The green suitcase

"....while you are going to Pune take all your luggage in three bags, we have one bag, buy one more and the big green suitcase can hold most of your luggage", my dad told me this a week ago before i was going to pune to do my MBA. All this striked me one day in the third semester during the mid-terms as i was staring the green suitcase remembering about my parents, my brother, Hyderabad and how much i missed all of them.

We purchased the suitcase while i was in my 9th grade may be January 2001 while my dad and mom planned for a vacation in Delhi and surroundings. My parents got their LTC and were very enthusiastic about the vacation. So a week before our travel, dad got the green suitcase, a big spacious one with wheels below and clips on the top and a locking system (which we never used till now). We were all geared up, when suddenly there was a major autorikshaw strike in Hyderabad and we had to catch the train early in the morning at 5:30. Finally on the day we got one auto who was more scared than us because of the police. Finally we reached before time at 5 am (thanks to my dad), boarded and after 1day of journey in the train we reached Delhi. It was the best trip of my life. The weather was very cold and at that time we could only manage one room with one big bed. All four of us were sleeping on the same bed all covered with sweaters and a thick rug. It was freezing but we had the best time that time right there, me, my brother and my parents shivering and laughing. Later we traveled to may places but Delhi trip was the best. The big green suitcase was with us all through.

Later in my 10th grade, we traveled to Chennai to attend my sister's wedding, and ofcourse we had the green suitcase. We landed in Chennai ten days before my sister's wedding. It was a grand reunion of all my relatives and my cousins. The wedding was in Tirupati, so after all the wedding purchases, we hired a Bus and left for Tirupati from Chennai early in the morning. Nobody knew how the eight hours of journey passed, everyone initially engrossed in "antakshari" later on "dumsharads" later making light hearted jokes on one another, a few sleeping, a few gossiping about their teachers, friends, school and sometimes imitating teachers. When we reached Tirupati, everyone were back on their work arranging the "mandapam" or the wedding hall, later had dinner and back to work. This continued for two days until the grrom arrived and rest is history. After the best wedding, we headed back to chennai for reception and during this journey, our suitcase had a small accident and suffered some damages, tiil date it still has the markings on it.

Later on the green suitcase travelled with us to every journey or vacation, it almost became a part of the family. When i was a kid, my dad would very neatly arrange the clothes into it. I would be watching him, and how patiently he would adjust all the clothes into it even though my mom would make some last minute changes. Later on i picked up the art of arranging the clothes from him, but i still am not good as he is. The suitcase traveled with us to Kolkatta, Varanasi, Ooty and many other places.

Finally the fateful day came when i had to go to Pune to do my MBA. My brother was already disappointed and so was i, my mom was not happy despite the fact that i was going to do my MBA and my father didn't show any unhappy signs but deep down inside i knew he would be missing me. On May 11th 2009, me, dad and the big green suitcase left for Pune.