Friday, January 30, 2009

Crazy Little Thing called Love


Back in the 70s, there used to be this little comic strip in black and white that was all the rage. You couldn't open a newspaper or magazine without coming across one of its cartoons. The sentiments expressed were invariably sweet, simple and innocent, and left you, more often than not, in a smiling frame of mind. I don't know when exactly they fell out of public affection. Perhaps they were just out of place in the new times. But recently, as I was mulling over that age-old, complicated thing called love, I suddenly remembered those little cartoons and did a quick online search. Despite the numerous cartoon sites available, there was just one which offered Love is cartoons. But bingo, there was actually a community on Facebook dedicated to the comic strip. A few handpicked favourites I ripped off from there. Click on the collages to read the captions.

The uh-oh side of love...


The mmm-this-is-bliss side of it...


And my personal faves...


So what is love actually? How exactly does it work? Is there truly such a thing as a soul mate? Can love fade away over time? Growing up on a chick lit diet of Barbara Cartland, Denise Robbins, Mills and Boon and the like, I fed off all the oooooh notions of "falling in love." Then I got older, met all kinds of people, perfectly normal, ordinary people who'd never been swept away by some earth-shattering, all-consuming Wuthering Heights kind of passion but had settled into matrimony for the most prosaic of reasons. They're living proof that you can live a perfectly contented life with anyone if you set your mind to it. Love grows, see?

So my conclusion is, as with all things in life, you can't generalize here either. It's not the same for everyone. Different strokes for different folks.


40 comments:

  1. tha reuh ltk, pixx ho khi ka save ve hmiah i phal em ang chu maw :)

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  2. Ah, ih, ihhh,...hmm *speechless :). Nice cartoons. This feeling...love..

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  3. So what is love actually? How exactly does it work? Is there truly such a thing as a soul mate? Can love fade away over time?
    The Answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind

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  4. Nice riposte, samupa.

    Thanks, vana. Don't give up on lurve :)

    duls, lo save mawlh² rawh. A dang pawh ka la ngah mai :)

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  5. i accept your conclusion!
    it can't be same 2 anyone:)

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  6. Those "Love is..." brought back memories of school days ca. the early 70's. Do you remember JS magazine? It used to have one such "Love Is" sketch in every issue. Sometimes even a blow up / pin up. There were folks in school who used to keep cuttings of those cartoons. Of course they never had stuff like "Love is waiting for an email"! At the time "Love Story" (the movie) featuring Ryan O Neal and Ali McGraw was the rage of town. The blurb in all the posters for the movie was "Love is never having to say sorry!". It went very neatly with the "Love Is" toons.

    "Love Is" illustrations, Love Story, both the movie and the book, and JS magazine are all distant memory now. Thanks for for bringing it up though. Great tonic of nostalgia even though we promised never to look back! Ah, maybe I should tell Dubby Bhagat about this. He will surely remember. (Dubby was one of the Desmond Doig gang that ran the JS those days)

    As for what is love? Like Tantrism, if you can define it then that is not it! Call it the Love Paradox.

    Quod Erat Demonstrandum

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  7. azzask, a hnuai ber a cartoon te khi i lo save vek em? :D

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  8. Loch, yes, my parents subscribed to JS (and Eve's Weekly) and now that you mention it, the name Desmond Doig does ring a bell. Who was Dubby though? Friend of yours?

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  9. After JS closed Desmond Doig moved from Cal to Kathmandu. Quite a few of the folks running JS also moved along with him. Dubby was one of them. If you read that humourous column in Times of India (the name of the writer slips my mind) you will notice Dubby's name being mentioned once a while. When I meet him next I will tell him that we were discussing JS and "Love Is" online. I am sure it will cheer him up!

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  10. Six years ago I would have shrugged off reading this and said, 'Ah, screw love!'. But love really is a wonderful thing if you're with the right person :)

    And missy, I thought you deleted your facebook! Gimme your e-mail right away!

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  11. Loch, would that be Jug Suraiya you mean? And was Dubby sometimes referred to as Dubs? You just stirred a few faint memories there. So what do the JS gang do now? Did they ever write memoirs and stuff? And more importantly, are they online?

