Priyanka is nutty about a suitcase!

Ever wondered what Priyanka Chopra guards with her life? No, it's not her Miss World crown, nor her Louis Vuitton bags. Instead, it's a decrepit old suitcase that's a storehouse of family pictures.

Wrapped in neatly labelled brown plastic covers are preserved a few picture albums with pictures taken since she was a month old. Little did her parents know then that their delicate darling would collect every snap close to her heart as memorabilia.

Childhood memories

"My prized possession is this suitcase that has every single picture taken from my childhood days. As a toddler, I would simply refuse to part with any pictures that I could lay my hands on. As time flew by, my collection started growing. My mom gave me this huge suitcase to put all my belongings there," says the actress.

When Chopra is not busy poring over her dialogue sheets, she sits herself down on the bed with her suitcase. She sifts through her old pictures taken with her grandparents and school friends.

An occasional teardrop runs down her cheek too as she reminisces "the honey-coloured days". Says Chopra, "I love going through old pictures. I can relive my childhood days spent with my granny and aunts."

Mother hen

Although she prefers not to be disturbed during this time, her younger brother Siddharth occasionally walks in on her.

"My brother is a complete brat. We have an age difference of seven years, but he hardly listens to me. But I never cease to mother him. Recently, on his 17th birthday, I had taken him out clubbing and he slept off. He's so used to a disciplined life. He hits the bed by 11 pm," she says.

Of late, the actress hasn't seen the suitcase around much. The reason? Her house is under renovation and mommy Chopra has put the suitcase in the loft.

"My mom is going to beat me up if I ask for the suitcase now. With some interior work going on, all these things have been wrapped away in a safe corner. But I miss going through the pictures," she says.