Open Letter 5 : Bags and Batman

The Subtleties of Life

Hi!
I am back with the 5th edition of open letters. The last one was on driving and Friendship and I hope you had fun reading them. If not, read them until you have fun. :P It did get some good numbers so I am a bit optimistic about the growth of these. I have fun writing this. Yep, I do dislike riding or driving except it is a bicycle. I cannot go out without music in some form or the other. Driving seems such a stressful thing on Indian roads where everyone is clingy and do not understand what space is. Best are the ones that own Porsche cars and are so clingy that they almost ride over you or the footpath. Yes Tigerbhai, I am talking to you.

So just as I was typing this, my house got a power cut. Stranger things happen, do not they? :P Now you know that my death is highly possible through an accident or in a dark manner. Give me some sunshine?

Yeah, I always have my music with me and no, I do not violate any traffic rules. You must be thinking that how would I be managing to listen to music on the road without violating the earphones rule? ( P.S. It is illegal to wear earphones while driving a scooter or two-wheeler and you can be charged up to 2000 rs for that. Beware!) ( Probably another reason to have long hair that covers your ears, maybe?) The answer is a Bluetooth speaker. The speaker is connected to my phone which is turn connected to my fitness band. And to carry that speaker, I have this wonderful marvel of storage called bag.

Ever since I have been going to school and tuitions, I have had my bag with me. There was no bluetooth speaker back then in early 2000s and 2010s but still, I had a bag with me that majorly had books. I used to drive a scooter to travel and would play on phone in pocket but that was a struggle. I shifted to Bombay after school for college and I realized the beauty of bags. Life in Bombay was dynamic. Each year, I stayed at a different place. The first year I lived for a few months in a rented flat while rest of the year in a hostel that was boring to be honest. No Hostel Daze fun! Most of it is fiction! So I was always on the move. I also have quite a few relatives there and all my cousins are there so I would be at their house. Result: a bag that has clothes, a first aid box, water bottle, toothbrush, books, charger, and even Bourn Vita. ( Obviously, Tann ki Shakti, Mann ki shakti Bourn Vita). While Chai and coffee people fight over the superiority of one, I sneak out the milk and make myself Bourn Vita. Sad that it is expensive and not as widely available as the above two.

The point being, I loved to have things with me. It almost feels that I am ready for anything and if anyone asked me for going on a trip in the middle of the night, I would be ready. I did not realize that I was building something wonderful: a habit.

The next two years were spent in Gandhinagar and I had my bag with me every time I can remember. For sure, now a speaker had entered my life and all my roommates knew the magic of music on a long ride. As I returned home, I realized that I had built a strong habit and going without a bag felt extremely inconvenient and handicapped. The feeling remains even if I have to go walking to the nearest grocery store to buy a pack of bread. Fortunately, mom does not send me out for Dhania. Maybe she is afraid I would run away with food and eat it. :P I also know a bit of cooking so that too adds. :P

The supreme feeling of having everything on your shoulder rest and having your pockets free is unmatchable. Initially, I used to keep my wallet in my jeans pockets but once it fell down and I forget just to get it back from the kind stranger who had invited me to their home and give it back to me. Faith in humanity is there from that day. :')

But the incident taught me a few things: first, do not have your wallet in your track pant pockets if you are cycling, and second, put it in the bag. Then, all the load switched to my bag except my phone cause it is easy to control the volume from the pocket. Also, the best thing that I can say with pride is that I always have a bag so I would never need to have an extra carry bag of plastic and do my bit to save the environment.

However, a strange thing happened a few months back. I switched to a laptop bag that came free with the Acer laptop that I had bought. Ironically, the bag lasted more than the laptop. Folks, never buy Acer laptops, they do not have spare parts available. Just saying. So I had my laptop fitted in that bag. I currently use some 7-8 years old Lenovo laptop that works wonderfully. I almost sold that when I bought the Acer one. The Acer one got dead and I had to sell it for 1000 bucks in scrap. Strange how things turn out. The old one is bulky and heavy. It weighs 2.5 kg and takes up massive space as it is 15.6 inches with a CD drive. I put that in the bag with my charger and a few other things like my wallet and keys. I used to take that to the office so I would also have a snack box and water bottle. It would feel congested and full. Whenever I had to buy something new like a pack of bread or fill in more snacks, the bag would not accept it. That felt horrible and underprepared. That is when I realized the idea of space and bags. You cannot overload a bag or a person with more than they have space for. That is how life works. If you do so, you would end up feeling horrible and incomplete.