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  12. joonbird sweetheart, six years ago I'd have thought you were just a little too young for love in the first place :P

    And yes, I'd deleted my FB earlier, twice to be exact but I just recently got back on. And this time I'm fumbling my way through a little better :) My email's zpoonte@gmail.com

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  13. My my! The Muse is turning into a philosopher! Wonder what brought it on?

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  14. Yes it is Jug Suraiya. Another JS bloke. The young folks from the 70's still remember JS quite fondly.

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  15. mesjay, the little cartoons brought it on :)

    Ok Loch, I got your links. Thanks.

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  16. (So what is love actually? How exactly does it work? Is there truly such a thing as a soul mate? Can love fade away over time?)

    I zawhna hi khawvel zawhna zinga chhan harsa ber pawl a nih ka ring. Bible emaw dictionary a awmzia an dahdan hi engchen nge reality ah a thlen ang?

    Love hi levels hrang hrang awmin ka hria.Heng level hrang hrang zingah chass inkar hi sawi ta ila; love tawngkam hi ka hmang ngam ngai lova, thil special tak niin ka hria a, mahse a awmzia hi ka hrefiah thiam tak tak thei hauh si lo.

    Tawngkam dangin sawi ila, ka thinglung (heart) dek thei tawk chiah te hi 'love' a ni mai thei angem? He kan heart hian dawt a sawi ve ngai lova, a nih ang takin a awm mai thin. Engemaw vang takin thinlungah engemaw a rawn piang chhuak ve mai thin. Thinlung lamah a thawh tawh chuan kan hringnun a danglam chawk thin.

    Hemi hrulah hian thluak bur atangin engemaw conscious level a awm ve leh a. Hei hian judgment a siam thiam fu mai. Mi an hmelthat avang emaw an fel em vang emaw etc hmangin judgment a lo siam thiam thung thin a. A heart in a hrilh dan ni hauh lo pawh an tih tir thei fo thin. Entirnan; chhungkua nuamsa tak beisei vangin, thinlung lam rawn miah lovin, tu emaw duh ve tawp theih thin.

    Ka han sawi tum ber chu, "thinlung" leh "thluak bur" hi 50/50 deuhin a kal hi tha berin ka hria. A chhan chu, heart chu judgment a siam dan hi khawtlang/ chhungkua tehfung lam a ni meuh lo. A rawn thawk tawp mai thin. A rinawm tlat avangin a kehchhiat pawhin siamthat leh tak tak a theih a ni lo. Broken heart hi a reh theih ka ring ve lo. A theih a nih ngat chuan, broken heart a ni lo hialin ka ring thin.

    Thluak erawh chuan, eng hunah pawh insiamthat theihna turin kawngdang a zawng thei mai thin. Thluak bur control thiam chuan, an heart pawh thui tak an kalpui thei thin. Mahse, heart ngaithla tha duhlova, thluak bur lian lutuk chu a tha ber hauh lo. Thluak bur hi a partial a, a dawn zawh loh a dawn hunah a kehchhe nghal mai thin. Chuvangin, kan thinlung hi kan rawn fe fo a ngai.

    Thinlung leh thluak bur balance taka inkawp fuh thei leh kalpui thiam te hi hmangaihna kawng dik tak zawhtu an ni maiin ka ring. Chu kawng zawh mumal thei lo hi khawvelah hian 'keimah bak' mi engzat tak awm ve ang maw?

    Sorry for long ramble on!

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  17. Ahhh lurve... everyone's favorite subject, the eternal question that nobody has an answer to ( maybe except Jesus-love your neighbour as you love yourself), the age old dilemma that remains unsolved, the feeling that everyone loves but which inextricably pulls you down and makes you soar at the same time, the passion that makes you tingle from head to toe and can in an instant leave you cold and shivering and making you want to get out of it but you are hopelessly trapped but which in itself is a nice feeling-being in love.

    Jesus was right. Love your neighbour as you love yourself. But love yourself first.

