Comments on: Our Material World

By: Neena

Neena — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:34:35 +0000

Hello Karin and Coen,
Hmm… I am afraid that we have 5 pair each too! Although I think we can do without the running shoes…we really did not need them. So we would have normal leather shoes, Tevas, hiking boots and hawaianas. I think that’s a bare minimum if one is interested in hiking as well as going out.
It was fun but very hard work taking this picture and putting it up on the web… but rewarding nonetheless!

By: karin and coen

karin and coen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:21:58 +0000

Oh yes, isn’t that an amazing book. My uncle once gave it to me as a gift, and I remember so many of the pictures, even though I had forgotten the title of the book. So thanks bringing that up!
Nicely done on keeping the number of shoes down. We started on two pair each [sandals and hiking boots], but somehow now both have 5 pair! I believe that the more space you have, the more you collect and it’s amazing how many ‘hidden corners’ you are able to find after travelling in a car for a while!

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:04:33 +0000

Neena -
Lakshmi has a good point. Pangloss would say the entire raison d’etre of the table, its construction in aluminum, its marketing and subsequent placement in REI, its appeal and purchase by a couple from San Francisco, and its long overland travel to Villa de Leyva, Colombia, was to provide several hours of surrealistic pleasure to four intrepid voyagers.

The table was a gift to us and for a brief period the citizens of a small tourist town in the Colombian highlands. Maybe somewhere in Colombia there is a man to turns to his wife and says “Remember that evening we went for a stroll and found in the middle of our plaza…”

By: Neena

Neena — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:20:13 +0000

Lakshmi, You are right. However, I am sure that we could have had Fellini-esque moments without having to lug a chair and table around for 37,000 miles!
Madhuri,
Thanks! That photo was a lot of work!

By: madhuri

madhuri — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:57:26 +0000

Awesome! Your material world is very impressive! Motivates me to get started on a larger scale spring cleaning this year.
Liked the nova link. The comparison between families is very nice.

By: Lakshmi

Lakshmi — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:28:32 +0000

Shreesh,
But we put that table and the chairs to good use in Colombia! That was a great, memorable evening in the Plaza.

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:17:50 +0000

Aai-
Of course, like most travelers we brought too much stuff! In hindsight I would leave most of the camping gear behind, along with the table and chairs.
Look forward to being back!

By: Shreesh

Shreesh — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:15:22 +0000

Vinay -
We certainly are Outliers when it comes to possessions, if compared to an average Western family. The more shit you have the more you think about it, the more you feel like you need, and the more you feel like you have to protect it.

But around the globe most people do with far less, as you will find in the Material World photographs. I was especially struck by how little the Indian family in the link above has. This is supposed to be a median family.

Even with this little stuff I was struck by how many items were either completely unused or little used, but it is very hard to know which ones ahead of time.

By: Unawoken

Unawoken — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:05:48 +0000

I think this pic should be on the cover of your coffee table book

By: Suhasini Taskar

Suhasini Taskar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:23:30 +0000

Shreesh and Neena,
It is pretty amazing as to how few things (material goods) you folks needed to complete this long and demanding journey of 19 months. It also speaks about your ingenuity and excellent organizational skills to select the essentials and to store them in such a way that you can pull out when needed. To me, this is not an easy task. It requires great vision and also hard work. Successful completion of this mission deserves a PH.D in project management.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Aai