Manufacturer to now produce sharpeners for left-handed after knowing ordeal

The sharpeners for lefties that the manufacturer launched last month PicShadab KhanOnly those who are born lefthanded will know the real struggle of trying to make do with right products which are completely wrong for them including stationery But in a win of its own kind an emotional response from a Thanebased motherdaughter duo has managed to make Hindustan Pencils see the other side of things Last month the company launched sharpeners for lefthanded peopleLast December Shweta Singh mother of fourandahalfyearold Isha had written to Hindustan Pencils saying that her child was facing difficulty in using sharpeners tailored for righthanded people Shed added that although there were sharpeners available in the market for lefties those cost anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 700 In response HP had immediately sent Isha a pack of five sharpeners from their RampD department made especially for lefthanded peopleFebruary saw the commercial countrywide launch of the new sharpeners The company is now working on providing rulers scissors as well as specially branded pencils for the lefthandedThe triggerIsha and her mother Shwetas role was like a trigger point for us said Sanjay Tiwari group marketing manager Hindustan Pencils When I first received the letter from Shweta our immediate reaction was to help her daughter Usually customers call us to complain but then we had this customer whod written to tell us that her daughter was unable to sharpen her pencils I found that very unusualAlso ReadStationery makers send 5 sharpeners meant for lefthanded to junior KG girlAfter sending Isha sharpeners for lefties we found that there is a big response coming from all over the country so we thought why not put this product on a priority basis By JanuaryendFebruary beginning we were ready As we are a panIndia organisation we have launched these sharpeners in almost every state but have distributed them to only select channels If one is unable to find the product they can always write to us at feedbackhindustanpencilscom We are also planning on tying up with Amazon to widen reach he addedMore to followAccording to Tiwari there is no sharpener meant for both lefties and righties Nearly 99 per cent sharpeners are made for the righthanded Speaking about the price of the new sharpeners he added They are made of plastic and cost only R5 each pretty much on par with the price of the rest of our sharpeners We are now working on introducing rulers scissors and even pencils for lefthanded people The branding on the pencils will have to be changed for leftiesThere is a consumer segment out there mdash it might be a small segment mdash it needs to be paid attention to and requires a specialised type of stationeryShweta said Its nice that I was able to do something for my daughter but now this is going to help all lefthanded children out there and that feels great The price too is very affordable They Hindustan Pencils said they would soon launch pencils and scissors for lefties too these things are available abroad but not so much in IndiaCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates