I always feel life inside a comic book is so enchanting. Far more than real life, anyway. At least, one knows there will be something to laugh at when it ends. Take Calvin for example. He has not a care in the world. As long as he has Hobbes by his side, he is the happiest kid in the world. They may be the best of friends and the worst adversaries. But, at the end of the day, they always face the monsters under the bed at night, together.
Or may be, to be more precise, I think it is childhood that is the most magical of all. And everytime I lay eyes on a comic strip, it never fails to catapult me to my own childhood. There was a time when the burdens of school and classwork seemed immense. Exam time was dreaded like the armageddon and TV was the ultimate source of nirvana. One free period in the school time-table used to be the treat of the week. Those punishments for cutting classes and skipping homework were far sweeter in the company of friends who were always in the same boat. We would fantasize about a hazy adult life when we wouldn't have to cram for exams and would earn our own livelihoods to buy all the candy bars we possibly could. But who knew that all those seemingly herculean tasks of childhood would be dwarfed by the problems of adulthood. We slog day in and and day out all for a paycheck that always seems less and is absconding from our bank accounts by mid-month so much so that our credit cards are our dearest friends thereafter. The candy bars, chocolate, burgers and pizzas only help in contributing to our ever-burgeoning waist-lines and ever-depleting wallets.
Come to think of it, I'm not really that old in the actual numerical sense. So I cannot fathom why I feel all used up and jaded already. I guess, the monotony of everyday life has got to me. From the moment I wake up in the morning to the moment I hit the sack at night, I dawdle through the different phases of my day as if on automaton. There was a time when I'd just moved to Bangalore for my higher studies, I'd had lofty dreams of learning french and hip-hop and oil-painting and what-not. Or opening my own little bistro or greeting-card business by 25. Getting a job that paid enough and saving some of it to eventually get a corrective laser surgery for my myopic eyes. Small things that sadly never materialised. That surrendered to bigger issues of keeping a job that was relentless and a friends' list that dwindled with time. Books have been sidelined, replaced by movies and online shopping while my spectacles get thicker by the day. Shopping malls are the easy alternatives to a bored weekend and sleep is a luxury. Even my own handwriting is a stranger to me while the keyboard claims to be my aide. Badminton and chess have taken a back seat to Angry Birds. Where did the simple things go, I wonder. Things that made us laugh and cry. Things that gave us joy. Things that didn't leave us numb like we are now.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not unhappy. Perhaps, just resigned to life and its wily mechanisations. Funnily enough, I think I would trade my job for my childhood anyday. To break free from this vicious circle that has somehow enmeshed me in its web and lulled my verve to a zombie-like stupor. Now, I dread mondays mornings more than I'd ever dreaded any school exam! C'est la vie, mes amis. That's the way the cookie crumbles...
So, in times like these, Calvin definitely saves the day.
