Posted on Trivia – the Spice of Life on 09/08/2022
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Recently, a branded tote bag was in the news. I have no interest whatsoever in the political wrangles surrounding the tote bag. My love is for the tote bag per se. While the motto of life should be simple living and high thinking, when it comes to tote bags, I am somehow weak kneed.
My brother who stays in the United States knows what to buy for me when he is coming to India for a family vacation. A branded black tote bag is what I always pine for. And he never disappoints me. He has never questioned my avarice for tote bags. The moment his travel plans get firmed up, a picture of the branded tote bag that I want is promptly sent to him. I do fix an upper limit on the price though so that the tote is not frightfully expensive. He knows just the kind that I want.
It is by trial and error that one learns in life. Initially the tote bags that I asked for had umpteen pockets. I used to feel that the more the number of pockets, the better. However, experience taught me that it is not the number of pockets that are important; it is how fast and easily you can retrieve something from the tote bag that matters more. The more the compartments, the more the time taken for retrieval. I have had some embarrassing moments in the supermarket where I have desperately tried to find my debit card to pay for grocery. The cashier at the billing counter has given me terrible looks, perhaps beginning to believe that I am a free loader or a kleptomaniac. Thus, for someone who practises and professes the philosophy of organized mess, one large compartment with a zip-top design is perfect. You know that whatever is there in the tote bag has to be found in that one large compartment. The other important object that takes ages to make its appearance out of the bag used to be keys. Each time I tried to fish out the house keys, a completely different metallic object would come out, almost reminding me of the story of the woodcutter and the axe.
Image Courtesy : https://luxury.tatacliq.com/
My love for a tote bag with a single, large compartment and a zip-top design also emanates from my personal experience at the security check in the airport. If the entire tote bag is not secured by a zip as is the case with many designs, the contents of the bag land in the tray that it sits/sleeps pretty in during the hand baggage scan. Small change, medicines and various odds and ends drop out of the bag. It was when this happened to me repeatedly that I learnt that the single compartment tote bag with a zip top design is the best to avoid awkwardness.
This post is almost like an ode to my tote bag, one of my most priced possessions. The tote bag resting next to me is mighty pleased as I publish this piece in its honour.
Trivia 