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  18. Epis, nang hi chu i thluak hi a tha a ni. I rawn sawi te khi ka pawm khawp mai. Conscious level a mi ang khi mi tam takin hun an intih tawh vanga nupui/pasal a in vuan ta mai hi an ni hlawm in ka hria. Sapin going into it with your eyes wide open an tih ang type hi a niang chu. Chuan heart love ang chi hi myth ang deuh a kan neih chhoh tak deuh, books leh movies te a kan hmuh, rilru naupang deuh ten a an dream thin hi a ni ngei ang. Chuan 50/50 love khi a tam zawk chu an nih ka ring. Scholar nge nge i rawn chhuichhuak tha ka ti tawp. Ka veng deuh hawk mai :)

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  19. Ah ambs, I think our friend Hruaia has pretty much debunked at least some of the mystery of lurve. It's been mythologized so much it's hard to tell what's what. And then you bring in the religious connotations of lurve...

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  20. Aw hmangaihna sawi thiam ila...te pawh an tih ve bawk tak kha. Hmui mai piah lamah hian chetzia hi a awm, a lo dawng sawng duh tan chuan nuam tak a ni a, dawng sawng duhlo tan chuan thinrimna titamtu mai mai. In ahns awi bakah hian a tlangpuiin hmeichhia hi adaptability mipa aiin in ngah zawk. Mipa hi chu tihtheihloh hi chu nakin pawh nise a buaithlak thin. Mi zawng zawng chu kan in ang vek lem hleilo a. Hmangaihna hi neih chuan engpawh nise lan tir mai tur, kan dam chen pawh kan hre silo. Thluak chak lutuk nih hi chu mihriatloh a rumna mai mai a ni. Hawh u i in hmangaih vek ang u...lolzzz Good post.

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  21. Tawmte, i thil rawn sawi khi i hmanhmawh lutuk a i train of thoughts a kal tluang lo. Idea pakhat i sawifiah hma in thil dangah i pakai san zung zung a, a chhum bung deuh rum alom le. I naute sir ka'n zilh hlak che nih kha hehe

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  22. I man tho a, sawichhunzawm ngai tawhlo ah ka dah, i ngaihtuahna i chhunzawm chiah kha a ropuina lai. Nia, hmangaihna lam a ni miau a keini ngalchen pawh dai velo tan chuan ral a tanga thlirdan a ni a thuk theilo hrim hrim. Hmangaihna hi sawifiah thiam ila..Kungfu demonstration nise zawng exercise kala tuktin ang maw le. Yowow I jogging tak kha mawle, inkungkaihna a awm em kan sawilai nen khian..heh heh

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  23. I still want my own 'Wuthering Heights' kind of love! Just one life and to not know something like that ever would make me sad if I were to die right now..

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  24. We used to have a set of "Love is.." tea cups way back, with a small crack on the edge of one which read ".. still being romantic". It was my favorite one and the crack made it more memorable.
    I guess it was lost with time as we grew up and tea cups were replaced with beer mugs. :p

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  25. Hey I remember those cartoons, and I used to really like them too! Thanks for bringing them back for us. As for love... what passes off as love is often a form of self-indulgence, a selfish hankering of what we desire, as opposed to what the object of my affection desires, regardless of my feelings, methinks. I dunno...forgive me for sounding cynical.

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  26. I remember JS - 'Love Is....' was a regular with Modesty Blaise. It was the only youth magazine at that time which had write-ups and posters of rock stars/singers whom we had only heard of on radio and one could finally match a face to some radio favorites. I was a regular reader till one fine issue JS (Jug Surya) suddenly announced that they had come to the end of the road..... Then 'Sun' magazine came with its own posters along with others but JS was in a class by itself. Thanks for bringing back those memories.
    As for love, I've stopped (or maybe, rather, never really tried) trying to figure it out. I'm satisfied with knowing whom I love and why from my side - I've sort of given up on why someone might love me for whatever I am worth, if someone does, fine, if not, fine :)

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  27. Oh yes! I had quite forgotten Modesty Blaise. That also had a cult following. Thanks for bringing that up. It was really a bit of a blow to the young crowd of the 70's when JS folded up. I think that vacuum has never really been filled till today. It was not only the content or the layout but the total package and how the readers responded week in week out. Who can forget Papiya and Tuk Tuk Ghosh. Those blokes in JS had a superb feel of the zeitgeist. Sun (I think edited by Maneka Gandhi??) and others could never really measure up.

