When a Parker pen Costs more than an iphone

This is a story of a PEN which once became a part of my life and stayed with me until I made a blunder.

it was a true story which started from. those school days of mine. My school days were kind of cumulative experience of good and bad incidents, it is common for all(“Chakrabat Paribartante Sukhani Cha Dukhani Cha”), I guess, the only difference is the degree of good and bad we experience. I used to stay at my maternal uncle's house we call it "MAMA bari" in Bengali. and we children used to get pocket money from relatives visiting the house. after their stays, at the time of sendoff, most of them would give us 5-10 rs, which was a large amount considering the economy of the '90s.

     So I was saving that money to buy things like an electronic motor or other science-related things or to buy my favourite thing which still helps me to put down my thoughts on paper, in french it is called "Stylo or Plume", and in English, we call it PEN. I was studying at Mc William H.S School, a Bengali medium school, and nearby the school there was a stationery shop there, a centre of attraction for school students. We would gather at the shop to collect new pens, pencils, stickers and a lot more things after school. There I first saw it, inside the showcase, the parker vector. By that time I heard about parker pen, those were expensive ones.so we use to buy Rotomac, Reynolds, Cello, Montex etc pens. But this one was different. 

I went home and counted my saving found I still needed Rs 10 to make it to 100. I had to wait a couple of months and the day arrived. I went to "Das Paper house " the stationery shop and found the pen is still there or maybe it is just another one. I can recall I was studying in class 10 , and the Madhaymik exam was knocking at the door. anyway, I bought that pen and kept it for the exam. The Madhaymik exam went well , I wrote every paper with this pen , which was a ballpoint one.

      next chapter started when I was promoted to class 11 as everyone. I choose Science stream for H.S exam. It was a difficult two years for me and then the exam day came, Those 6 hours of torture ,1 hr break in between , was making us all nervous. but I had my friend, the Parker vector. So somehow I was trying to clear all the paper,2 papers each day.and it was a horror film , a nightmare I was living. anyway, the H.S exam also went so-so .and the pen did not let me down , despite my unfinished physic 2nd paper syllabus at the time exam, I was able to earn enough marks to apply for the Graduate school. Though I did not immediately enrol myself to any course, actually I enrolled myself to zoology , but never attended any class. I wanted a break from study.

         After 1 year I enrolled myself to the math major course , and another chapter began. A three years course , which I took 4 years to complete, again for almost no reason. anyway this time also the pen was my saviour.I, an atheist , that time, became little bit superstitious about that writing instrument. I would feel comfortable when it was with me , I would become anxious if I found, it was not in my shirts pocket. anyway, I got a graduation degree in Math(Hons) and that parker always stood by me along with those supportive friends. I am lucky to have that friend circle.

        Then I decided to pursue a Master degree in computer application. I went to south-Bengal from north Bengal and that pen was still with me. My 3years MCA course went well with the assistance of "Vector". The JOB search started at that time and clearing the written interviews were challenging ones, and I got a job in C  for developing Algo trading software.

          It was the month of March 2016. I and my friends decided to do our first trek to Sandakfu. Meanwhile, I switched companies and switched my domain to iOs app development. So I had to buy an iPhone 4 for testing the apps. We set the date on our calendar, marked 17th of May to start our 6days journey to Sandakfu from Kolkata. It was a three days trek. On 2nd day of the trek, I lost communication with my team, I was too slow to reach the next checkpoint Kalapokhri.some of our baggage were sent by a jeep.I was walking without any communication instrument as my phone was in the luggage and it would be no help even if it was with me as there was no network along the trek route. but I forgot where did I put my iPhone, I was using it as a camera. anyway I was walking alone, and due to the clouds the road was not visible, I reached Kalapokhri 15 minutes after them and was anxiously searching for my iPhone in luggage, which had just arrived by Jeep. I was still carrying my Vector pen with me in my pocket, kind of superstition. The days we started descending from Sandakphu we were tired and content. We were taking a break in between the checkpoints.in such a time of the break, I realized that I could not find my beloved,co-fighter Parker pen. Probably at the time of putting off the Jacket on the way I lost it. The iPhone was more costly than that pen but that Pen added more value to my life. So I was sad for a moment and the tiredness and joy of doing the first trek overshadowed the sadness. But I still remember that PEN. It was a companion for the span of more than 15 years. I never valued anything, any object like that in my life. I think Object should be used, not the people. It helped me to become whatever I am now, I never gave importance to the exam , rather I focused my mind on learning, but the whole system is based on the marks we get in exams. Anyway sometimes object like this one becomes the subject of importance by adding value to mortal life and becomes costlier than any other things.