Wednesday, January 17, 2007

my baggage


"aap ke laptop wale bag main kitni saari cheejain hai!", my cousin ASHISH exclaimed. even after returning to PUNE from BHILAI he hasnt given up hindi yet. "cheejain" was nothing but the collection of all sorts of cables and cable derivatives he saw in my laptop bag - LAN cable, phone charger, laptop cable, phone cable, usb cable, ipod cable, nokia headphones, ipod headphones...i just now realised my life is really WIRED!

my job involves considerable travelling - domestic as well as international. and one thing which is synonym with travelling is the "BAGGAGE". though all the cables listed above might seem absurd for others, i am handicapped without any of them. and hence that too form a part of my baggage.

BAGGAGE for me is somethings related to work, somethings to pass time, somethings for luck, somethings which are mandatory, somethings for survival and somethings without any reasons.

i remember one incident during my initial travelling days, where i went to CHIPLOON for a day and had to stay there was 2 days. i didnt even had a toothpaste! but i guess i have evolved all through these years. now you'll find even a needle in my bag (just in case).

take the following scenarios which is part of my life....
1. "you can come back from the airport, the trip is postponed!"
2. "change in plans, instead of chennai you travel today to delhi"
3. "oh shucks! the flight is missed"
4. "we regret the inconvenience caused. the flight is delayed by 5 hours."
5. oh! was the original plan for 6 months stay? i think you have to come back by end of the second week!
6. oh! was the original plan for 2 weeks stay? i think you have to stay there for a month!

to deal with this i have arrived at a standard baggage, go for 2 days or go for 2 months. here is an insight into few things i usually carry during my travel...

things you will always find in my laptop bag
# toshiba satellite A50 laptop – an asset wholly owned by my company
# transcend pendrive (1 GB) – used by me as a DISASTER recovery tool
# bluetooth dongle - for wireless data transfers
# iPod (2 GB) – now that’s called “TECHNOLOGY”.
# identity card – but all recognize me even without it!
# security device – silly device given by the bank.
# nokia 3230 mobile phone – used more to receive all contest/promotional/new credit card/mahindra holiday/personal loans messages from companies all over india!

things you will surely find in my red FOOTLOOSE backpack
# nikon D50 SLR - my dream machine
# nikor 18-55 mm lens – the front wheel
# nikor 55-200 mm lens – the rear wheel
# book - currently it is “the inheritance of loss”
# compass – was a useful tool in PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA. not used nowadays as i know BOMBAY by heart.
# small torch – mostly used to find a candle during powercuts
# match box – a memory of my stay at hotel HOLIDAY VILLA, SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA and i decided to carry this after i saw CAST AWAY.
# 4-5 pencil cells – food for my torch
# small RAJASTHANI pouch – contains few left over currencies and coins of 6 countries
# bronze GANESH idol - about an inch small
# knit hat - dropped the old one somewhere in PUNE while traveling on the bike, bought a new one now!
# sweater – the one i picked up from CARREFOUR, DUBAI
# soframycin – sab dard ki ek dava!

things you will surely find in my black BALLY wallet
# 2 international corporate credit cards - “once bitten twice shy”, i never believed in them till my baggage went missing for three days at JOHANNESBURG international airport.
# 2 debit cards - since the probability of getting at least one of those ATM’s are high during my domestic tours
# PAN card - quite useful nowadays for e-ticket reservations
# driving license - memorabilia of my long stay at HYDERABAD
# crossword - book reward card - a yellow card i use to buy books without any discounts!
# lifestyle – inner circle card – used to buy “GHONGDA” (in marathi it means a thick blanket usually found on shoulders of a DHANGAR- a shepherd), a term kept by my mom for my JEANS.
# planet M – m-xtasy world card - planning to shred this card as the cases of “ we don’t have that movie/cd sir!” have increased
# 5$ note – no particular reason for keeping it. its just there.
# 17/18 century coin – i really can’t remember where i got this from. the coin is somewhere from GERMANY-AUSTRIA. one side of the coin says “BONZO KNOPLE” and the other side says “60.ARCHIDUX.AVS.IRIA” rest is unreadable, there is a prominent symbol in the centre, of a bird with two heads.

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