Thinkin' on your stomach.

For self, the ushering in of the New Year has always been a wonderfully built excuse to erase wrongdoings and in general, the erratic nature of the past. Then one waits for the entire year to go by, watching it with all its resplendent laziness and irregularity. Whoever wrote about the lack of time to 'stand and stare' definitely didn't have me in mind.

So its that time of the year when we make resolutions. Big and grand, small and petty, ambitious and focussed. Its indeed a momentous occasion when everybody gets (yet) another chance to start afresh.

Ok, down with all the pessimism; I can sense that this year is going to be different. Not to be left out, I have my share of resolutions.

I shall (flourish of trumpet...)

1. Not be over-ambitious or greedy this year.

2. Be more systematic.

3. Maintain that prized buoyancy in life.

4. Not be a sore loser.

5. Be patient.

6. Be less evil. :)

7. Work at working hard.

There. One year from now, I shall either be a contended man, or (god forbid) be posting this all over again.

Quite a 'hiatus', yet again, yes. But like the Stranger in a Strange Land (ala Heinlein's book and Exodus 2:22),I have plenty of stories to tell.

I've been travelling, to say the least. A jolly ride very much through the length and breadth of India, starting under the sweltering heat of the Deccan sun in Hyderabad to the warm,humid and culture-heavy capital of Bengal and from there to Delhi where temperatures dipped to a near-freezing Six Degrees and then on to that weird, esoteric city of Bangalore, whose people and places I can never understand, and finally back to self's home state which Vivekananda (Swami, if you like) famously chose to call 'a lunatic asylum'. There, that sounds like a classic weatherman's report.

All in all, a judicious mix of reckless fun and invaluable lessons.  

Why?

Because its not often that you come across a strip that activates your greys and gives you the laughs at the same time. Calvin and Hobbes represent something much more than what the Outer Eye (aye! abstract alert!) perceives. The central characters need to be analysed. Sheesh, I thought I'd abandoned dichotomies and character sketches in my twelfth.

Calvin: Left-winger, anti-establishment, chauvinist, egocentric, creatively mad-scientist types, artist and great philosopher. Calvin symbolizes the perfect example of ideological and intellectual conflict within society. The leftist ideology categorization has nothing to do with my alleged bias towards the same; in fact, many CnH critics say that Calvin is a consistent jab at the armchair Communists who are as equally incompetent as the other humans Bill Waterson potrays in the strip. They also suggest that Bill is more critical at Commies for hypocrisy. I dont believe so. Unfortunately, I cannot substantiate that proposition by pasting any strip here..Nonetheless, the intent is serious. As to how Calvin is anti-establishment, refer to any session in Miss Wormwood's class. Chauvinist - Anti-Susie Campaign, G.R.O.S.S, et al. The other traits are pretty inherent and for everyone to see.

As for his alter egos...apart from the creativity trait, I cant come up with a satisfactory explanation. An attempt shall be made later.

Hobbes: Cynic par excellence, anti-human, pro-primitive way of life, Feminist, Independent Thinker. Personally, I feel that Hobbes is (apart from the obvious figment-of-Calvin's imagination-part) representative of this conflict within Calvin. He is in complete concurrence with Calvin in some issues and totally antagonistic in others. What remains constant is his attitude towards mankind and his cynicism vis-a-vis human blunder, incompetence, mismanagement of future etc. Too cynical, in my opinion. In many ways, Hobbes is the first step (cynic) and Calvin the logical next (anti-establishment). On the other hand in issues like attitude towards women, Calvin is retrogressive and the tiger is miles ahead/ suggestive of futuristic behaviour.

This apart from the riots they're upto. Heck, its always easier to laugh without thinking.

More sketches on other characters(Mom,Dad, Susie, Miss Wormwood) in the cartoon up soon.

Creedy: Die! Die! Why won't you die?! ...Why won't you die?
V: Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.

The feeling of satisfaction is one that occurs rarely to self as he comes out the cinema hall. More so disturbing considering that self has to shell out substantial quantities of currency notes for movie tickets in Hyderabad as compared to the 30-40 buck thingy in Trivandrum. Nonetheless, V for Vendetta is/was an exception. A well taken movie with a solid cast and script, I enjoyed it to the last scene. All the more special, since this was the first I got to see in an Imax. I'm not gonna delve into plots, dialogues et al. since many film buffs I know haven't had the opportunity to see it..possibly because it hasnt been released 'cept in major cities. Thouroughly political in nature, making your grey cells whiz like crazy throughout the 'break-less' 2 hrs 15 mins and providing surplus food for thought even as you step out of the theatre and walk away, V for Vendetta is a movie worth the money, time and patience.