Concepts and Characters I like From Books

 I like the idea of literally rolling in wealth, like Richie Rich did.. he had a room full of dollars. Also, having a butler- his was called Cadbury.

The concept of a magic potion used by Asterix, brewed by Druid Getafix- that's s great idea.

A mouse like Mickey, and a talking duck like Donald.. great imagination, Walt Disney!

Nero Wolfe, a gourmet AND a detective.

Hercule Poirot with his egg-shaped head, and little grey cells. Mon ami, Mon cher, whatever, ..pardon my French.. Oo la la!

Phantom's skull cave, with a waterfall covering its entrance, is a masterstroke, according to me. Mandrake's hypnotism too.

James Bond- I never read the books, but he rose from the books to become the colourful character everyone wanted to Bond with...

Of course, Sherlock Holmes, with his deductions based on observation. Market researchers could learn a few things from him.

All the Enid Blyton characters who were as different as chalk and cheese. Fatty, in particular. And Goon.

Thomson and Thompson.. and Captain Haddock..

Creative Names of Characters

 Probably the best set of names is in the Asterix comics.

Obelix

Cacofonix

Unhygienix

Vitalstatistix

Getafix

Names of various Roman Centurions- Crismus Bonus, Nefarius Purpus, and Dubius Status. Also Squareonthehypotenuse.

Impedimenta

Dogmatix

Geriatrix

Bacteria

It's a Comic Life

 I mean, comics made life what it is, for me, in large part.

I was addicted to all sorts of comics. Phantom, Mandrake were favourites during teens. Then, it was Richie Rich, Little Lotta, Dot. Dennis the Menace, in newspapers where it appeared. Sad Sack in book form.

As I got a bit older, Asterix took over. I got around to Tintin much later, but some of the characters (Professor Calculus, Thompson and Thomson) were to make a mark. We named people-batchmates- after many of these. MBA days were fun! One or two faculty also got nicknames from the comics. Lothar, from Mandrake stories, was one, and Cadbury, Richie's butler, was another. 

MAD magazine with its comic strip format, was another favourite, with its zany take-offs on everything. Politicians, movie stars, Films, TV series, advertising, and almost everything was spoofed.

Not surprising then, that my favourite writers (after mysteries) were humorists- PG Wodehouse and in Marathi, Pu. La. Deshpande. Both were alike in their approach to making the everyday things hilarious. Ok, Lords and their aunts are not everyday objects, but the happenings like binges in pubs, and walks in the manor, were, for those characters.

 

Portraits of Batchmates- 5

Some more (antiquated) characters from my past. (MBA days). A different set above.

Gothix

This delightfully antiquated character loved paintings, good music, philosophy, poetry and Naffy (this was a dog who hung around, and was named after the Need for Affiliation- he was high on that). Probably the best candidate for the "split personality" prize. One week he'd go around spouting electronics and mature philosophy, the next he'd be wearing Purple shirts and Red trousers and giggle ceaselessly about Asterix. Generously flooded F-block with stereo music.

"The man who hath no music in his heart", he used to say, "is fit for treason, stratagems and spoils" (Merchant of Venice, Act 5 Scene 3). Touche!

Rajnikant/DUK

‘Dosai’ was an acknowledged expert in MIS and Production. Never raised his voice above a whisper, never raised his eyes to see a girl. No point in both, he still maintains. Looking around for a match right now. Applicants required to put in a three-dimensional appearance. Two-dimensional substitutes (like mug-shots) will not be accepted.

Asterix- Film Review

This is one film where the 3-D is actually used well. The Gaulish village with the indomitable Gauls led by Chief Vitalstatistix and the warriors Asterix and Obelix, comes alive. So does the ego-maniacal Julius Caesar, who wants to raze the Gaulish village to complete his conquest.

Quite aptly, his conquest ends in Veni, Vidi but no Vici, as he fails to conquer the Gauls, in spite of a brilliant stratagem. He builds a Mansion of the Gods next to the Gaulish village, and corrupts the simple folk by converting them into money-making morons.

Full of brilliant one-liners, the film is as much for adults as it is for kids. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wouldn't mind a repeat watch sometime. But then, I am a die-hard fan of the beautifully crafted (and named) characters- Unhygienix the fishmonger, Druid Getafix, Bard Cacofonix (we could use someone like him to defeat enemy countries), and the doggie Dogmatix. and of course, Square-of-the-Hypotenuse, and the centurions. ChristmasBonus is another character I remember, though not in this film.

The satire is almost all-encompassing, about all the things we do that bring out the worst in us (from slavery to selling real estate through misleading ads), against the idyllic life led by the Gauls.

Things I was (Am) Scared of

As a kid, I was scared of a few things, like the dark corners, snakes, and exams. And boredom. But managed to read everything I could lay my hands on, watched films (any I could) and spent time with friends (any who were ready to tolerate me) to keep the latter away. I was also scared of the mythical Count Dracula, though I saw only a film about him a lot later in life. The Hindi horror films I saw were actually funny-and the whole Ramsay family seemed to work in the horror genre films.

