The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bunder Street's the place for affordable stationery

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 23, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bunder Street's the place for affordable stationery

Meera Srinivasan

During the festival season, the street will take on a different look

CHENNAI: This street looks ready for war. Not one that uses knives or guns but pens and pencils.

With hundreds of new varieties of stationery items stocked, Bunder Street in Parrys Corner is all set for the upcoming academic year.

There are nearly 500 stationery shops in the lane off the Flower Bazaar police station. Fountain pens, ballpoint pens, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, rulers, notebooks, files, CD cases, pencil boxes, geometry boxes, colour pencils, paints, correction pens, adhesives and charts are but a few items that catch one's eye in a glance.

"In pens alone there are around 100 brands. We have ballpoint pens with prices ranging from 35 paise to Rs.200 each. Plenty of new erasers have also come in this year," said Khadar Bhai of J.R. Stores. Imagine having to put your hand into a lion's mouth to sharpen pencils. Such sharpeners are in vogue now.

Imports from China

This year, many items have been imported from China. Besides looking fancy and more colourful they are affordable, said shop owners. However, K. Bose of M.K.B. Sons felt that "Indian products are far superior in terms of quality and durability."

A dozen glittering velvet pencils were available for Rs.24. In a new variety of fountain pens from China, the nib is designed in such a way that the pen allows a person to hold it at any angle and still write with ease. Though all the shops sold products on a wholesale basis, they didn't mind selling them retail to individuals and students.

While the stationery is primarily sourced from Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, notebooks and picture charts are printed in units owned by the shopkeepers.

"We take more time to finish the job when schools ask us to print their names on the charts," said the store manager of Dileep Raja Trade Centre.

S. Sathik Ali of Barakath Stationeries, who prints notebooks, said prices were likely to go up next month as the paper cost had increased.

Branded products cheaper

It was interesting to find that branded stationery found in upmarket retail outlets cost half as much or even lesser here. "The wholesale price for notebooks is 40 per cent lesser than the maximum retail price," said Shahul Hameed of Bismillah Store. A hardbound five-subject notebook, which would cost Rs.125 elsewhere, is sold for Rs.75.

According to storeowners, Cello was the fastest moving brand.

However, Khadar Bhai said, many remained loyal to their favourite brands for years together. Most shops didn't sell international brands such as Staedtler as they were too expensive for the local market.

"This is the only street in the city that sells seasonal goods. What seems like a stationery market now will look different during Diwali, Christmas and New Year. We will sell crackers, Christmas props, diaries and calendars in the respective seasons. Other items will take a back seat," said a store manager.

In an era where education seems to have become quite expensive, students could do some cost cutting here.

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