FEB 18, 12 .. HELLO BOBBSEYS ..

On the eve of the day I leave Agra Cantt for New Delhi and Hong Kong and San Francisco .. I want to post some photos of just some of the Bobbseys .. the Bobbseys are basically everything I have with me .. from my toothpaste to by beloved 'Mister India Bag' who carries many of the Bobbseys when we are on-the-road .. from my head wear to my shoes ..

Of course 'Mister India Bag' himself is one of the principal Bobbseys .. 

I WILL FOREVER BE OH-SO-GRATEFUL TO 'DANNY 48073' WHO SAVED THE TRIP WHEN HE AIR MAILED 'MISTER INDIA BAG' TO ME BACK ON AUGUST THE 27th AFTER I HAD TOLD 'MISTER INDIA BAG' .. " YOU WILL NOT BE MAKING THE TRIP " .. HAD DANNY NOT BAILED ME OUT ON THIS DREADFUL DECISION .. I WOULD HAVE GRIEVED AND MOURNED THE ENTIRE TRIP KNOWING THAT 'MISTER INDIA BAG' WAS  LAYING-ON-THE-FLOOR  LISTLESSLY  AT HOME ! ! 

 'Mister India Bag' is a 'duffel bag' in the world of luggage .. as such .. he presents certain issues as to packing him .. the way I have solved the big issue .. finding things inside of him .. is to have a number of individual small nylon bags that carry inside-of-them many of the small Bobbseys .. below is a photo of many of these individual nylon bags .. NOT all of them .. but most of them .. some have numbers on them that I know by heart .. the four 'flat' red bags are toilet articles .. the three green bags are stationery items (pens and everything I need to support my writing post cards and correspondence) .. directly above the four 'flat' red bags is a large blue (shaving kit) that holds an enormous number of my 'hardware Bobbseys' .. you will see some of the 'hardware Bobbseys' following the below photo .. the orange bag also holds stationery writing items .. the three (two black and one blue) bags on the bottom right are my sewing kit .. my electrical items (batteries and plugs etc) .. and (the blue one at the bottom) another major hardware Bobbsey bag ..

The below Bobbseys I use to hang things .. from clothes-to-dry to you-name-it .. I especially hang all of the above individual colored bags from the chains (shown a few photos below) when I am staying for an extended period of time in one location such as Calcutta and Arambol Beach in Goa and Pondicherry .. I have drills and drill-bit-holders (pin vises) to drill holes for the cup hooks .. almost all of the below 'hooks' I hand made from metal coat hangers to suit specific needs ..

Laundry is a BIG issue .. I have to wash and wash and wash some more because of the heat and the dust and the dirt I encounter here traveling .. below are many of my Laundry Bobbseys .. from rubber gloves to save the skin on my hands from the laundry detergent (each glove lives in its very own Bobbsey .. the socks immediately above each is where they stay when not-in-use !) .. small packages of Tide Detergent .. clothes pins and hangars .. different colors each .. clothes line and brushes and one special clothes pin that holds the mini-Tide packages shut when they are only partially used ..

 Then below are three more 'flat' green stationery bags .. AND the bowls .. I use bottled water to bathe from the-neck-up to protect my eyes from local water .. I did NOT do this at the beginning of my first trip to India (October 1990) and have chronic eye infections in the outside corners of each of my eyes ! .. so the two larger bowls are 'wash basins' that hold bottled water for me into which I dip my wash cloths .. the smaller bowls I use for an absolute myriad of things .. from Olive Oil to washing my dental (the mini-bowl at the very bottom !) night guards .. OH YES  .. the locks and the chains that I  use to secure my things on the trains and buses .. I also use the longer chains to hang the flat colored nylon bags (see above) in my rooms (as you have seen in photos of my rooms in Calcutta and Arambol Beach) .. the black and beige bags in the upper left hold the chains and the locks ..

 The below photo shows my two back-packs .. my major one for travel and my smaller one for day-trips .. AND SEE HOW THE ABOVE BOWLS ALL NEST INTO ONE ! ..

 And of course my drinking  ..'Vintage Tupperware' Tumbler and mini-water bottle .. that I carry on day trips .. they are 'sitting upon' a small wash cloth that I also use extensively ..

