MUMBAI—Constant movement and travel put into perspective what one really needs. There is a tyranny of things, a very real truth to the old saying about things owning you, not you owning them. I like good things. I have long been very nearly obsessed with the art of packing and of acquiring the perfect (and thus complete) kit. The complete and perfect kit has numerous incarnations, various interlocking layers. What you personally carry in a harsh environment, backpacking for two weeks, is very different than what you bring to India to live with a family for two years. The latter is much harder to perfect than the former. A few days carrying a pack will quickly sort out what is needed and what is not.
Setting up and moving a household for extended stays is unique challenge. Good equipment is still as vital as ever, but aesthetics and comfort become much more important. When you live in what can be unfamiliar, sometimes unsettling environments, things like a familiar quilt, good sheets, high quality kitchenware and, indeed, art work, can be incredibly important. The trick, then, is to not acquire too much, to walk a line between comfort and clutter, to have the right things–whatever the cost–which are always better and less expensive than 10 of the wrong things. Even if they are not on your back, you are still carrying them.
The rest of our things are set to arrive late this month or sometime the next. With, perhaps, a few exceptions, I think we have everything we need. Generally, what we need most, is less.
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