Indian teenager pencils his way into Guinness Book of Records

New Delhi: At 17, Tushar Lakhanpal has made an entry into the Guinness Book of Records. Lakhanpal began collecting pencils in various hues and designs as a child. The unusual hobby has led to a collection of more than 19,500 pencils.

Does it have anything to do with his handwriting? “No, nothing of the sort!” Lakhanpal says. “My handwriting was always very legible,” he adds.

As a child, Lakhanpal would watch Oswald, a children’s animated American TV series in which the character Henry collected spoons. Inspired by him, Lakhanpal began collecting pencils at the age of three. When he turned seven, a friend of the family suggested he pursue it as a hobby. And the collection has grown ever since.

The records have also kept coming.

His collection featured in the Limca Book of Records in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Lakhanpal recalls: “I missed out in 2011, when the record went to a woman. Facing a setback, I pursued it with renewed zest and bagged the title the next year. Two years ago, the total had reached 14,000 pencils.”

And now, by entering the Guinness Records, he has surpassed Uruguay’s Emilio Arenas’ collection of 16,260 pencils.

The teenager considers himself lucky to have encouraging family and friends who have never ridiculed or discouraged him for taking up a bizarre hobby. “In fact, everyone chipped in and did their bit in making me realise my dream,” he said.

In his family’s apartment in Gurgaon, his collection has a dedicated space. The pencils are neatly placed in airtight wooden frames with glass panels on both sides. Each frame has 500 colour-coordinated pencils of different varieties sourced from more than 60 countries, including the UAE, France, Germany, Hungary, Thailand, Australia, Italy and Croatia.

Pointing out some of his prized possessions, Lakhanpal says: “I was fortunate to acquire the two pencils used by Queen Elizabeth II. A friend of my mother[s] came to know the pencils of the Queen of England were being put on sale. She immediately contacted us and we bought them at the auction for £400 [Dh2,193].”

Others in the collection include a 22-karat gold-plated pencil, a funky one that can tell the room’s temperature, and a pencil that sports a cricket ball, which Lakhanpal bought during a tour of the Lord’s stadium in London.

“We have picked up the largest number of pencils from the US. There were times when we had to pay for extra baggage when bringing some of these pencils to India.”

Normal wooden pencils, mechanical pencils, pencils with caps, with furs, handmade paper pencils, recycled newspaper pencils, spoon shaped pencils, thermometer pencils, scented pencils, Swarovski-studded pencils, 24-karat gold designer pencils and an award-winning pencil from Japan that is disability-friendly — the collector has them all in shades of red, blue and yellow, and others. The smallest pencils are a mere 3cm in length and the longest is 2.4 metres long.

Although almost all his pencils have a back story, the Grade 12 student of Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar, who wants to pursue a career in engineering, holds dear a simple wooden pencil. He says, “My father had one day handed over an old pencil that was bought by our driver from his village in Orissa. I value it for the thought behind it and was extremely touched that he had remembered my passion for pencils even when away from us.”

Lakhanpal’s father, a commercial pilot, has also bought a lot of pencils for his son. “Since he goes to different destinations, he has gifted me many from various countries. Likewise with other family members, including my grandparents and friends, who bring pencils for me on their various local and international trips.”

For those unable to pursue their hobbies for lack of such means, he has a word of advice: “It’s not about resources and how you gather the items. A collection is the result of passion. One doesn’t have to go in for rare or collector’s items. My collection does not comprise ancient or antique pencils. Most of these were bought from stationary shops. The emphasis should be on budget category items bearing different designs and colours.”

The teenager’s family has ambitious plans. Lakhanpal explains, “We intend to collaborate with some organisation to have a museum dedicated to the pencil collection with the purpose to promote constructive habits in children.”