Of Bits and Bobs

Remember my pre-trip planning pleasure?

This time round, the excitement was stolen by my partner, Sanjay. He was positively bubbling when he heard I had enrolled for this trek. One of his ex-bosses had done this trail three years ago and filled his head with wondrous photographs. 

A word about Sanjay here – he is a meticulous executioner, loves gift shopping and a bit of a worrier (though he’d do his best to deny this!)

My sleeping bag, from Blacks, UK
(Pic courtesy, Sanjay Paul)

Given the lack of good (read that ‘convenient’ and ‘comprehensive’) gear shops in  Calcutta, I had asked for his help to buy my trekking shoes and sleeping bag. Calcutta and its hinterlands, despite its increasing turn out of mountain sports enthusiasts, didn’t have one decent all-purpose outdoor store. One still relies on word of mouth sourcing through friends and rapport with existing shop owners to supply pre-ordered equipment. Friends staying in different cities (Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore  are far advanced in this respect) or outside the country are ones only hope.

Measuring to decide whether it'll fit in my luggage
(Pic courtesy, Sanjay Paul)

Wanting to take advantage of the post-Christmas sales, I checked online on Blacks and Millets, chose my preferred boots. For four months we exchanged notes on Google Drive and Skype.

What began with two all-important articles, when he visited for Easter, had grown to seven bags of varied shapes and sizes! The man would tick off my shared checklist, colour code items and in the end, had carried home all of them, plus sundry loose bits his own.

(Pic courtesy, Sanjay Paul)

(He had even picked a backpack, but Sujoy-da vetoed it in favour of a duffel.)

Sanjay wasn't leaving to chance or my eleventh hour inspiration to get things organized.

Even my safety pins came from the UK! 

[Though sceptical about their range and price advantage, I'm includinga comprehensive list of adventure sports outfitters' in Calcutta, courtesy trek leader Sujoy Das for whoever finds this useful : http://www.sujoyrdas.blogspot.in/2013/02/trekking-gear-in-kolkata.html]