Anarchy. V is Thy Name

Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...

Ever sung the above rhyme in Kindergarten? Unlikely, unless you are from England. This is the famous rhyme about the Gunpowder Plot, which is probably the first terrorist act in history.

The rhyme is sung with this man in mind.

He is Guy Fawkes (who incidentally gave English the common noun "Guy"). This was one mondo cool guy who attempted to blow up the entire English Parliment way back in 1605!!! Surely he must have been one of Osama's inspirations. :) Here is the link to the origin of the rhyme for the interested souls.

I can already here some of you cribbing, "Hey dude! What's with the history lessons?"

It has all got to do with the continuing changes that I have been doing to my blog. This one is about the new image that I have added to my profile. Take a look at the comic book, oops... graphic novel (don't worry, its a safe link :D ) cover below,

I guess now you know the source of my profile image. This is the graphics novel V for Vendetta where the protagonist is a guy who wears a "Guy Fawkes" mask throughout the story. This is a story set in a dystopian future where a tyrannical regime rules over England. Dystopia had been the mood of my readings of late with 1984, Animal Farm and the likes.

Once I had read the synopsis of the novel V for... , I was hooked.
I really, really liked the way this guy (who just goes by the name V) is portrayed.
No. He is not a hero. He is not the all-good-pure-heart saccharine warrior. Here is a guy who has no qualms at killing those who oppose him. Here is a guy hell bent on revenge.

To me he is the ultimate anarchist.

The one redeeming thing about V which got me is that he doesn't care taking on the whole system in order to get his way. I am sure that some of you are snickering about this being done by Kollywood movie heros for ages, but the difference between 'Captain' Vijaykanth and V is that V has no notions of infallibility of his character. He really is not the nicest guy to know.

Don't get me wrong, I ain't no rebel. I usually stick to tried and tested methods, but I have been feeling mutinous of late for no good reason. I don't seem to believe in the inherent goodness or evilness of any system anymore. I have been dissatified with the entire machinery in the recent past. May be this is the reason why I chose this image to represent me in my profile...
But then I may have just wanted to look cool. :)

Anyways the point here is that this is my profile image and you'd better get used to the image of a masked guy with an eternal plastic smile on his face. :)

Moving back to the original Guy Fawkes, here was an original real life rebel if you have ever seen one. It must have taken a hell-a-lot of guts (not to mention hatred and insanity) to try to blow up the entire parliment. Phew!!

Last point before I signoff. I tried buying the novel but it costs a whopping Rs.825. For all my admiration I could never get myself to pay this amount for a 'comic'. Do any of you guys know where I can get this book second-hand at a much cheaper rate in and around Chennai? If you do please do tell me.