RAJAHMUNDRY
The smell of incense, the rhythmic chanting of devotees on the banks, and the distant rumble of trains crossing the iconic Godavari bridge—these form the heartbeat of Rajahmundry, a city of deep culture and history in eastern Andhra Pradesh.
But there is another pulse deep inside town, in a narrow lane called Rangireju Peta. A small house-cum-shop—with its tiled roof and weathered name board—takes you back to 1932. That was the year Ratnam Pen Works started arming Indians with their indigenous weapons of intellect: a humble fountain pen that was as much a writing tool as a lesson in atmanirbharta.
The story of the pens began with a craftsman’s curiosity. In 1928, a village accountant approached Kosuri Satyanarayana, a skilled goldsmith, with a broken fountain pen. It had a gold nib. While repairing it, he and his brother Kosuri Venkata Ratnam had a thought—why not create a pen that was not a luxury import but a piece of swadeshi pride?
The brothers officially set up their workshop and the early years were about global materials and desi craft. They imported high-quality celluloid from Germany, while the nibs were handcrafted in gold. At the time, the pens cost Rs15, which was a lot for the time.
The turning point came through a challenge from Mahatma Gandhi. Answering his call for more desi products, the brothers sent a pen to him. Gandhi initially refused to believe that such a sophisticated instrument could be produced entirely on Indian soil. He suspected it was merely a reassembled foreign product.
To verify the claim, Gandhi dispatched his close associate, J.C. Kumarappa, to the Rajahmundry workshop. In a display of transparency, the brothers made a pen from scratch in front of Kumarappa using indigenous materials. When Gandhi was given this pen, he sent a handwritten note from Wardha. It read:
“Dear Ratnam, I must thank you for the fountain pen you have sent me... It seems to be a good substitute for the foreign pens seen in the bazaar.”
That letter, framed and displayed on the workshop wall, transformed a local business into a national symbol of the Swadeshi movement.
Since that endorsement, Ratnam Pens has had a list of influential customers, including prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, various chief ministers, doctors, lawyers, writers and film stars such as Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan.
Over the years, modernity brought changes to the materials, but not the method. In 1940, the brothers moved from celluloid to the lighter and more durable ebonite, sourced from Chennai. The gold nibs were replaced in 1990 by high-quality steel nibs from Kanpur and Mumbai.
In 1956, the family business spilt into two—Ratnam Pen Works and Ratnamson Ball Pens—but both continued to believe that craftsmanship was better than any advertisement. Ratnamson Ball Pens is across the road from Ratnam Pen Works, and it also has Gandhi’s letter framed on its wall.
Through the years, Ratnam Pen Works has sharpened its workforce—from more than 30 artisans at one point to a tight-knit family affair now. Satyanarayana’s grandsons—Siva Kosuri (56) and his brother Rambabu (45)—now run operations. Following the death of their brother Durgaprasad last year, his wife, Ratnamala, has also joined the brothers.
Each pen is made to order. There are no assembly lines here; only the lathes from 1932 and steady hands. It takes four to five hours to make a single pen. There are three sizes: medium (Rs1,850), big (Rs2,200) and supreme (Rs4,500). Once finished, each pen is tested and packed in a case with an ink dropper, a manual and a copy of Gandhi’s letter.
In an era of keypads and disposable plastic, one might expect a hand-turned ebonite pen to be a relic. But thanks to Instagram and YouTube, a new generation of collectors and enthusiasts is discovering the joys of a fountain pen. “The youngsters are now showing interest,” says Siva Kosuri, with a sense of satisfaction. “When I see a Ratnam pen in their hand, knowing we made it by hand, it gives us a great feeling of pride.”
They make only 70 to 80 pens a month so that they can focus on quality over quantity. Orders can be placed on call, WhatsApp or on their Instagram page. Of course, enthusiasts also come to the shop from all over the country to buy pens in person. Sivaprasad Kotlanka, a customer from Hyderabad, recently visited Rajahmundry just to place an order, continuing a tradition his grandfather began. Similarly, N.V. Raghunath, Chandrababu Naidu’s programme coordinator, recently came to buy a pen and to also invite the family to meet the chief minister during his visit to the Nidadavole constituency on April 18. The family went and gifted a handcrafted pen to Naidu, who thanked them and wrote “best wishes” in their diary. It was all the more special that he wrote the message with the Ratnam pen.