A case of ‘Uncommon Nonsense’

An addiction to a regular dose of nonsense in my life is the fallout of loving the Lewis Carroll masterpiece, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in my childhood. No, wait, I love the book still. Then, I bought the heavily illustrated book; now I look for the heavily annotated version. (And yes, I love semicolons for the same reason-they make no sense to have and they are confusing most of the time).

A lot of irreverence, rambling, with a precise hold on language is something I still look for in the writers I read. The plot is secondary; the language is primary. (another semi-colon)!

The first time I got hold of the book, I rather disliked it. There was a lot of self-talk going on and really things looked to be delusionary. It did look for the mentally advanced. But, I have since discovered that it is actually for people who like things/situations/people to be challenging and fantastic. It explores possibility and that is liberating.

By the time, I reached the Cheshire cat, I was hooked. I still imagine Cheshire cats of all colours to be watching me from tree branches and laughing at my follies. With just their smiles hanging on. In fact, that smile is my logo.

Cheshire Cat

I was intrigued by the tea party. I was fascinated by the Mad Hatter. I loved the March Hare. I was surprised at the Dormouse. I was amazed at how it was possible to put a Dormouse in a teapot. As children, there were certain norms we had to follow and this behaviour took the cake. In my imagination at least, there was so much more that could happen!

I also learnt that croquet could be played using flamingoes and hedgehogs.

Things of course got ‘Curiouser and curiouser’ as I continued reading.

Because my copy of Alice in Wonderland came with ‘Through the Looking-Glass, The Walrus and the Carpenter is something I would like to quote as waves crash on a beach. I still have the hangover, you see.

Also-–

“Why, sometimes, I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast”- Lewis Carroll.
These days I am happy to believe even a single one. But it has to be before breakfast!

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