Three decades before, the shelves of shops were not lined with as many pen brands as they are today, and the world was much quieter with fewer distractions. There were no beeps, notifications, ringing alarms, honking horns, or traffic noises. Life was much simpler and elegant. The roads were not as congested, and fewer vehicles ran on them. Life was much like the "Reynolds 045 fine carbure" pen – simple, elegant, and unassuming. (I apologize for this somewhat out-of-place comparison, but I couldn't resist as Reynolds' tagline states, "If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.")
Those were the days of my youth, where life was unencumbered, and the characteristic smooth writing glide of the Reynolds 045 ball pen epitomized that period. The smoothness of the pen's ink on paper was the best experience I had ever encountered, which remains imprinted in my mind to date.
As a seventh-grade student, I was first introduced to that white-barrelled ball pen with the glossy navy-blue cap by a local vendor. The pen's exotic name," Reynolds 045" captivated me, and I immediately made it one of my prized possessions. The pen's appearance was incredibly fascinating, and it seemed to appeal to all government school students of my age due to its resemblance to our school uniform. In those days, white shirts and navy-blue trousers were a common feature of all state-run schools, and the pen's colour combination mirrored that. As an average student of a small government school in an unremarkable block headquarters, I shared a striking commonality with this pen model. In some way, the pen had become a part of student's identity by the 90s.
Today, there are countless pen brands to choose from. And selecting a single pen among the thousands of varieties becomes a Herculean task. Apart from this, even now, “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write."
