Vanities: the pen holder clip from Muji

People think I have strange habits.

The fact is, I do.

One among them is the fact that I never read a book or magazine without a pencil and notebook.

When I read a magazine, I tear the pages that contain things and places and other such stuff that interests me. And I throw the rest of the magazine away. I have curated my consumption. Now I can’t be strutting around the city with 10 pages of a magazine. So I jot down all the things that I had flagged off into my black journal called “Cool". After doing that, I trash the pages as well.

Similarly, when it comes to books, I like to bracket a sentence. Or underline a paragraph.

All of this requires brilliant coordination between what I am reading, how I write and where I write it in (note that for this task, I have my choice of pencil sharply cut out: a Palomino Blackwing with an eraser that permits amendments).

Now pencils are horribly Houdinish. They disappear with élan. And then finding them in your laptop bag becomes such a sordid search.

Now evidently, there are other strange people in the world.

Or else what can explain The Pen Holder Clip from the magicians at MUJI?

You slip in the pencil, clip it to the book and you look as graceful as the ballet dancers performing Giselle.

Plus it sends out signals to those in the surroundings.

That you are gathered, a sorted soul. Mr Meticulous. Or, as they say, centred.

(MUJI pen holder clips sell for $7, or around Rs450, on Amazon.com).