I am getting old and my parents are getting even older so I thought I should visit them more regularly and more frequently . This time I was planning to stay longer than my usual visit as it was my mum’s birthday. So, I needed to carry some clothes with me. Unfortunately, my overnighter was also travelling at the same time ( with Prima Donna) so I needed another bag for myself. With this in mind, I went down to buy myself a bag or piece of luggage to travel with as all the other luggage was larger than my requirement. Besides, I was travelling by train and needed a bag that could be wheeled across a platform and carried over the rail overhead bridge.

Many years ago, I had bought myself a smart, compact Samsonite wheelie in shocking purple that seemed to smile as it whirled around. I deliberately got this colour which would put off anyone else in my family from taking it on their travels. After all, they were the classic black bag types.

But I was proved wrong when Ms Papaya came into my life four years ago, and appropriated the bag: it was the perfect size for her and she just adored the colour, so before I knew it, the bag was officially hers.

A few months ago, Prima Donna began making frequent work related trips to Gujerat and she found the purple wheelie ideal for her travels. It carried just the right amount of clothes that she required, was smart enough to go by train or plane and fitted well with her corporate image.

So , this arrangement of one bag between three users worked very well till last week when Prima Donna and I discovered that we would both be travelling at exactly the same time. Naturally I needed a new bag.

Solving the problem

Now a few months ago, a huge was parcel delivered to our doorstep from Prima Donna’s company. On opening it, I found it contained a huge good sized American Tourister travel bag. I thought this was a strange ‘gift’ to receive from a company for no reason at all and was convinced it was the company’s annual stock clearance policy rather than employee welfare in play. And sure enough it was : on close inspection, I found that the zips didn’t zip , the roll out handle didn’t roll out and the bag was a bit out of shape being squashed in one position for several years. Yes ! On even closer inspection, I found that the bag was manufactured in 2012 !!!!!!

Now this made me all the more determined to return it to sender but since I couldn’t do that, I did the next best thing – take it to a dealer who could either fix it or exchange it .

Finding an American Tourister dealer on line was pointless because the closest dealer was 100 km away. The ones listed closer to home had phone numbers that didn’t exist any more.

So I went to a general bag dealer down the road who had an exchange offer going on. Predictably, my bag was unmendable so he offered another in exchange and since I didn’t like any of the bags on display I left the shop with a credit note of Rs. 400 that I could use till December on any bag that I liked.

A few weeks later, armed with the credit note, I identified a duffel bag only to find that it was not eligible for a Rs.400 discount. But it seemed to meet my requirements: small, compact, cabin sized with wheels and a strap to haul across a railway overbridge . And , since it was black and from a well known Indian brand, I thought it would find favour with my family who would definitely have more use for it than me.

But as usual I guessed wrongly and the bag was dissed as unsuitable not only for me but for the ENTIRE family. No one in the family would be caught dead using it as it was pronounced appropriate only for country bumpkins who travelled rough or for ardent trekkers.

Since no one at home qualifies for either category of traveller, I had to return it . So the next day I went back to the dealer and exchanged it for smart Victorinox which although was marked down, still cost me twice the amountI had originally paid.

And I still have the credit note in my purse.

Ciao