: Blessed by Gandhi, Named by Tagore: The Story of Swadeshi Ink from Kolkata #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing What started as retaliation to Lord Curzon’s infamous Bengal division in 1905 turned

Blessed by Gandhi, Named by Tagore: The Story of Swadeshi Ink from Kolkata #IndiaNEWS #Great Indian Manufacturing
What started as retaliation to Lord Curzon’s infamous Bengal division in 1905 turned into a full-blown Swadeshi movement, giving rise to iconic brands including Asian Paints, Tata and Steel, Lakme Cosmetics and more. These brands not only crippled the sale of foreign goods, but also epitomised unity and independence.
During the 1930s, when the Swadeshi (Swa ‘own’ and deshi ‘country’) movement was at its peak, its founder Mahatma Gandhi was ferociously looking for a locally-made ink to write letters and petitions. He shared this with Satish Chandra Das Gupta, a freedom fighter from West Bengal. Credited with making Krishnadhara, India’s first Swadeshi ink, Gupta shared his formulation with the Maitra brothers, Nanigopal and Sankaracharya.
The brothers, who lived in Rajshahi (now in Bangladesh), had just been released from jail and jumped on the opportunity to defy the British again. They later met Gandhi at a public rally and took his blessings.
The deep-rooted nationalism was such that Nanigopal even left his teaching job at the Rajshahi University, as he was ordered to switch from dhoti (a traditional attire) to a suit. So he moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and started selling the ink. The sales increased multifold and it came to be known as Professor Maitra’s ink.
Sulekha ink bottles
The name Sulekha (Su good and lekha writing) came about only when shopkeepers asked what the ink was called. The name was supposedly given by India’s cultural ambassador, Rabindranath Tagore. While the company has no proof of this, the Maitra family has chosen to go with this version of the story.
In no time, the fledgling pen makers became a household name, as stalwarts including Gandhi, former prime minister Morarji Desai, former West Bengal chief minister Dr Bidhan Chadra Roy, and legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray wrote with pens infused with Sulekha’s ink. In fact, the ink and its bottle made cameos in Ray’s Feluda stories and movies as well.
A screenshot of the first scene of Jana Aranya, Satyajit Rays movie with Sulekha ink bottle
The company grew exponentially over the next four decades. Between 1970-1980, it was at its zenith, with monthly sales worth one million bottles. Ask any Bangali about Sulekha and you will see a sense of nostalgia engulf them.

So it came as a blow to many when the company shut in 1989. While Sulekha returned in 2006 with another line of homecare and solar-powered products, it was never the same.
But the story was not over just yet.
In November last year, the company formally relaunched its famous Swadeshi line of inks including Scarlet, Red, Executive Black and Royal Blue.

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