Dilip Basak - love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him.
Dilip Basak - love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him.
Dilip Basak. Some love him, recalling with happiness how he has brought pens - often that belonged to ancestors - back to life. While on the other end of the spectrum are the ones who hate him and their argument is also compelling, to say the least. “The man is obnoxious,” they say, adding that he is conceited to a fault. “He fails miserably to deliver on time and is perpetually increasing the making charges, even as he spends most of his time flooding social media with inane pictures of pens that he claims to have mended or giving interviews to journalists, running after publicity.
In this video we are focusing on his workspace - a dingy little hole in the wall, where he has been working for the last many decades. Even a cursory glance will tell you just how physically challenging it must be for the man to be working out from that rabbit hole, day in and day out. Naturally, he is not well - suffering from high blood sugar, low blood pressure, and other physical challenges. He has virtually lost vision in one of his eyes due to a cataract that has to be removed immediately and is, even by his optimistic assumptions, capable of working only at 50 percent capacity.
Now consider the fact that he is the only bread-earning member of his family and is providing a service where he has no competitor in the near vicinity. The cost of inputs too has gone through the roof in the years since he learned his trade from his father and today, with most of the local pen manufacturing entities having downed shutters, accessing spare parts is almost an impossibility. “That he is still at it, and is providing whatever service that he can, is in itself a miracle,” says his apologists. They also point out the fact that with him will be buried the lost art of pen repairs and pen making - a craft that was once near ubiquitous, apart from being highly sought after. And as for the amount that he is charging - the less said the better, considering the fact that most of the Pelikans and Montblancs and Watermans and Conway Stewarts that he is mending, are, to say the least, priceless.
“He is a simpleton,” said one customer who has been dealing with him for a long time now, who, by virtue of his presence in the fountain pen collecting circles is aware of the complaints against Dilip Basak. “He is someone, who is neither worldly wise, nor does he have enough formal education to weigh his words, always speaking his mind which lands him in trouble. Judge him not by his accent, but by his craftsmanship, by his inventiveness, by his ability to bring back to life pens that have long been discarded as dead and gone”.
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We buy fountain pen and paper and mostly fancy the glamorous side of a well to do pen shop or a repair shop . But actual artisans have been continuously doing their work in full honesty from these dingy cabins. Sometimes we get too much opinionated and Judgemental in this social media without seeing the other side of the coin. Hope Mr Basak does get his fair share of credit and respect for his craftsmanship and efforts to hold on to it in these changing times .
Artisans like Dilip Basak are rare as is their art. Perhaps one way to carry on this art of penmaking and his legacy would be to train new hands. Must thank Inked Happiness for finding and showcasing such rare human gems 🙏
Chawm Da, my salute to you for your sympathetic imagination, and the poignancy with which you have depicted the brilliance of an ageing artisan who have been carrying out repair work on valuable pens for a pittance! He, alas, is perhaps the only lathe machine based repair professional alive in the two Bengals (I am including Bangladesh here when I identify the geography as Bengals ) despite his hole in the wall workshop. I am not aware of any other pen repair business in South Asia where a lathe machine is applied to restoration purposes. In Europe, of course, there are several, and if KZread reviews are anything to go by, then we may safely assert that such repair jobs indeed cost an arm and a leg! Dilip Bosak is an honest man when it comes to assessment of his own work. Eschewing lofty boasts or superlative claims, he plainly admits that his failing health is preventing him from delivering 100%. I can only urge other pen enthusiasts to appreciate what he had been doing. The craftsmanship and know-how took a generation to acquire, and it is also quite true that it is perhaps only in Kolkata that such a dying trade keeps on surviving, even if only very tenuously.
I agree with you sir, dignity of work put in by an artisan must be respected. We all are willing to pay huge amount specially for Italian FPs, which also lack finesse , if observe closely.
Very nice and timely exposure of Dilipda you have done dada. This was much -needed when he is at the butt-end of many a critic who had exploited him most inhumanly.
He is old gem in Indian fountain pen turning history... only India as usual produces such type of jewelle buy in the hush and rush of time people are really don't realise that... thanks for introducing him 🙏🙏.... many craftsman have been lost by India in history because of not paying the real remuneration and devaluing them ...most of the arts r then lost in influx of time . Such people should be reinstated with proper place but govt also didn't heed to them and that's why we are more import than export of fountain pens 🙏🙏🙏 really heart touching and bare reality 🙏🙏 thankyou for showing 🙏
Dilip ji deserve great respect, I love and respect Fountain Pen.. I respect his dedication & excellent work.... 🖋️
OMG!!!!!!! What a guy. This guy needs to be celebrated. Thankyou INKED HAPPINESS for bringing these humble guys in the limelight. Cant the Millionaires like Birla & Dalmia in Kolkata recognize his talent & efforts? Come on guys from Kolkata. Just Barge in and give him respect in Society. Had he been in Europe they would have built a Church in his name.
Wow what an amazing artist!
another unrecognized legend....
Are you saying his repairs cost only INR 150 or $2US per repair? It is amazing to see such talent and expertise, but can’t imagine working in such a cramped workplace for so many decades. I’m trying to learn basic FP repairs since there is no one in my state who can do things like change old ink sacs. It is not easy work, so I really respect his skills. I’m kind of speechless after seeing this. Thank you for sharing it Chawm. 🖋️❤️
Always a plus to see an individual doing it his way. These are pens that I like to use, the ones meant to be used every day by the working man or a student just as the great man himself visualized so long ago. It's due to such men that small ideas can lead to big dreams and all of that begins with a pen in hand.
lovely depiction of dilip basak and his work. i guess the way you have narrated the story... is simply great. however, my complaint is that the subtitles could have been done with more care. they are in a jumble and are not clearly visible to us who do not know bengali all that well. please be careful in the future ... or you, like dilip basak and many like him run the risk of never establishing the last mile connectivity. you are going great guns chowmda, but it is the goal that matters and till now, you have nor scored.
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
point noted. thank you again :)
Dilip Basak deserves respect according to me. It’s my opinion.
Sir can you please send me the address of Dilip Babu. I have some problem with my pelikan m200 model. If you send me the address then I will be very thankful to you
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
his contact numbers are: 6291574348 and 9830828769. Please talk to him first as he is not keeping well these days.
Sir, by sharing contact numbers buyers from other parts can place orders
Does he also sell the hand made pens he was seen making in the video?
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
some he does :)
Sir one video about fountain pen paper for student 📒📒📒
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
sure. give me some time please :)
How can i buy some pens from him
@inkedhappiness
10 ай бұрын
you can contact him directly:: 98308 28769
Pen er price ki range er ??
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
onake directly jiggesh korte hobe :)
Sir, could you please share the address of his shop. I own a pelikan 140 which is a family heirloom and it needs some repair work. Regards.
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
you can call him up 6291574348. the shop is in debendra ghosh street, cant remember the number exactly. let me find out? his other no is 9830828769
@siddharthtripathi1818
Жыл бұрын
@@inkedhappiness thanks a lot Sir. Could you tell me the name of the shop and the general location. Would be very obliged to you 🙏
@inkedhappiness
Жыл бұрын
@@siddharthtripathi1818 this is not a shop per se. it the workshop from where dilip basak workd. it is on the lane opposite jagu bazar in bhowanipur, kokata.
@siddharthtripathi1818
Жыл бұрын
@@inkedhappiness much obliged Sir. Will connect with him over the phone number which you provided. Regards 🙏
He claimed 2k as repair charges for loose thread part of my pre-owned vintage Parker 75 pen with current market rate of 7k. Now please calculate the amount of the fraction. You have no idea, in jewelery sector, if someone claims 20℅ making charge as high value metal craftsmanship, buyers immediately ignore it.Never mind, crazy pen lovers like us made him famous overnight. If my premium pen cannot be repaired in an emergency, why can't I just ignore him? What is the maximum fraction he can charge professionally for a premium pen? I follow you, but not everything presented here is real.
@inkedhappiness
22 күн бұрын
you are right. and i do realise that i have gone overboard here. point is, he is the last of a tribe, but still, it seems that all the attention that he is getting is going to his head. on the other hand, he too needs to earn his keep. perhaps it is pure demand and supply? perhaps we can just ignore him? there are also regular complaints of shoddy jobs, of broken promises about delivery schedules, of unacceptable behavior ... and i cannot refuse to take a part of the blame for creating this. my sincere apologies