    I guess that these comments on JS share some facets with love: can't really define what it is but paraphrasing Justice Potter Stewart, "You know it when you don't see it."

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  28. tawmte, kungfu leh jogging tih bawr lai tak khi ka bo hu mai mahse hrethiam awm ang takin ka'n awm mai teng hehe.

    Jerusha, oh I don't know if it'd be such a great idea going through that kind of stormy, tempestuous relationship. Me I prefer the quiet life :P

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  29. blackestred, maybe you could place an order for one of those personalized mugs with a Love is...still being romantic even after all these years cartoon. Hey, maybe they even do it with beer mugs. That would be nifty :)

    DDB, gazooks, you of all people sounding so cynical on love. And with V Day just around the corner. Tsk tsk tsk.

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  30. Plats and Loch, I remember Modesty Blaise too. And her trusty sidekick Willie. Just the other day I asked my sister if she remembered JS and the Love is cartoons and she said Of course, she specially remembered Jug Suraiya and the write-up they once did on St Paul's, Darj, turning 100.

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  31. Lung a va ti leng reuh neuh neuh ve..

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  32. Hello, just dropped in to say hi. I found your photos on flickr and that lead me here. I was and am researching your state in North India for a trip I am planning next year.
    byron

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  33. elexx, tunge ka lung a leng ve ngai lo ti ziah thin kha ooo

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  34. Hi Byron, yes I got your mail on flickr and read your info. If you look at the right side of this page, you'll see links titled On The House which lead you to my Mizoram photographs page as well as a blog featuring Mizo literature which includes a travelogue in three parts written by an old friend of my dad's. Have a feeling you might like that.

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  35. J, ka give up hleinem :). A nuam, a feeling hrim hrim hi hehe. Its all coming back to me :)

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  36. Yes thank you. I will check out those links.
    Next year I am traveling to the NE States.
    If I can figure out how to get a RAP
    for Mizoram, I surely want to visit
    your state. Look at my website on Chanderi
    www.chanderifilm.com if you get a chance.

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  37. Hehe vana, wonderful. Good for you :)

    Byron, I checked your site briefly. That's a great documentary you shot. Certainly hope you get here as you plan. Btw, most of the people on my blogroll are Mizos too. I think you'll find them helpful as well.

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  38. hey i remember those 'love is cups.' my late granma (my mom's mom) used to have them when i was really young. they remind me of her and i miss her terribly. "love is...remembering your loved ones"

    to enter the subject of "love" of which i am the last person to write, i have this weird almost twisted belief that my ideal lovestory wud be when i have found someone i really love but cannot have. it wud be like 'we both love each other but some evil design casts upon us in the form of family interference, society,or maybe even death, which wud tear us apart physically but not at heart.
    we wud always be joined together in our hearts and love each other always no matter how far away we are from each other.
    this to me is true love and true love makes me want to cry and i enjoy that..
    does that make me sick?
    i dont believe that love brings two together always. its more real to me and makes me cherish the memories of my love that i have found..

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  39. Naw g, don't worry, that's not at all a weird or twisted concept of true love. It's the stuff movies and songs are made of and I think it's perfectly normal in young ppl. As I was reading your description, I was somewhat reminded of an old Hindi movie called Ek duuje ke liye. Not that I watch Hindi movies much being so bad in Hindi. Anyway this movie sort of ran along the lines you mention ...very Romeo and Juliet-esque. I think your emphasis is more on the idealistic, soul connection thing rather than the physical here and now. I used to think that way too but as I got older, maybe I lost my idealism..

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  40. btw, i added your blog in my blogroll, hope you dont mind. i really admire your work and i think you're one of the best English writers in MIzoram. and i'm sorry that i hardly answer my comments. i dont do it intentionally. i just dont check them regularly.
    i promise to be an avid reader of your blog..
    peace

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