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Me and The Bag

As a kid, I used to hate bags. They reminded of school & studies and were heavy to lift. I got bored of the ones I ever owned and used to like those that my classmates owned.

Once in college, I got rid of them and carried those bits & books in my own hands. For occasional days with excess load, a carry-bag would suffice. Over time, I attended fewer lectures which wiped out the need for carrying a bag as well. A notebook folded and tucked in the rear pocket along with a pen borrowed from some friend was just enough.

Then I started to work and things changed.

My eyes opened up to the existence of the opposite sex and their mannerisms. Amongst other things, I observed how a bag was their faithful companion. My interest in bags revived, however this time they were women’s bags.

The expert that I considered myself in matters related to women, I took up the challenge of exploring the contents and the need for a bag to a woman, upon myself.

The exercise however was futile as it lead to no meaningful conclusion. Here’s why:

On covert observation, I found a whole world emerge from of these bags; much more than what came out from the churning of the ocean in Indian mythology. Some of the items that I had listed down were: a hair-brush, a bottle of milk, milk-powder, a bottle of Bournvita, a tetra-pack of juice, make-up set, nail-cutter, silk scarf, money, books, hand-towels, mirrors, laptops, hard-disks, torch-lights, deodorants & perfumes, sun-glasses, Tang, chewing-gum, dry and wet tissues, sinus tablets, asthma-pumps, mobile chargers, cigarettes, lighters and match-boxes, biscuit packs, chocolates, Maggie, credit & debit cards, a full length kurta, music-players, CDs & DVDs, etc. The bag could easily qualify as a bedroom in motion, without the bed.

The next round of investigation, which was more overt, was a complete failure. On asking these women about what all they carried inside their bags and why, I realised that I had breached the line of chauvinism and acceptable diversions. I resorted to ‘plan b’ which was an immediate stagnation of interrogation.

My inquiry about this mysterious object so close to all women had to be terminated midway, however my intrigue in the object remained. It was at this moment that I decided to buy a bag for myself.

However, there was nothing that I actually had to stuff inside this bag.

Time passed. I started with keeping the two books which I always read alternatively inside it. I also decided to re-unite with my passion for music and started carrying my head-phones. I had avoided them since they would entangle and break when I would keep them in my pockets. Next, my wallet and my access card went in. Then, it was the turn of loose change to find a place for itself. My cigarette case and lighter fitted in as well. So did the ugly black umbrella which I hated to carry around. A bottle of water and a deodorant were the latest additions.

With time, there were more and more items being added to the list. My journeys to work and back are now marginally better. It is still less than a month and I am already dependant on it. It is my little world which I get back to for every little adventure outside my cocoon.

This bag made me realise that I have taken up a futile endeavour to figure out what went inside other people’s bags. What is important is what you want to keep inside it and make out of it.

There might also have been a few men like me who would have made similar efforts in the past. In case there was more that came out in their process of discovery, please feel free to share. As for me, I have given up.

Follow me on Twitter Rahul Chawra on Twitter

My review of Chanakya’s Chant – By Ashwin Sanghi

Historical fiction is one genre where my exposure has been extremely limited. The only other book that I have read in this genre is ‘Cuckold’ by Kiran Nagarkar which was a fascinating read. Some of the other books which I have read fall under the mythological fiction and would not qualify as appropriate points of reference.

My expectations from Chanakya’s Chant were limited when I started reading. The book had a long list of recommendations from various people. I did not want to set my expectations too high and then find the text difficult to live up to it. However, as the plot began to unfold, my expectations kept rising. As it moved from one plot to the other, I began challenging the author’s skills to upload the suspense to some up with scenarios which were deeper. Thankfully, he managed to keep the excitement up till the very last page.

The book runs two parallel narratives: the first which is set in the modern day politics of India and the other which goes back around 2300 years when Chandragupta was crowned as the emperor of India. In one there is Pandit Gangasagar Mishra from Kanpur as the master plotter who guides a young slum girl from being nobody to acquiring the highest position in the Indian democracy; in the other we recount the story of Chanakya who trains Chandragupta and also plots the situations around him to make him the emperor of Bharat.

While one is historical fiction created around an actual person, Chanakya, the other plot is completely a figment of the author’s imagination. It is interesting to note that at no point in time does one understand the difference between reality and fiction in both the narratives.

Most India’s are aware about Chanakya and his ruthless intelligence either through reading the multiple books/ translations or through watching the television series which was aired. Bringing Chanakya’s narrative alive was a challenging task. However, this is nothing compared to the manner in which the author has brought alive the character Pandit Gangasagar Mishra. He is a person whose story is set in the modern day India as we know today, with people whom we relate to, with politics that we have seen or at times find difficult to believe and a sense of reality in the manner in which he behaves. Not even once did I think that this person is any less capable than what Chanakya had been. This is where I feel that the author has done a remarkable piece of work.

I guess that everyone believes that politics is a murky affair and that nothing tends to come in the way of ambition to achieve power. In the course of our lives, we do come across such politics in limited form in our own surroundings. However, the manner in which it is illustrated in this book, that it runs so deep, is like an eye opener.

It is also interesting to see how human beings have the ability to predict what other human beings think and thus manipulate their actions, is something that this book demonstrates fabulously.

I am all praise for the Ashwin Sanghi after reading this book. The language is extremely easy to read and the plot development is logically so strong, that one cannot think of it as fiction. That is the ultimate victory for a good author I feel.

My best wishes to the author and all success on this book. As I look up on the internet to place an order for his other books, I would like to recommend this to everyone who reads this article.

Follow me on Twitter Rahul Chawra on Twitter

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