I posted this over on /r/mechanicalkeyboards and there was a lot of interest in it, so I'll post it here with a little more as I did for the morphling KB-87 I covered in an earlier post, for anyone who doesn't use reddit or /r/mechanicalkeyboards for anyone interested in the keyboard
------------------------------
The TVS-E Bharat gold is a full-sized, 104 key keyboard that has been in production for at least 20 years in India. One of the only features of the keyboard listed on the box was that it was compatible with windows 3.1, NT, 2000, and windows XP so it's a safe bet they're doing something right if they're still selling these things.
It is available in both USB 2.0 and PS2 connectors, with the PS2 keyboard being about 100-300 rupees cheaper.
The keyboard itself costs around 1800-2300 rupees (about 29 USD to 37 USD) depending on where you find it and what version it is. It is only sold in India to my knowledge and is relatively expensive to have shipped out.
A friend of mine was kind enough to bring back a couple from his trip to India as I live in the UAE and it would be pretty expensive (about the cost of the keyboard itself) to ship it to the UAE.
The keyboard quality is adequate- when you first hold it you know that it's a budget keyboard. It uses brass screws and the keycaps are pretty thin. It feels sturdy though when typing on it but I'd be careful when using this keyboard if you're constantly shifting around from workstation to workstation.
The typing experience is great regardless- everything registers as it should and it feels great typing on the keyboard for extended periods of time. The keycaps leave something to be desired and I will be replacing mine, but my friends who also got the keyboard are pretty happy with the quality of the caps.
The BodyCompared to my Morphling KB-87 this keyboard is big; really big. The body is slightly curved like a model m and the keys sit within a recessed area. The Gold Bharat has a curved body and is supported from the bottom by two raised platforms that the folding feet sit inside of.
There's not much to say here in terms of styling as the keyboard is pretty spartan. You'll either not mind the size or find it way too big for your needs.
A pretty interesting feature, which makes all that extra dead space around the keyboard a little more useful, is a small ridge/shelf at the top of the keyboard which gives you about 3-5 CMs of space to store small things like rulers, pencils, cigarettes, and more.
The two speckled plastic body plates are held in by seven (one under the warranty sticker) brass screws which add to the utilitarian look of the keyboard but make it pretty easy to take apart and repair.
There are also gigantic rubber feet at the bottom which do a good job of keeping the keyboard in place and dampening any vibrations. The folding feet and back of the keyboard do not have any rubber on them, so the keyboard will shift if you are using it on an uneven surface.
Layout and KeycapsAs with all InScript keyboards, the Gold Bharat uses a giant enter key and small backspace key. This is going to make finding key caps for this keyboard difficult, but luckily every other key, with the exception of the spacebar which is explained below, is a standard size so you won't have to buy any small space bars or function keys.
The legends seem to be painted on, so I'll have to get back to you all on how long they last.
The keyboard has a standard size spacebar but a non-standard stem placement. You could possibly replace the included stabalizers to include one that fits larger spacebars, but as it is now the stabalizer only fits the current keyboard's keycap. There is room to include a bigger stabilizer.
The keys (with the except of the spacebar) include these cool clip on stabilizer clips which make keycap removal really simple.
The keycaps are, as expected for a budget keyboard, extremely thin. Although the stems do seem to be untouched which is a nice plus to have considering many other "budget" keyboards (even the blackwidows suffer from this) even thin out the stem plastic. The space bar however is pretty thick so there's no complaints about that.
The SwitchesEvery switch on this keyboard is a genuine Cherry MX blue switch. They feel crisp and tactile and are really pleasant to type on as you'd expect with Cherry switches. For a keyboard that cost me 2100 Rupees (about 140 AED or ~35 USD) I am more than happy with that.
Final ThoughtsThis is probably the cheapest cherry MX blue keyboard out there. If you're looking to get an extra keyboard to throw around or to introduce your friends to mechanical keyboards, then look no further. If you're looking for a board with super solid construction, LED lights, and everything that is expected of 100+ mechanical keyboards, then keep looking.
There are some pretty big issues if you're looking to add your own keycaps since you won't be able to change the backspace, enter, backslash, and spacebar key without slight modification and structural weaknesses. But as mentioned earlier, when you're paying under 40 USD for a keyboard you can look past these if it gives you a great typing experience, which it does.