The man who fixes fountain pens — and there are not many like him

Kolkata’s Dilip Basak, 56, has been in the profession since the age of 11

“It’s my nesha and not pesha [it’s an addiction and not just a profession],” says Dilip Basak, 56, about his livelihood, which happens to be repairing fountain pens. If the Mont Blanc or Waterman on your desk — whether inherited from your grandfather or a new purchase — has developed a snag, Mr. Basak is not only likely to diagnose the problem but also fix it for you.

“I am the only person in whole of India who is still in this profession,” Mr. Basak went on to declare, “and I am able to make both ends meet.” While it may be debatable whether he is the only one in the whole country doing this job, there is no doubt he is one of the very few, and certainly a highly respected member of the several groups on Facebook and WhatsApp formed by connoisseurs of the good, old fountain pen.

Mr. Basak’s fame among pen lovers is inversely proportional to the size of his workplace — a narrow rectangular space under a staircase of an old building in Bhabanipur — which he inherited, along with the profession, from his father Bholanath Basak, who died in 1998.