfully nostalgic. - Ram Mohan Reddy, Hyderabad.
What is the current price do you have any Idea, I am very much keen to get my pen please suggest some very good shops at Hyderabad
Dear friends ... Messrs Vishki, Hakeem, Satish Kumar Rapeti, Ram Mohan Reddy, Mohd Murtuza Ali ... it is an overwhelming feeling reading all your comments on Misak ... I now really understand the feeling that Hyderabadis have for Misak fountain pens ... it is more than just a writing instrument, I feel, for all of you ... it is part of growing up in Hyderabad and Misak is an integral part of your lives ... I am pleased that my post could evoke such feelings in all of you and I thank you for reading and writing on this post ... but unfortunately, I am unable to help you in locating the pens ... I myself was fortunate to locate the originals ... and in case I manage to find some more, I shall get in touch ...
Thanks and regards,
Jayasrinivasa Rao
Thanks for bringing old memories. I am also an old hyderabadi and I am able recollect the visit to two pen stores to buy my fountain pens one is as described Misak Pen Store at Putli Bowli and other is Deccan pen stores. I am 63 and even now I have two misak pens and I claim to be proud owner. believe it or not, I always used to carry one misak pen for all my final exams with a feeling that I would well and score good marks. Thankfully I stood not only first class in all my exams and even excelled the same.
Thank you,
Nanda Kishore
I have Misak pen during my high school days way back in early 1970's. Somebody presented to my father and he passed it to me. I am more interested about his founder Mr. Kasim Husain Khan's history. I heared that he has some relation from my home town Shahabad in Uttar Pradesh. Either he migrated to Hyderabad or he had some close relations in Shahabad. Is anybody know about his family, please let me Know. Thanks.
Are they still available now
All through high school was Misak fountain pen,then came ballpoints,felts pens.Now its keyboards and digital pads.
But nothing mesmerizing like the old fountain pens.
I am searching for them since quite a while, however with no luck availing. My mother mentions these pens with quite some nostalgic affection. She is 65 now and I want to gift her one, just to see the expression on her face. And I am from Maharashtra, so they seem to have been popular outside Hyderabad as well.
Kasim Hussain khan sahib was brother of my grand father ( dada jaan / Shafeeq Hussain khan). His relatives ( my maternal relatives ) still lives in Shahabad, Hardoi, U.P. india. Abdur-Rahman khan ( Chaand Mammo ) s/o Musharaf yar khan.
Thank you Adeel Khan for this information relating to Kasim Sahib's family!!
I am one of the fortunate few to have used Misak pens.That smell still lingers.This was introduced by my dad who told me that it was a famous brand and they would buy these pens and the ink was given for free and was stored in a big pot.
Contact me soon 9860633242
Hello sir, nice to see you after a very long time. I was your student in 2012.
I spent my three years in MISAK MANSION and lucky to have seen the prime time of MISAK pen manufacturing unit in Chappal bazar (in same building adjoining Misak mansion), Show room at putli bowli maharani jhaansi road plus representation of Misak in Hyderabad's exhibition those were the REAL days when Fountain Pen has some value
Too much of emotions with this misak fountain pen I'm carrying
Thanks for this page writer who shared beautiful pictures of this misak ink pens i Can still recollect the former pen stores in true Nizam State of Hyderabad
It's in putilee bowli koti
I have misak pens
I want Misak Pens. If you have extra then tell me
I want Misak Pens. If you have extra pens tell me
Do you have Misak Pens ? Let me know
నేను కూడా మిసాక్ పెన్ను వాడాను. ప్రస్తుతం ఒక పెన్ నా వద్ద ఉంది. కానీ ఇంకా ఒకటో, రెండో సేకరించాలని చూస్తూ ఉన్నాను.
నేను విద్యార్థి దశలో ఈ మిసాక్ కలము ఉపయోగించినాను. ఉపాధ్యాయునిగా పనిచేస్తూ కూడా ఉపయోగించా. నేను ఇప్పటికీ మిసాక్, వాలిటీ, పార్కర్ ఫౌంటెన్ పెన్నులనే ఉపయోగిస్తున్నాను. ఇప్పుడు ఒక మిసాక్ పెన్ ఉంది.
Recently I got misak fountain 🖋
Guys u made my day - just by remembering those days , glory , wo school jaana , cursive writing book to Misak pen it used to b a great achievement and that was only allowed if ur handwriting was worth - people those days use to write and it looked like calligraphy - my dada , my dad they used Misak Pens and what hand writing omg.... there is a book store on the left hand side while u enter the last kamaan looking at charminar while coming from Gulzar House that shop has Misak Stock still.....
I want this pen
At present I have a misak fountain pen.
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