Office equipment and stuff (BH: D282)

May 14, 2012

Visited Premier Office Supplies shop after, may be, 20 years. It is a substantial two storey state of the art business these days. It used to be a long, just enough wide, dark, always crowded shop before my high school days. Since it was and is only a stone's throw, literally from our old home, I was a frequent visitor.

There was an uncle who would be prompt in providing me whatever it is that I was looking for, usually new pencils, rubbers (as they are called in India) and notebooks. Don't let the mention of rubber conjure up a creepy uncle image. The man was a genuine salesperson who thought age should be no bar when it comes to respecting a regular customer.

Those were the days pencils with scented erases stuck on their non-business end made priced possessions. I would act a choosy consumer when it came to notebook cover pictures. Cricketers and film personalities were popular choices even then. Some sported sci-fi stuff as well. Even then I wasn't a fan of religious cover ladies and gentlemen from the heaven. It was an overwhelming deja vu when tonight Krishna covered sketch books were rejected in favor of Spongebob and Dora. 

But most schools back then had made it a rule to use brown paper to cover the books. So sticker "name slips" became the rage. Kid magazines would announce free 'name slips' with their editions timed with school reopening. Popular cartoon characters like Mayavi, Shikari Shambu, Heman and Kapeesh would be assigned to Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and English. 

Moving from pencil to fountain pen was a coming of age ritual. Hours were lost in school with the furious investigation and debate about the originality and fakery of Parker pens. I had recently discovered my old faithful pen with its much scratched, faded golden cap. It has left its mark on tonnes of notebook and exam papers with Chelpark ink...royal blue.

Today, the shop's expansive new building has swallowed a few small businesses that were around. Notably gone is the neighborhood barbershop. It had the Western salon style swing doors with stained glass, green and orange. I remember the massive wooden chairs inside which had prop up headrests. I remember looking down upon kids younger than me who needed a plank supported on the chairs arms to make up for their height. I had already conveniently forgotten I had needed them only a couple of years before. 

Final unforgettable image I have of the shop are the fascinating alum soap stones that were used as aftershave. They looked like the famous mosquito trapping amber from the movie Jurassic Park. Final unforgettable words I remember from that shop is the old barber, after having irreversibly reduced my hair to bristle levels, asking if I combed it to the left or the right. It was too late. His scissors had crossed that threshold few minutes ago.