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QUOTES 25/8/26
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The function of a private health insurance is to make as much money as possible. Every dollar not in claims is another dollar made in profits for the company…BERNIE SANDERS
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I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great and would suffice
ROBERT FROST, Poem
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If we want users to like our software, we should design it to behave like a likeable person…ALAN COOPER
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It is a good rule in life never to apologise. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them…PG WODEHOUSE
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You stick a credit card in a machine, and you pay $3 or whatever it is to get cash- your own money…BILL JANKLOW
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Modesty is invisibility. To be seen – to be seen- is to be… penetrated. What you must be girls, is impenetrable… MARGARET ATWOOD, The Handmaid’s Tale
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Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or  corruption, or both…JOHN F KENNEDY
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A doctor gave a man six months to live. The man couldn’t pay his bill, so he gave him another six months…HENNY YOUNGMAN

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I am mindful that the goal of protest is not more protest, but the goal of protest is change…DERAY MCKESSON

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The court is like a palace of marble; it’s composed of people very hard and very polished…JEAN DE LA BRUYERE
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No change of circumstances can repair a defect of character…RALPH WALDO EMERSON
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The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward…JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES
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Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy…HARRY BELAFONTE
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For men may come and men may go,
But I go on forever… TENNYSON, The Brook
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Rights are not a matter of numbers- and there can be no such thing, in law or in morality, as actions forbidden to an individual, but permitted to a mob…AYN RAND
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The only thing that’s real is this lonely road tonight…JOE COCKER, song
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Animal shall not be measured by man…They are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth…HENRY BESTON
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The problem with ratings is that you can give yourself a million reasons why they are what they are…JULIE PLEC
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Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one’s bath like a lump of sugar…PABLO PICASSO
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I’ve never had a problem with drugs. I’ve had problems with the police…KEITH RICHARDS

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Synopsis of The Tempest by William Shakespeare

The Tempest is one of Shakespeare’s final plays, believed to have been written around 1610–1611. It is a story of betrayal, power, revenge, forgiveness, magic and reconciliation. The central character, Prospero, is the former Duke of Milan who uses magic to bring his enemies to an island and ultimately chooses forgiveness over revenge.

The Story

The play begins with a violent storm at sea. A ship carrying Alonso, the King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, his brother Sebastian, and several nobles is apparently wrecked. However, the storm has been deliberately created by Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, who now lives on a remote island with his daughter Miranda.

Prospero was once the Duke of Milan, but his brother Antonio, with the help of Alonso, betrayed him and took his position. Prospero and the young Miranda were forced into exile and eventually reached the island. There, Prospero developed great knowledge of magic and gained control over the island’s spirits.

His principal servant is Ariel, a magical spirit whom Prospero had rescued from imprisonment. Another inhabitant of the island is Caliban, the son of the witch Sycorax. Caliban considers the island his inheritance, while Prospero regards him as his servant.

Ferdinand and Miranda

After the shipwreck, Ferdinand becomes separated from the others. He meets Miranda, and the two immediately fall in love. Prospero initially tests Ferdinand by making him perform difficult work. Eventually, he accepts their love.

Meanwhile, Alonso and his companions wander around the island. Alonso believes that Ferdinand has drowned and is overcome with grief.

Antonio and Sebastian

Prospero’s old enemies are still capable of betrayal. Antonio encourages Sebastian to consider murdering Alonso and taking the throne of Naples. Their plan, however, is prevented.

At the same time, Caliban meets Stephano, a drunken servant from the ship, and Trinculo, another comic character. Caliban mistakenly believes Stephano can help him overthrow Prospero. Together they plan to seize control of the island.

Prospero’s Revenge

Prospero has complete power over his enemies. Through Ariel and his magic, he creates illusions and controls events on the island. He has the opportunity to punish Antonio and Alonso for the wrongs they committed against him.

But Prospero gradually realizes that revenge will not bring true happiness.

Ariel tells Prospero that if he could feel human emotions, he would probably feel pity for the suffering men. Prospero responds with one of the play’s central ideas:

“The rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance.”

Prospero therefore chooses forgiveness instead of revenge.

Reconciliation

Prospero reveals himself to Alonso and the others. Alonso is astonished to discover that Prospero is alive. Prospero forgives his brother Antonio and restores his dukedom.

Even more happily, Alonso discovers that Ferdinand is alive and has fallen in love with Miranda. Their marriage promises to unite the families and heal the political divisions of the past.

Prospero also frees Ariel, fulfilling his promise to the spirit. Caliban remains on the island after recognizing the foolishness of his rebellion.

