Thursday 1 July 2010

A Life Long Companion

There are some things in our house which I love simply because they are old, such as our 14" colour television (circa 1987) and the Hornby Dublo train set (circa 1958). Then there’s our Eveready brass torch which is only three years old, but looks like it’s straight out of the late 1970s.

Ten inches long, weighing in at nearly half a kilo with its three D-cell batteries, it is a nuisance to travel with, but I take it on all my camping trips. At Leh airport, even though the torch was in my rucksack which was going in the hold, the security people made me take out the batteries. They probably thought it was a weapon of mass destruction, and who could blame them? But of all its likeable qualities, the most likeable of all is its cardboard case, which has artwork such as this.

It warms the cockles of my heart that in this world of cut-throat competition and slick marketing, this sort of graphic design has managed to survive.

6 comments:

sreejita said...

That 14" colour television reminds me of Debopriya's comment(Debopriya i to?oi prochondo jhogra kore) when you switched it on,"oma!eta chole?abar colour o ashe?". It also reminds of the black and white television made by baba in his 20s. It was a small one and I loved it:)

Priyanka said...

Finally a proper Sroyon post. I approve. Especially of the H-D trainset mention.

Karthy said...

:) I hate throwing away old stuff from home - the tattered sofa from when i was kid, old electronic equipment that don't work anymore - not sure if it's cupboard love or pack rat mentality...

while the image does warm the cockles of one's heart, i wonder what would happen if she were to switch the torch on -full glare into her loving husband's face or is the torch all ready on and he is still smiling in which case he is a total keeper! :D

Pratiti said...

After Karthy's comment, this pic takes on very sinister dimensions, but yes, it seemed harmlessly heart-warming at first.
Yes, also, it is proper Sroyon post.

Shrabasti Banerjee said...

:D

(Yes, my comments are back!)

Indecision Personified said...

@Sroyon: I rest my case. :P