Soon, I bought a new bag. Similar to the one I had been using in Mumbai and spacious enough to have things ranging from clothes to toothbrushes. I always feel equipped now and I think I feel that it is spacious enough to fit more if needed and I am prepared for anything. Preparation can make things so easy. I love this ideology. Indeed it is such an art and underrated ideology that only a few notice its power. Fortunately, someone did and created a person who embodies the art of planning and preparation- Batman ( AKA Chamkadad Manas) { Wondering why no movies are coming out from him? Remember, bats are blamed for something? Especially if you are a person from China? }

Batman has only two powers- an extraordinary amount of wealth and planning. His another skill that is often considered as negative or failurizing today is overthinking. Batman is Batman because he thinks of each and every possibility. This is something that is seen in a lot of people today and it is often regarded as a mood spoiler or a sign of a person who would not enjoy things as they are. However, there is a very tiny thing that may separate an ordinary overthinker from Batman- preparedness. The beauty of Batman is that he prepares for each and every event- be it positive or negative. His plans have backup plans. An excellent example of this is an animated movie called Justice League Doom wherein he has backup plans if each of the Justice League members went rogue or against humanity. That makes him powerful. Indeed, it is his planning and skills that also made him a martial art expert and equipped enough to fight anything.

I guess each of the superheroes has something to say or teach. I do not mean moral lessons like do good or save humanity or save someone, but something subtle and minor like their nature. Batman teaches planning, Superman teaches hope, Wonder Woman teaches faith and love, Thor and Iron Man teach perseverance while Hulk teaches you to Smash. :P Hulk is such an interesting character. It is all about anger. Bruce Banner says it in his famous dialogue, “ I am always angry!” It is not the anger but the composure that makes Hulk an interesting character. I do love superhero culture and it is so interesting to watch how the core human ideology and qualities get a new perspective in form of superpowers.

That being said, I have always tried to follow the Batman ideology. I tend to plan and think a lot. Maybe it is overthinking but who cares? Even if it is, it does not harm me or stops my daily life so I am great! In rare cases that someone or something fogs my mind, I write it down and the fog clears out. This works for me. The very idea of foreseeing every outcome is such a wonderful thing to do. I know what to do if a friend ditches me for a trip at the last moment. I know what to do if I get selected for that MNC interview. I know what to do if I land up a seat beside a really gorgeous girl in Indian Railways. Oh wait, the last one is fiction. They do not do that. But still, I have thought about it and I am ready for any outcome. This would keep me ready and equipped even for the worst scenario.

You would tell me that I am a pessimistic person who looks at things in a negative way. Maybe not. All I am saying is that I am ready to face a situation if it goes wrong or if it has an unfavourable outcome. Does that make me pessimistic? Maybe. But it definitely makes me Batman! I am Batman. ( Mom shouts at me and asks me to clean the fan.) Yeah, only Batman things! :P Indeed I have all fried Penny’s worth.


That was my meditation on Bags and batman. I hope you like it. It was fun writing and coming up with really bad PJs so that at least some stand-up comedians seem funny. I have no hopes from them, to be honest. Well, except a few. Which do not end up in jails.

Here is a song for you all. I hope you like it. Do comment if you like or dislike the song so that I can tailor it to your needs. I hear a lot of songs. :D

Kygo is one of my favourites but the recent ones seem to have lost the charm. :/

Here is a comic that I love. You can check it out at @buddygatorcomics on Instagram or the site of the same name.

One more cause I am feeling benevolent. This one is by @wawawiwacomics. These two make such lovely stuff. Do check them out.

Here is a photo that I took. I guess it sums up life. Millions of small happy moments in a mundane of darkness.

That is all that I wanted to say to all of you this fortnight. I hope you liked what I wrote and it did make sense to you. I would be glad if you could comment or give feedback about this to me. It means the world to me. Also, who is your favourite superhero? Why so?

Have a great week ahead. Do like, share, subscribe, send kabootars of this, pass and throw mobile phones with this letter, and anything and everything that would make this reach one more person! I would be writing another on or around 10th of August! Until then, take care and spread hope and light! :D