The Lucky Pen

Dedicated to Sree Devi, who injected some excitement to my boring blogolife last week.:)

Today I found myself walking aimlessly about the stationery section at HEB, searching for that elusive article, the lucky pen.


The lucky pen, if not a self explanatory term, is that unusual piece of stationery, that besides endowing its owner with a legible hand writing, also manages to procure him/her an A grade in all the exams he/she writes using it. Not to forget blogs and novels, which become instant winners and best sellers.


Well, the lucky pen doesn't have any particularly unique characteristics. There is no way you can know of its remarkable properties till post-examination or post-blog, or rather, post-comments.

My earliest revelation of the existance of this unique article came after a 5th grade GK contest where I emerged a winner. It was a red Stic pen with a green cap and a Mickey mouse picture on it in black. It was an ink pen and leaked like crazy. My bony little fingers had perpetually deep, dark blue stains until I lost the pen in 11th grade. Even when my Dad used to comment at the dinner table that all the ink in my tummy would stain my innards blue, I just got even more defensive about the pen. What did he know about its magical properties? Huh!

I cannot explain adequately in words, the distress I felt when I finally lost it. I even suspected for a week that someone had stolen it to take away my luck. Highly unlikely, given that it had ceazed to write for intervals that exceeded singe digit number of minutes. And that too, only if you held it at a particular angle, which generally involved twisting your arm. Looking back, I feel my grandmother must have lovingly removed it, fearing for my sanity and the shape of my arms.

Soon after this episode my Dad gifted me a Parker ink pen which had these cool refills that you could just snap on. And besides, the refills were expensive. I mentally bestowed it the property of luck. Well, it did not have it. I royally messed up my 12th grade boards. Well not that bad, but not lucky pen worthy performance for sure.

When I first went to college, I decided that this time I could not afford to go wrong. Through extensive trial and error, I arrived at the conclusion that the blue jeans "HOKITA"(Made in China) pencil pouch that my mother gave me, the Parker pen and an Ajanta Scale were the crucial combination. Not to forget my grandmothers Pope John Paul II blessed rosary.

The rosary unfortunately did not last me till my VISA interview which must be the reason my name came stamped all wrong. I've been on the hunt since then.

Thankfully this sacred knowledge has been revealed to one more blessed soul. My room mate, Sree Devi. I am not alone in this holy quest.

And to all those out there, who think we are heretics, the truth shall be revealed to you one fine examination.