Clown

 

Thoughtfulness and generosity do not exist as one without the other.
And the two of them have nothing to do with wealth, literacy or convenience.

Quentin Blake’s Clown is a story of a toy clown, told only in pictures,
as he sets out to find a new home for himself and his discarded toy friends.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, your story may find a sympathetic ear. But those ears may belong to someone who cannot translate their sympathy into action.

 

 

It doesn’t make them wrong. It just doesn’t make them
the person you might be in need of, at the time.

 

 

Everybody curates and arranges their life to reflect what they stand for.
It may be a statement on their principle, passion or standard of living.
Whatever (and whoever) doesn’t fit the picture, is likely to be weeded out sooner or later.

 

 

A reader said that every page of this book was a new chapter,
because every page saw the clown in a new predicament.

It’s true.

 

 

Wouldn’t it have been more convenient for the clown to simply find a home for himself? Rather than trying to bargain with people to adopt an additional bunch of used toys
lying in a dustbin.

But we did start by talking about thoughtfulness and generosity.
And so the clown goes on.

 

 

Everybody we meet has a story. Very often, the exchange of it becomes
an implied conversation of whose struggle is more real.

But isn’t every struggle real to the one going through it?

 

 

Maybe if we stopped focussing on the scale of struggle, and simply figured
if it’s possible to help out just a bit, in our own capacity.

 

 

The little girl and the clown discover friendship through each others’ generosity.

They have to address the return of the kids’ mother at the end of the day,
who will have a say in whether the clown and his friends can stay in their home.

 

 

The girl and the clown realise one thing – even the mother could do with some help :)

 

 

Amidst all the hard work, and the dumpster rescue of the rest of the toys,
the clown does a tiny thing. Missable. It has no effect on both their predicaments.

It’s just something that probably came to his heart.

A ribbon rescued from the dump, to adorn her hair.

 

 

In friendship, the dynamics can change depending on
what is expected, and what is received.

But the thing with thoughtfulness is, you don’t even need to be friends.

Isn’t that a thought?

 

 

“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.”
– Henry Boye