But before you get confused ki kya kharidoon, here’s what I recommend.

First of all, Lamington Road is not the best place to buy laptops but it’s really cool for accessories. And these are some must-haves.

External hardware
Mouse: Optical, wireless or wired? We prefer the wireless. It’s just Rs 850 and there are some cool designs as well.

TV tuner card: You can have the original 'idiot box' on your laptop by adding a TV tuner card (Rs. 1500 onwards).

Speakers: Don’t go for ‘laptop’ speakers. They’re a little slimmer and wireless too but the prices are insane (Rs 3000). Just buy normal desktop speakers and you’ll do fine. If you’ve bought an HP or Compaq rejoice, coz there are built in Altec Lansing speakers already. Earphones? Your regular ones should do.

Bluetooth adapter: If your lappie doesn’t have built-in bluetooth capability. Loser!

LCD cleaner: To keep your screen spic and span

Web-camera: Some laptops have an integrated webcam. Else buy one - it’s quite useful. A level above your ordinary web-cam, there's also the Night Vision Camera, with flash.

External hard disk: A must have for those who watch a lot of movies, play games or store their whole life on their laptops. Prices start at Rs 2600 for an 80 GB HDD and go upto Rs 7000 for 500 GB.

USB Light: If you are the burning-the-mid-night-oil type (either studying or chatting) you don't need to disturb others by keeping the tube-light on. Nor do you need to grope in the dark. A USB light enables you to use the keypad in darkness.

‘Presenter’: For the business types there's the Presenter with trackball (Rs 3000) which lets you make presentations on-screen without standing next to your laptop. A cool way to impress old fogeys in the boardroom (especially if your presentation sucks).

Internet video camera: And if you are someone who has to have each and every accessory no matter what the cost, then don't miss this one. It’ll cost a little over
Rs 10,000.

The soft stuff
The most important accessory when it comes to a laptop is the bag you carry it in. Now most laptops come in a standard black bag but there are cooler options. If you’re willing to spend.

Visit Xplore, a demo-only shop at Lamington Road for a range of choices. While you can’t buy any thing there you can see everything under one roof and then hop off to the specific showroom down the street (as directed by the company salesman). Dicota, Belkin and Built NY are three laptop bag brands on display at Xplore. I fell in love with Built NY. Even if you don't own a laptop, these bags will make you feel like buying one.

Built NY has bags with neoprene padding in different colours and designs (such as stripes). They’re washable too. You’ll also find purse-sized cases for your charger and all the cords that come with it, as well as cases for your mouse.

Belkin and Dicota have slightly more conventional stuff. There are two varieties: sturdy, formal leather bags and sporty knapsacks, specially designed for travel. The latter are in fact more expensive! But despite being cool, good-looking and trendy, all these bags are exorbitantly priced. Rs 3000 + for a backpack with some padding feels like a rip off. Laptop ke naam pe kuch bhi!

Another cool accessory at Xplore was the Lap-cool fan by Apple for Rs. 1500 - a laptop stand with an in-built fan. You place your machine on it and a fan does the cooling. A good investment if you plan to use the laptop for long hours.

Pan Tablet by Apple is another great accessory to have if you are tired of your touchpad and also don’t feel like using a mouse. The device functions as a mouse, enabling you to paint or draw in applications such as Paint or Photoshop. You can also compose hand-written notes in Word. So, now you can send computer generated snail mail to people who crib about email and the fading art of writing letters.

Since you are probably bankrupt now, we’ll stop here. Just remember, whatever you buy something ‘better’ will turn up next month. Learn to live with it!