The Bamboo, the Pen and a Life of Purpose

By Antara Mohan

Some podcast conversations end when the cameras are switched off. Others stay with you. My conversation with Deepakji was one of those.

What struck me first was how kind he was. He was warm, affectionate and completely unassuming. He smiled through almost the entire conversation. At one point, he even ordered pizza for all of us. It was a small gesture, but I remember it because it summed him up. Here was someone who has achieved so much, yet there was no sense of distance about him.

His family came to Kolkata from Rajasthan, his father built Linc from humble beginnings, and Deepakji eventually joined the business and spent decades taking it forward. Today, Linc is one of India’s best-known writing-instrument companies. But after speaking to him, I became much more interested in the journey behind those achievements.

At one point, Deepakji told us about the Japanese bamboo tree. You plant it, water it and wait. For a long time, you see almost nothing. But underneath the soil, the roots are growing. Then, when the time is right, the bamboo suddenly shoots up.

I loved that example because it reminded me so much of what the Gita teaches us. We are always looking for results. Deepakji’s belief is much simpler: keep working. Just because you cannot see something happening does not mean that nothing is happening.

The more I looked into his work afterwards, the more I realised that this was how he has lived.

Take Linc’s initiatives in schools. Write-O-Values was not simply about getting children to write with a Linc pen. Students practised their handwriting while writing passages based on moral values. Spellinc similarly took the humble pen into schools through a spelling initiative. I found that lovely because the product became secondary. The pen was being used to encourage learning and values.

Then there is Pentonic, which became a major success for Linc. What impressed me was his willingness to keep innovating and believing in something new.

I also admired Deepakji’s belief in Swatantra Bharat. He believes in building in India and promoting Indian capability. Even if something can be imported more easily, his instinct is to ask what we can make ourselves. There is a quiet patriotism in that which I found moving. It is not about slogans. It is about doing the work.

The same thought extends to his people. Linc has employed hundreds of women at its facilities, giving them opportunities to become financially independent and self-sufficient. For Deepakji, building a business seems to go hand in hand with creating opportunities for others.

And somewhere towards the end of our conversation, I found myself thinking about the shayari he had shared:

“Jute phate pehen kar aasman par chadhe the,
Sapne hamesha hamare aukaat se bade the.”

We climbed towards the sky wearing torn shoes; our dreams were always bigger than our circumstances.

I think that is what I will remember most about Deepakji. Not just Linc or Pentonic, but the man who sat across from us smiling, ordered pizza for everyone, and still believes that the answer is simply to keep working.

I went there to interview Deepakji. I came back having learnt from him.

And perhaps that is the greatest compliment I can give him.

Keep working. Keep believing. The bamboo will grow.