Autobiography of a schoolbag

I am a cow-hide bag made in Jashore. I was sold at Aarong, a handicraft store, to a father, hoping that his daughter, Parvati, would use me for school. At first, she did not like me. She had wanted something pink and sparkly. I was the complete opposite.

It was Parvati's first day at school. I was nervous. She was nervous. On the bus, she was trying to hide me as she was embarrassed. The other girls had colourful bags. She wondered what they would think when they saw her carrying me. When we arrived she quickly stuffed me in her locker.

I was able to hear other bags chatting through the locker walls. One, named Fraulein, directly spoke to me, "Do you think she will use you as much as our owners use us? You are just a bag made out of a cow." I was heartbroken, and kept quiet. Just then the bell rang. Parvati and her classmates came to change their books. Suddenly someone screamed, "Water leaked out of my bag!" Another exclaimed, "My zipper broke!" Another student said, "I cannot find my Literature

book! My bag is so disorganised!" Parvati looked at me. I was waterproof and I was strong, compared to the other pink, flimsy bags. My many compartments would help Parvati stay organised. It was then that Parvati realised how practical I was. She smiled and rushed off to her next class.

Parvati is now a university student. I am now tattered and unusable. But Parvati keeps me in her closet, where all of her special things are. Parvati always tells her parents how she is happy that instead of a flimsy, sparkly bag, she got a practical and efficient bag.