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Bagful of surprises

Ever wondered what's inside handbags?

PHOTO: AP

WHAT'S IN IT? Perhaps everything from powder to packets of chips

You've been taught from childhood never to peer into a woman's handbag. Not without reason. If you ever did, you'll probably end up wondering why a bottle of expensive hand lotion should share space with a packet of suji rave, chillies and ginger! "That combo is difficult to beat. But, it shows a practical mother at work. Like mine. The suji packs were a must when we were travelling to a new city. She would be impervious to the stunned looks of the airport security who checked her bag. And we always went home to the familiar aroma of upma," recalls Srinivas, a lecturer. His mother is not alone. There are scores of women whose handbags have things that belong to everybody else in the family.

"Every time I look at women with sleek handbags, I wonder why I can't be like them. I look at my ready-to-burst bag crammed with packets of cookies for my son, my husband's Walkman and headphone, his cellphone, mine and our purses," says Urvashi, a working mother. So, how do the lucky ones manage to travel light, despite having family in tow? Stop indulging them. The day the husband and kids realise nothing interesting comes out of your bag, except face tissues and a book, you can go shopping for a handbag that is not forced to do the work of a sack!

SUBHA J. RAO

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