My bags...

It was a definite strategy, I can relate to it now when I think about it.

As I started school at a tender age of 3.5 years, I was handed a metal bag (peti) that carried my books.

As I grew a little smarter, the metal “peti” was replaced with a cloth bag and I think I continued with the cloth bag for almost 7-8 years. With few interruptions where I had to carry a nylon bag that friends and colleagues made fun of because in a fit of anger due to my poor performance at school my bag would have been thrown off some place in a fit of anger.

The cloth bag went away only when the more trendy back packs came in the late eighties, they were fun and they were trendy, they looked cool, it was the way to go for the school and college going crowd. I continued using this till I got to my engineering college, a long train journey in the first year meant one had to rely on that back pack heavily and as the pressure eased, I moved on to the more convenient plastic bags that one could carry in hand with just a notebook or two!

At work initially it was a “NO bag” personal policy, I would just carry the pen (with an attitude of Pen is mightier than the sword J). As I graduated towards the bike my bags returned with a vigor – for the raincoat etc. Now I drive to work, the bag carries a laptop and few sundry things. One of the oldest bag that has remained with me is not 10 years old and going strong.