Before you read ahead, a word of caution to all of you – a huge dose of nostalgia is about to come your way. Prepare to shed some tears and enjoy probably some of the fondest memories of your life if you are a 90s kid. Those were the golden times when back-to-school stationery was a way of proving your cool quotient. Nowadays, it’s all about who has the coolest smartphone or tablet. Back then, the one who had the fanciest stationery was the show stopper.
Here are some of the back-to-school 90s stationery that every kid yearned for.
Push Pencils
Who needs boring pencils when you can have these push pencils where you only need to replace the lead in the front and push it in the back to get a new sharpened lead. This was indeed a complete package where you no longer needed sharpeners, it looked cool enough, and the eraser on the top (inside the plastic cap) was really handy.
Chelpark Ink
Back in the day, the first pen that a child used to get was an ink pen. But what is an ink pen without the ink? Do you remember the times when you used to take up ink in a dropper from one of these Chelpark bottles and then put the ink in the pen? The smell of the ink and the dab of spilt ink on your fingers might have seemed messy back then, but we surely miss it now. Without a bottle of Chelpark ink, your life would have seemed incomplete.
Pilot Pen
I still remember the craze that we had for the pilot pens. Known for their characteristic white casing (body) and the fine tip that allowed greater precision while writing, the humble pilot pen was a rage among the kids in the 90s. Apart from getting an ink pen, this is the only thing that kids actually wanted and would do anything to have it in their hands, even if for a few minutes.
Wooden Ruler
Is your palm hurting already? This was the choice of weapon used by teachers to inflict pain on the kids for not doing homework, talking too much in class, or anything that was a breach of discipline. 90s kids will know this dreaded rule very nicely. However, there was that kid in the class who would bring along this wooden ruler and hand it to the teacher when the need arose. This was a sturdy measuring tool and was preferred. The plastic rules might were used more, but nothing could reduce the importance of the wooden ruler.
Multi-Coloured Ball Pens
When you couldn’t decide on the colour of the ball pen that you needed, this was the best option worth the money. Just push down on the colour that you wanted and voila – the pen would start writing in that colour. This was indeed a life saver and reduced the need to change pens every time you had to write in a different colour. Plus, the bulky grip was comfortable for most kids.
Natraj Geometry Boxes
Maths, especially geometry, was one of the things that gave me a nightmare. No kid was ever seen without the geometry box or the compass box which was an aluminium case containing a protractor, a plastic ruler, compass, divider, tangent and a pencil. This was one of the most precious asset that a kid could have in those days.
All in One Pencil Box
Oh how I envied that kid who had this fancy pencil box with all sorts of buttons, hidden compartments, a magnetic latch, and some really crazy features. From the soft covers to the pencil holders (which used to double as imaginary missile launchers and the boxes became moving battle tanks), everything about this box was special and kids like me had to achieve something to get their hands on this magnificent beauty. Every box had its own set of buttons and hidden compartments. There was a pencil sharpener built into the side of the box. One just could not get enough of these pencil cases.
Blo-Pens
One day, a kid in my class came with this drawing where a spray effect had been used. I was surprised because it took a lot of time to get the spray effect with water paints. This guy used to do it in like no time. When he revealed that he used Blo-Pens, I lost no time in convincing my parents to get me a set. These blo-pens worked like a regular sketch pen but when it was reversed and the tube was inserted, you only had to blow and watch colours being sprayed out from the other end. These sets usually came with templates and it was a lot of fun to show off one’s creativity with these blo-pens.
Magic Pens
If you have had the fortune of owning one of these, then you already know the importance of the white pen. That was the one that did the magic. We could change the colour of the ink by simply using the white pen over any line made with the other pens. These pens turned kids into mini-wizards who now had the power of changing colours. I wish I could have these back.
Neon Coloured Pencil Grips
All of a sudden, there was a rise in these neon coloured grips. Kids used to push their pencils into the grips and do all sort of things, from creating wide grips, to making a long chain of connected pencils. There was nothing too fancy about these grips, except their colour, but it had an appeal that no child could resist back then.