In the present times, I am scared of fanatics (maybe it comes from being in Delhi during the anti-Sikh riots in 1984), bores and hypocrites, in that order. Not wild boar, as in Asterix and Obelix, but Bores. Since my mega theory of Life revolves around the idea that every one of us is trying at all times to avoid boredom, I like to avoid the Bores like the plague- actually the Plague must be a lot more interesting.

Hypocrites are the people who take the Hypocritic Oath like the doctors do theirs. They say one thing, and do the other. But you can get used to them, after a while, and discount their statements by around 100%.

The other category that I am scared of is people who are Clueless. I will give you two examples-

They speak in a language not understood by all the people in the conversing group.

They like speaking on the cell phone at all waking hours (haven't checked about their sleeping behaviour) as if the Earth will stop rotating if they don't do that.

QED.

Characters You Meet

These are a few character sketches, though brief, of characters I have met in my life spanning around 54 years so far. They enlivened my life, and I am ever grateful. Maybe you had a few, too to enliven yours. If not, have fun with these.

A guy who perpetually carried a funereal expression on his face, as if he had just returned from one. The guy resembling him the most is Chief Vitalstatistix from Asterix comics, who is scared of the sky falling on his head.

Another who spoke as if he were preparing for CAT, MAT, GMAT, and GRE all together. Meaning, high-flown English. Alas, they don't make them like that any more.

A guy who would talk only about the opposite sex, and how to 'win friends and influence people' of the right kind. He was in the U.S. in a cosmopolitan environment, and was country-neutral when it came to his friendships, but not gender-neutral.

Another who was just the opposite of this 'friendly soul', who was not just tongue-tied, but also shied away from women. So much that he even walked away if a woman entered an area within a few square metres of himself. Luckily, his mom was not aware of this as he came out into this world!

A friend who would be fine until his third drink (in one evening), and then turn into a hilarious caricature, doing things that are too funny to put down in print, but many of these alternately entertained and scared people around him.

One who repeated himself at least four to five times in a short time. So you could only progress so much in a conversation with him. And he had a theory about everything that happened in the world.

A guy who thought he was the resident wit and wanted the world to think he was the funniest guy alive. I know what you are thinking- no, it's not me. Though if you want to think of me that way, I wouldn't mind at all!

Interesting Fictional Characters

Alice from Wonderland is probably the most fascinating, that appeals to the child in all of us. Other assorted characters like the Mad Hatter are also very appealing.

Sindbad the sailor was one of my favourites, with his myriad voyages, each an adventure in itself.

The famous five of Enid Blyton, in two sets- the mystery series and the others.

Phantom, Mandrake, their respective girlfriends Diana and Narda, the skull cave, the jungle mail, and the secret villains, ..fascinating.

Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, Unhygienix, ..the names alone brought a twinkle to your eyes.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson, an inseparable combination of wit and the lack of it.

Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin created by Rex Stout.

Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, and Perry Mason, all creations of Earl Stanley Gardner.

Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective of Agatha Christie. Par excellence!

An Indian detective in Bangla costume- Byomkesh Bakshi, immortalised in a TV serial.

Superman, with Christopher Reeve epitomising him.

Jeeves and Bertie, immortal creations from Wodehouse.

Remington Steele, starring Pierce Brosnan.

Birbal, and Tenali Raman- semi fictional, perhaps.

Mulla Naseeruddin, with his great wit.

James Bond, with his vodka Martinis.

Gabbar Singh, Mogambo, Mr. India, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, Gunmaster G-9.

Master Pillai from Padosan.

Babu Moshai from Anand. Anand from Anand.

Devdas, Paro and Chandramukhi.

Laurel and Hardy.

Charlie Chaplin's common man. R.K. Lakshman's common man.

Casper, the friendly ghost. Little Lotta. Dennis the Menace.

Goofy, Donald, Mickey, Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Luey, Duey.

Significant Happenings

Asterix turned 50 recently. Millions of people across the world have enjoyed his adventures along with Obelix, the maker of the magic potion, Druid Getafix and so on. The names of the characters are great entertainment in themselves. I still carry around a particular one called Obelix and Co. which is a great take off on management- in particular, advertising and marketing. There is a smart alec who gets the Gauls addicted to making money by selling menhirs (he buys them himself)and succeeds in corrupting them. Great read for an MBA.

The bard Cacophonix is another briliant creation. We come across equivalent characters in real life so often, that he is easy to relate to. The caricature of Romans (particularly Julius Caesar)is hilarious, and should be compulsory reading for all would-be dictators.

Paul Samuelson, author of a great text book on Economics, passed away. I read his book during my MBA and it was the first one on Economics that I enjoyed reading.

The Telangana crisis set me thinking. I was born in Andhra (undivided), so will I have an identity crisis if that changes to Telangana? What is the economic rationale for a new stste to be formed? Will the reorganisation help the common man in any significant way?