 And here in the below photo is my Head wear .. Mister India Hat on the right  .. and on the left my 'Sombrero' for the hot blindingly bright sun .. my black 'watch cap' for the cool nights .. and at the top ,, Tom-Tiger's Detroit Tigers base ball cap that Tom 48067 sent to me in the mail here in India .. THANK YOU TOM ! .. I could NOT do without the raw-hide gloves at the bottom .. I use them to handle my luggage and to protect my hands from mosquitoes at nights when necessary .. lastly .. at the top is the light-blue stuff-sack that holds my down jacket and my sleeping shawl and DOUBLES as a pillow between my knees in bed at night and under my arms on trains and buses to relax with ..

Well that-is-that says 'Bobba Caps' .. a short introduction to but-a-few of my Bobbseys ..

OK .. after days-and-days .. and hours-and-hours-and-hours of thought and pondering .. I have made a decision .. at this point in my life .. 'letting go' of things has become necessary .. NO .. VITAL .. 

'Mister India Bag' IS AN INDIAN .. he was born here in Agra Cantt by Jeevan Lal who created him and then Jeevan made him ..

Back 'home' in the United States .. 'Mister India Bag' sort of languishes between his trips to India .. because he is not 100% suitable for travel in the United States when I am running in my Suburbans .. I have an entirely different and unique method of carrying my belongings in the States when I am on-the-road .. so he very seldom travels with me in the States ..


SO 'MISTER INDIA BAG' WILL REMAIN HERE IN AGRA CANTT WITH HIS CREATOR .. Jeevan Lal .. 

He will be staying in the shop where Jeevan created and made 'Mister India Bag' .. he IS HOME here .. this is HIS birthing place .. Jeevan himself LOVES him .. Jeevan NAMED him and he IS one of Jeevan's 'children' ..I can remember like yesterday when Jeevan proudly proclaimed .. "And his name is India Bag !" ..


BUT .. 'MISTER INDIA BAG' will NOT be alone here .. at a very minimum .. 70% of the 'A' - Team Bobbseys ARE STAYING WITH .. AND INSIDE OF .. 'MISTER INDIA BAG' ..


And I mean the 'A' - Team ! .. Mister India Hat .. Mister India Shirt .. 90% of the padlocks and chains.. all of the Laundry Bobbseys .. many of the stationery writing Bobbseys .. all but one of the bowls .. all of the numerous hooks and associated 'hardware' Bobbseys that service the hooks .. a fair number of my socks and shirts .. 'Mister India Bag's' travel-trolley that I must use to transport him ..

IF .. and I will NOT rule-out another future trip back here to India .. I do return .. I will be able to do so traveling EXTREMELY LIGHTLY BECAUSE so many of my Bobbseys will be here waiting for me .. IF I do not ever return .. Jeevan and his family will find a use for him and all of the Bobbseys ! .. in the United States this would NOT be the case .. So it is a' win-win' decision for me !

Here below are two photos of some (NOT nearly all) of the Bobbseys that 'Mister India Bag' will be holding .. two of my safety-colored 'T' shirts .. on top of my 'India Shawl' that I have slept under .. 'Mister India Hat' and a Sun Visor I have used .. my Nike Sandals and 'Mister India Shirt' and one of my two pairs of raw-hide gloves .. and my coat hangars .. a quality Nalgene water bottle and the shaving kit with so many of the critical 'hardware' Bobbseys ..

  And below 'Mister India Bag' will also be holding .. my Safety Vest and assorted socks .. all of my bowls except one that will come with me because I need one with me .. and my rubber gloves ..

Here 'Mister India Bag' is sitting UPON THE WORK AREA THAT HE WAS BIRTHED UPON in late 1990 and early 1991 .. it is on wheels and rolls out when Jeevan needs him ..

 And lastly you can see ALL OF THE FRIENDS THAT 'MISTER INDIA BAG' will have to visit with and to keep him company ! .. 'the other bags' are already all a-buzz knowing he is going to be with them and that he will have MANY MANY tales to tell all of them !

And so .. The time has come the Walrus said to talk of many things .. of shoes and ships and sealing wax .. of cabbages and Kings .. of why the sea is boiling hot and whether pigs have wings ! 


Time to 'sign-off' .. for now at least .. with great LOVE .. tomorrow I begin the final stage of leaving India and returning home to the United States .. OH YES .. I will be sending posts from Hong Kong for sure .. God Willing ! .. so .. look forward to them .. LOVE.. cap ..