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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Mint-on-sunday/  Letter from a man bag
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Letter from a man bag

Am I carrying a bag just for the possessions or am I carrying the bag for itself?

Since it became a fashion trend, the “murse” has been a bit controversial, as it challenged the notion of masculinity. Photo: iStockPremium
Since it became a fashion trend, the “murse” has been a bit controversial, as it challenged the notion of masculinity. Photo: iStock

For a change, it was me who had to be dragged out of a bag store. I had ogled for too long, tried on too many options, fretted about cuts and costs, and complained about what didn’t “feel" right. The spouse muttered that I didn’t need another bag, and that I already had too many.

Just for a moment, we played out a scene from a film—me holding on to the bag with one hand while being pulled by the other. Gender stereotypes in retail had been firmly reversed in just a couple of years.

I didn’t really need another bag, but some things come out of “want" rather than “need". I was obsessing over a leather tote—the model carrying it in the photograph on the store’s wall looked very stylish with it. I already had a cheap canvas sling bag, but this looked like an upgrade. It was a great shade, the right size, with enough space and light in weight.

I left the store with regret and without the bag, thinking how I had become my mother.

One of my earliest memories of “losing" and “finding" things involve my mother’s handbag. She was obsessed with them, or rather, with acquiring many handbags. For each bag she bought, there was a logical explanation—she needed one of a different size or colour or one with a greater number of pockets/compartments, a different type of handle, for a specific or multiple purposes etc.

But my amazement was with the fact that, no matter how many sections the bag had, no matter what its specific function, she could never find anything easily in it. Every time you asked her for something, she would rummage through her bag chaotically before fishing it out (yet all of us in the family would happily continue to dump things in her bag while complaining that she was unable to locate them later). She would also, magically, find a bar of chocolate in it every time, which was extremely joyful for us children.

When I began my life as a professional adult, I was confident that I would be able to handle my belongings with efficiency. Not that men need to carry as many things as women; basically, just some cash and keys.

But we live in an increasingly complicated world and its growing complexity has led to an increasing number of belongings or necessities. The other day, I went to buy something and the chap behind the counter asked if I was carrying my voter’s card.

Typically, on a daily basis, you may now need an access card to enter your office building; maybe a travel pass and some other card for personal identification. There is the mobile phone, some cash, credit cards and keys—to a home, to a locker etc. There could be other membership or loyalty cards to your favourite restaurant or bookstore. You never know when you might need a pen, or a notebook, a hand sanitizer perhaps, a mobile charger, headphones or a book, if the day entails some waiting around. The more organized often keep a bottle of water handy too.

As you get older, the requirements increase. I have recently added reading glasses to my bag, besides sunglasses. A few years down the line, my ageing self might have to add some medicines and if Mumbai continues to grow at this pace, an oxygen cylinder for breathing.

In this city, you seldom see people without a bag. The reason is simple, really: the distances are so large that most people leave home in the morning and return only in the evening or night.

I have written about backpacks and their usefulness. But they fall short when one is seeking sophistication or elegance, which is where a cross-body/man bag fits in.

A man purse or tote bag or just a man bag (which unfortunately means something else in Urban Dictionary slang) is not new. In an episode of Friends in the late 1990s, the character Joey just could not get over his new possession. Indiana Jones carried one even before that, to hold an ancient skull or some such.

Since it became a fashion trend, the “murse" (man purse) has been a bit controversial too, as it challenged the notion of masculinity. If men started carrying a purse, what would happen next? High-heeled shoes?

Then, with David Beckham carrying one—at an event or for a fashion shoot or some such—the “manbag" became cool. Now, it’s even a style statement for macho dudes.

These days, the “mote" (men’s tote) is no longer a novelty item but fairly common in usage. It’s a luxury business worth billions. Its threat on masculinity has diminished as well—indeed, why should only women bear the pain (or joy) of carrying a bag.

Also, men realize that anything that’s prefixed with the word “man" cannot be manly—if it’s obvious, why state it?

I got gifted one of these nice bags some years ago—and after overcoming early suspicions, I have never turned back. They work well for carrying light items and save me the trouble of stuffing my pockets, which, frankly, is uncomfortable.

It’s helped me sympathize with my mum and several other women I have seen struggling to find things in their purse. During a recent outstation trip, I was often in a state of semi-panic after failing to find this bill or that printout or some keys or a phone. Different people I encountered on the trip called it (in Hindi) a jhola or batua or thaili.

“Why you carrying a purse," a friend asked me recently. “To carry my stuff," I replied. “Why do you have so much stuff," he asked, as he swung his free hands around.

I don’t really know.

Maybe it’s possible to pare down possessions and not carry a bag. But then, am I carrying a bag just for the possessions or am I carrying the bag for itself?

Letter From... is Mint on Sunday’s antidote to boring editor’s columns. Each week, one of our editors—Sidin Vadukut in London and Arun Janardhan in Mumbai—will send dispatches on places, people and institutions that are worth ruminating about on the weekend.

Comments are welcome at feedback@livemint.com

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Published: 28 Oct 2017, 11:24 PM IST
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