100 Rays Of Son - 86

Backpack Addiction

I come across the funny videos where women are seen pulling out various things from their purse. It is unbelievable but then I have seen so many things being pulled out of Rayyan’s backpack which makes it almost possible. Food, shoes, vegetables, clothing, devices…. You name it and he has carried it in his backpack. They are very misleading as well. At times when the things before me look like they will require 2-3 bags to fit in, but Rayyan easily pushes them in one. Sometimes my Geometry learning says that it is not possible by size and proportion, but it happens and I have to ignore my geometry. He feels incomplete without the backpack on his back like a turtle without his shell.

You may have seen addictions of different kinds, but I am not sure how many have been accused of being addicted to backpack. Unfortunately Rayyan has been accused of it. As soon as we start off anywhere Rayyan rushes to get his backpack. Be it a program, event, shopping, picnic or whatever the occasion, the bag goes wherever Rayyan goes.

Often, my family is irritated that he carries his bag everywhere and my brother strongly believes that Rayyan is addicted to the bag. He at times forces Rayyan to keep his bag aside and come out with him so that he can be de-addicted. No, he has not shown any withdrawal symptoms during those times, though he has missed his bag all through the journey.

Dramatic farewell to the old backpack

When the old bag wears out and he has to buy a new one, picking a suitable bag is a shopping program that goes on for 4-6 months. In earlier days when we wouldn’t shop online he would visit shops and come back dissatisfied and wait some more days to find the perfect bag. Now it is online shopping. He keeps surfing from one site to another, checking out features, color and sharing links with me before settling down with one bag finally. Sometimes, he visits malls to check them out before placing his order. Once he buys a bag, it becomes his companion for many days, roaming with him everywhere. The old bags become organizers for his files and other important things.

I haven’t put in my word yet to either Rayyan or others who find his habit of having bag with him funny, because I did not think it was important. But I have seen the transition happening in past 2 decades and how he slowly got addicted to the backpack. May be even Rayyan doesn’t know this but I know the ‘how and why’ behind this habit of his, because it has been very important to me.

Farheena has trouble walking on roads and she needs support. Initially, when we used to have carry-bags in our hands, we both would struggle to manage Farheena. I am prone to foot/leg injuries by fate and sometimes Rayyan has to manage both of us. If he has something in his hands, it becomes too tough for him to manage even one of us.

Waiting to help us at Pinkathon Event

Helping Farheena walk.. without his steady support, she is nervous

Judy and I struggling to convince Farheena to take the step.. It is not easy 

His supporting started with his grandma, since my mom had difficulty walking due to her spine injury and often needed support to walk. Those days, I was carrying Farheena easily, but later we started supporting her to walk. Slowly I saw that he wished to have his hands free and would use the plastic carry-bags in different ways to keep himself free to help whoever needs his support. Later, he found the backpacks gave him this freedom. He realized it saves the use of plastic bags as well, keeping our environment clean. The use of backpack happened for necessity but then he found it is very convenient to have one around. May be it is a kind of addiction in him now. I never felt I should actually mention it, until today. I think I should express my gratitude to those hands that are always free and ready to help me and Farheena who struggle on our feet and the bags that help keep those hands free need a mention in his posts as well.

Another attraction of the backpack is his love for cycling. He needs his hands free for that. So, unlike people travelling by motorized vehicles, he has to carry everything in his bag so that he can ride his bicycle freely.

I am not bragging here, but I do win something out of blue at times and so does Farheena and Rayyan, though they are not in my league. We may never know what we have to carry back. Trophies, goodies, gift hampers and many other things are just handed over to us at times. These do not come in sturdy bags but are either given without bag or the fancy gift bags. Having this backpack around has been very helpful in such times. It ensures that we do not lose anything anywhere because everything is safe in this bag. For all the comments my brother makes, he left his sunglasses worth 13,000/- in bus when he got off. Fortunately, I saw that and picked it up. We have lost small expensive things quite often, including many mobile phones. Because of the backpack, Rayyan has never lost anything in years. Everything is automatically shoved in his unzipped mouth and kept safe. All he has to worry is about keeping the bag safe.

Cycle, backpack, jeans and Super-hero themed T-shirts are a part of Rayyan. He feels comfortable with them. He doesn’t look a ‘Rayyan’ without them.