THE CARICATURES (October 17, 2012)

As years go by, I am enjoying Zagreb more and more. Central Zagreb, to be a bit more precise. The rest I call Bratislava, anyhow. Walking about the place all day long, I am confronted with a simple question: if I saw this place never again, what would I miss most? And the answer is as clear as answers can possibly get: the caricatures. And no kidding. Here is a caricature of a politician. There, a caricature of a beauty. And over yonder there is a caricature of an actor. It is an enormous joy to spot them all over the place. They do their best to be dressed accordingly, carry themselves accordingly, and act their rĂ´les on cue. The gravity, the coyness, the flair. To their chagrin, though, they cannot move beyond caricatures, which only adds to their eternal appeal. Anyway, I would surely miss them the most if I returned to this place never again. In fact, central Zagreb is all about them. It is their stage. And they are its heart and soul. Hey, here comes a businessman accompanied by a lawyer and a professor! The savvy, the cunning, the acumen.