The Jugal Sir

INTRODUCTION Anton Chekov (1860-1904) was a famous writer. He is chiefly known for his short stories. This story 'The Proposal' is a romantic story of a neighbour named Ivan Lomov. He is a landowner and often gets money from Chubukov; another landowner. Chubukov has a daughter named Natalya. Lomov comes to Chubukov with a marriage proposal for his daughter Natalya. GIST 'The Proposal' is a one-act play. Actually, it is a farce written by Anton Chekhov in 1888-89. The play is  about the tendency of wealthy families to seek matrimonial ties. The real purpose is to increase their estates and landed properties. Ivan Lomov was a wealthy neighbour of another wealthy farmer Stephan Chubukov.  Lomov comes to seek the hand of Chubukov‘s twenty-five-year-old daughter, Natalya. Lomov, Chubukov and Natalya - all three are quarrelsome people. They quarrel over petty or small issues. Each one of them has a claim over a particular piece of land. They also quarrel over their dogs. Amid...

Introduction The story 'The Sermon at Benares' highlights the early life of Gautam Buddha who left all his amenities and worldly pleasures behind and went on searching for salvation. It also mentions the story of Kisa Gotami, who tries to save his dead son in vain, knowing about the ultimate truth of life the wise people know. Summary Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama was born into a royal family, full of worldly pleasures and amenities. At 12 years of age, he was sent to a place far away from home to study and understand the sacred Hindu scriptures. On his return from this place, he got married to a princess and both of them continued living prestigious life. One day, Lord Buddha (the prince) was on the hunt when he met four men. Initially, he met the sick man, then an aged man followed by a funeral procession and a monk who was begging for alms. The sight of these people shocked him to such an extent that Siddhartha decided to seek enlightenment. After seven years of effo...

Introduction The Book that Saved the Earth is a story that revolves around a book of nursery rhyme titled 'Mother Goose' that has been picturised as the book that saved the Earth from an alien attack. Summary The play ‘The Book That Saved the Earth’ is full of imagination. The play is set in the twenty-fifth century at the Museum of Ancient History. A Historian tells the audience how the Martians invaded the Earth in the twentieth century and how a well-known book of nursery rhymes called ‘Mother Goose’ saved the planet Earth from their attack. Think-Tank was an arrogant fool, the ruler of the planet Mars. He decided to invade the planet Earth. He confided his plan to Noodle and instructed him to collect information about the position of his crew on Earth. Noodle found out that they i.e. Captain Omega, Lieutenant Iota and Sergeant Oop were in the Centerville Public Library. As they had never seen books, they thought books were a kind of sandwiches. Think-Tank guessed that it wa...

Introduction Bholi is a story written by K.A. Abbas. The story revolves around a girl who due to an accidental fall and disease in her childhood faces the problem of being dull and ugly. She is always a target by everyone for not being good-looking and intelligent. Summary ‘Bholi’ is the story of Sulekha, the seventh child of Numberdar Ramlal. She was called Bholi (a  simpleton). She was a bit mentally backward and physically deformed. Former, due to the fall she had when she was ten months old, and latter as her whole body, except her eyes were covered by black pockmarks. Bholi did not speak till she was five years old and when she began to speak, she stammered. No one at home took care of her, loved her, or talked to her lovingly. Her siblings mimicked her and laughed at her when she stammered. So she stopped talking.  No one, not even her parents bothered about her. They were busy sending their sons to schools and colleges in the city and getting their other daughters marr...

 INTRODUCTION The poem is basically a conversation between a young man and a young woman who may be W. B. Yeats and a young girl named Anne Gregory. W.B. Yeats has tried to touch on an important topic, the conventional idea of beauty through his poem.  SUMMARY The first stanza of the poem is addressed to the young woman by the speaker, the young man. He says young men are thrown into desperation because of honey-coloured defensive walls (hair) at her ears. These men do not love her for herself but for the colour of her hair. The woman replies if she is noticed by her hair, she can get a hair dye and set there any colour they like. She desires the young men to love her for what she is and not for the colour of her hair. The speaker of the third stanza, the young man gives a reference to an old religious man who announced that he had found a text in which it is written that only God loves people for what they are and not for their physical appearance. The poet in this poem conve...

INTRODUCTION The central idea of the poem “The Tale of Custard the Dragon” by Ogden Nash is that one should not judge others by their appearance or underestimate their abilities. The poem shows how a cowardly dragon named Custard, who is mocked by his brave companions, proves himself to be the most courageous of them all when he faces a pirate who invades their house. The poem also conveys the message of overcoming fear and anxiety with courage and determination. GIST 'The Tale of Custard the Dragon' is a fanciful and unusual fantasy. Belinda lives alone in her house with four pets, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and a dragon named Custard. All other dwellers of the house except Custard, pride themselves on their fearlessness. They mock poor Custard for his lack of self-confidence and fear. However, when the real danger comes all others run away in a panic except Custard. Only Custard fights ferociously and swallows the pirate. The poem ends ironically. After the danger is gone, ev...