Wednesday 11 July 2012

Emotional Baggage



Emotional Baggage

NAME: 
LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2004

Emotional Baggage

I am in love… deeply in love with my Bag. I cannot imagine my existence without it.
It is a brown leather Ruck sack with a back strap, from ‘Hidesign’.

On any normal day it holds my mobile phone, umbrella, lap top, mouse, my lunch box, a few munchies, an apple or a banana, my credit cards, debit cards, ATM cards, library cards, ID cards, business cards and a variety of other things that are classified as cards.
It also contains some cash, my cheque book, moisturiser, eyeliner, scissors, nail cutter, comb, sanitary napkins, hair clips, rubber bands, safety pins, face wash and other important things without which my womanhood would have withered away.

When I Travel on trips overnight or for weekends it also grudgingly takes in an extra set of spare clothes, toothpaste, toothbrush and all those easily forgettable accessories that are necessary to spend a night out.

That is when I feel a tinge of guilt that I am overloading the poor fellow. But I cannot help it. I do not like to carry too many bags and this one I cannot do without. So the poor fellow takes the brunt of carrying an extra set of clothing and accessories apart from the normal load which includes everything from the laptop to the eyeliner.

I have been going around with this one for about 6-7 months now. It was gifted to me for my birthday by this Man with whom I have beengoing around.

Till then I had been going around with another bag, for three long years, before the signs of an aging relationship began to show on the bag. It was a blue bag which I got for the weekend treks from ‘Countryside’ the trekking group with whom I used to go on treks. Since going to work was in itelf an 'uphill' task , I used the trekking bag for the weekdays as well.
The ‘Countryside’ bag was a tough and sturdy one. But then bags too are not immortal.
After three years of a tough and overly demanding existence with me, when the Zip gave way, I set it right with the cobbler. Then a little later the stitches gave way – I again set it right with the cobbler.

Very soon I realized that my visits to the cobbler were getting a little too frequent.
I understood that bags like a certain species of homo – sapiens cannot be taken for granted. After all there is only so much and so long that a poor bag can take.

It had started exhibiting signs of old age.
I was too attached to it to think of switching over to another. But I knew that sooner or later I may have to severe this long standing relationship of ours.

That was when the ‘Hidesign’ bag came into my life as a gift on my birthday.
For a while I felt guilty switching over to the new one. One morning when the Zip of ‘Countryside’ bag gave way for the umpteenth time, I reluctantly switched my belongings into the ‘Hidesign’ bag one and started off.

Initially I had thought that my date with the new bag would not last long. It was too posh a bag (I have never used a branded bag before) to adjust to my demanding lifestyle.

And after all, all that the old one needed was a visit to the cobbler’s and then it would be life a usual.

But unfortunately, that did not happen. That particular week zoomed past and my visit to the cobbler to mend the old fellow got indefinitely postponed.

The ‘Hidesign’ bag warmed up to me and I said to myself that it was not really all that bad.
In the last six months that I have been ‘going around’, it has surpassed all my expectations.
A few months back I gave it to the cobbler to cut open the back strap and adjust it for my requirements. The cobbler was busy and asked me to leave the bag with him and come in the evening to collect it.

My cobbler sits in his small shack at the corner of the twenty two storied ‘Air-India’ Building, in Nariman point, Mumbai. For those who do not know, (not that it matters) Nariman point is the costliest and busiest business district of Asia. (Or so I was told).

Thousands of office goers get off their local trains at Churchgate station walk past this intersection near ‘Air India building’ every day. Most of them hold a 9 to 6 job like me in the various offices in Nariman point and our ambition in life revolves around catching the right local train at the right time and if possible the right seat during our daily commute to Nariman point from the suburbs.

In the haste that engulfs the office goers in carrying out their daily tasks, a sole which is peeling out of your shoe, a strap that is threatening to loosen out or a zip that has given way and refuses to close your overloaded office bag can cause a great deal of stress in the already over stressed work life of an office goer. And that is where the cobbler sitting at the corner shack provides us immense Stress relief.

My Cobbler has seen it all.

He has known me since so my bags that have come and gone in my life. Talking about this one, he had probably seen it coming.

On this particular day, I stopped by his shack with my hidesignleather bag for some mending and customizing.

He instantly knew I had dumped the previous one. I am not sure if he said a silent prayer for it. He knew my ‘Countryside’ bag as intimately as a family doctor knows his terminally ill patient.

The Hidesign bag was probably designed for its broad shouldered and tall customers. Its back strap was a little too long for five footer like me. I wanted the cobbler to cut off a few inches off the back strap and adjust it for my height.
On this particular day , he was busy with other clients. He took down my specifications and said he would keep it ready by the evening. I could collect it on my way back home.

Throughout the day, I was restless. I felt like a mother leaving her child on the first day at the nursery school. I went down to the cobbler during lunch break to check if he had worked on my bag. He said he was busy and would definitely take up my work before the end of the day. It felt like a long day. In the evening I got it back from him mended to exactly suit my requirements.

That was about 3-4 months back. Ever since then, my Hidesign bag has been with me through thick and thin. It has travelled a long way with me. (About 17,000 miles in the literal sense). It has withstood the weather conditions in this new country. I Carry it around everywhere with me. Come weekend or weekdays…

It is only natural that you if you spend practically all your waking hours, with someone or something you get emotionally attached.

And that explains my emotional baggage.

I usually do not take these advertisements on face value. They are often exaggerated.

Take ‘Maggi two minute noodles' for example. Anyone who has been hungry and starved and decides to cook a 'Maggi' knows that is takes much more that just two minutes to cook the noodles.

But the Hidesign ad disproved the fact that all advertisements are grossly exaggerated.

If you are an avid ad watcher, especially the print ads you may not have missed this one out. Although their positioning is not very effective, their ads and the body copy of their print ads are extremely catchy.

This hidesign ad in particular has a body copy which shows a young man and says,

Worse case scenario: She may dump you … make sure she carries an emotional baggage’ … - Hidesign leather bags … etc … etc… etc…


Just to let you know I haven’t yet dumped either …
*******************

Although I am not able to find a copy of this lovely print campaign from hidesign,
Take a look at some other hidesign ads by clicking here …
These are some equally good ones …


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