When our objects of comfort become travel companions

You know there’s this funny thing about packing, we all obsess over the practicalities: the charger, the medicines, the “just in case” raincoat or umbrella or an extra pair of shoes. But then there’s other stuff, the things that may make little sense to the TSA agent or anyone peering through your suitcase. It is not the usual packing checklist, sometimes it may not even be an item of utility, it’s purely the object, the connotation of which has changed for you over the years, gently tucked in with your clothes. It holds this deep familiarity and belonging, like tiny anchors tying you back to your home, to a person or to the personal rituals that keep you grounded so the hotel room feels less foreign. Everywhere I go, my mother’s glass bangle, a cat’s eye stone and an amulet that’s nearly three decades old make it to my little pouch of keepsakes. There’s no logical reason for them to be in my bag, it’s just a comforting habit I never outgrew. I’ve held onto them for so long that over time, they just became a permanent fixture and my own unspoken way of feeling safe anywhere.

So, we thought we would ask the frequent travellers what do they choose to carry with them when they leave home and why? And we found that a suitcase can tell you more about the person than their travel destination ever could.
 

Shobha Jose George

Shobha, who runs a boutique travel advisory called The Extra Mile in Bengaluru, has been travelling ever since she was out of school. Now she does it full time. Her travels have taken her everywhere from the villages of Nagaland to the high-altitude deserts of Ladakh, all driven by her love for human stories and discovering local crafts. “I love to discover the many stories by the people here,” says Shobha reminiscing about her recent trip to Leh. When asked about the items that always find a way into her bag no matter where she goes, her immediate response was spices, specifically from Kerala. “I am either carrying spices to give to people or to prepare a Kerala dish for my new friends when I am traveling,” Shobha adds. To her, food is a very tangible memory, allowing her to share a bite of her own culture with the fellow travellers she meets along the way. 

Malini Malik

As the co-founder of General Items and the founder of travel itinerary design studio, Come Away, Malini has been juggling between art and travel for a while. Though she describes herself as a minimalist traveller, she relies on small, familiar rituals to maintain her equilibrium in unfamiliar spaces.

Her packing list anchors around a mindful wellness approach—moringa powder for her morning routine and a travel-friendly yoga block for daily stretching. The Xiu Yan jade comb also holds a permanent space in her bag during her travels. It was a gift to her by her teachers Shay and Eva, at a yoga retreat in Sri Lanka two years back. “It holds a very sweet memory of that time. Even a few minutes with it feels incredibly soothing, like a gentle head massage," she adds. She loves how meditative the ritual is, it helps her centre herself instantly wherever she is.

The little paper stick figure was a gift to Malini from artist Koyal Raheja, who also happens to be a close friend. It’s a little companion that almost always tags along on Malini's travels, usually doubling as a bookmark. Part of Raheja's Clockwork series, “It reminds me of the early days of General Items, when we started our “Meet the Maker” series. Koyal hosted one of our first studio-style sessions, and I have very fond memories of that time,” says Malini.

Insia Lacewalla

A dynamic food and travel writer based in Goa, Insia has been jet-setting solo for over a decade. She calls herself an easy-going traveller. Her destinations are almost entirely dictated by food. “Even on the busiest trips, I'd find a way to squeeze in one proper local meal,” says Insia. 

She carries her fiancé's photograph, tucked into her wallet—a simple passport photo she slipped into her pocket while they were getting their passport photographs done. “It still feels like my little secret. I travel so much for work that it's the easiest way to keep him close,” adds Insia. In a world of video calls and digital galleries on our phones, there is something deeply personal about carrying the photograph of a loved one—the slight creases and stains adding to its sentimentality. It is definitely a time-honoured gesture that just adds a distinct psychological weight in your wallet, serving as a visual reminder of home, where home is in a person.

Insia also keeps a small silver coin with her. “I used it as a token during a sound healing session, and somewhere along the way it turned into a talisman. There's something about its weight in my palm that makes me feel safe,” adds Insia.

Stationary is a non-negotiable for her. Normally, when she’s not travelling, she prefers using fountain pens, however her colour coded pilot pens make it to her travel bag along with a small notebook for her day notes when travelling. “If I am travelling internationally, I carry my own tea leaves. It is easier to get good coffee abroad.” She prefers her Assam tea in the morning, and occasionally she may have her Darjeeling tea as well, which she mixes with her Assam tea.