"Those were the days..." It's a sentence we say more often as we grow older. Not because everything in the past was better, but because some memories refuse to fade. They stay with us like the smell of a brand-new notebook that somehow still exists somewhere in the back of our minds. If you grew up in India during the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s, this journey might feel familiar. --- A Pencil Was Never Just a Pencil, School reopened after the summer holidays. The first stop wasn't the classroom, It was the stationery shop. Standing in front of glass shelves filled with pencils, erasers, sharpeners, geometry boxes, ink bottles, rulers and pens felt like standing in front of a treasure chest. We argued over brands as if we were experts. "Use Apsara." "No, Camlin is better.", "Nataraj is stronger." Then Apsara arrived with something new. It wasn't just another pencil. It taught us that pencils actually had grades. HB. B. 2B. 4B. H. 2H. For ...