The Ending

Having achieved reconciliation, Prospero gives up his magical powers. He breaks his magic staff and prepares to return to Milan.

The play ends with Prospero and the others leaving the island. Prospero’s final act is not one of domination but of forgiveness and release.

Major Themes

1. Forgiveness versus Revenge
The most important theme is Prospero’s decision to forgive those who betrayed him. Shakespeare suggests that forgiveness requires greater strength than revenge.

2. Power and Responsibility
Prospero possesses enormous magical power, but the play asks whether power should be used to control others or to bring about justice and reconciliation.

3. Freedom and Slavery
Ariel longs for freedom, while Caliban resists Prospero’s authority. Their relationships raise questions about domination, obedience and liberty.

4. Colonialism and Control
Prospero’s treatment of Caliban has often been interpreted through the lens of colonialism. Prospero arrives on the island, claims authority over it and imposes his language and values on its inhabitants.

5. Love and Reconciliation
The love between Ferdinand and Miranda provides a hopeful future and helps unite the previously divided political families.

6. Illusion and Reality
The island is filled with magic, music and illusions. Shakespeare uses these to question what is real and what is temporary in human life.

In one sentence

The Tempest is the story of a betrayed ruler who uses magic to bring his enemies under his control but ultimately discovers that forgiveness, freedom and reconciliation are more powerful than revenge.

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“The Shadowy Waters” by W. B. Yeats, is a dramatic poem/play-poem first published in 1900 and later revised. It is one of Yeats’s important early works, blending Irish mythology, symbolism, mysticism, love, and the longing to escape ordinary human life.

Synopsis

The poem centres on Forgael, a mysterious and idealistic sailor who has spent years wandering the seas. Unlike ordinary sailors, Forgael is not interested in wealth, adventure, or returning home. He is searching for something beyond the material world—an absolute, almost supernatural form of love and spiritual fulfilment.

His companions become increasingly frustrated with him because his quest seems irrational. Forgael’s attention is focused on a mysterious destiny that he believes lies beyond the familiar world.

A crucial figure is Aibric, Forgael’s loyal companion and friend. Aibric represents common sense and ordinary human values. He tries to persuade Forgael to abandon his strange quest and return to the normal world.

Forgael eventually encounters Ena, a beautiful woman whom he believes is connected with the supernatural destiny he has been seeking. Their meeting transforms the journey. Forgael’s search for an ideal, eternal love becomes embodied in his relationship with Ena.

However, the poem does not present love as simple happiness. Forgael’s conception of love is extreme: he wants a love that transcends ordinary human existence, time and mortality. Ena is initially frightened and uncertain, but gradually becomes drawn into Forgael’s strange spiritual world.

Major themes

1. The search for the ideal

Forgael is dissatisfied with ordinary existence. He wants something perfect and eternal. In this respect, he resembles many of Yeats’s protagonists who seek an ideal world beyond everyday reality.

2. Love versus ordinary life

Forgael’s love is not conventional romantic love. He wants to escape the limitations of society and mortality through love. Yeats therefore presents love almost as a mystical experience.

3. The sea as a symbol

The sea is central to the poem. It represents the unknown, infinity, mystery and the unconscious mind. Forgael’s voyage across the sea is simultaneously an inward spiritual journey.

4. Reality versus imagination

Aibric stands closer to the world of reason and reality, whereas Forgael is driven by visions and supernatural desires. Their conflict reflects Yeats’s continuing interest in the tension between the real and the mystical.

5. Death and transcendence

The poem repeatedly suggests that ordinary human life is limited by death. Forgael wants to overcome these limitations. His quest therefore becomes a search for a state where love, death and eternity merge.

Significance of the title

The “shadowy waters” are more than literal seas. They suggest the uncertain boundary between the visible and invisible worlds. The adjective shadowy conveys mystery, uncertainty and the presence of forces that cannot be understood rationally.

In simple words

“The Shadowy Waters” is the story of a man who refuses to live an ordinary life because he is searching for an ideal, eternal love. His voyage across mysterious seas becomes a symbolic journey from the ordinary world towards the supernatural and the infinite.

It is therefore best understood not merely as a sea adventure, but as Yeats’s poetic exploration of the human desire to escape mortality and discover an absolute form of love and spiritual existence.

Posted by Columnist, author and Poet Kamlesh Tripathi

QUOTE 20/8/26
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead & rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing… BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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An old tree dies. Grief arrives. The ancient oak that, according to folklore, sheltered Robin Hood in England’s Sherwood Forest, has fallen. (TOI EDITORIAL 20/6/26)
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As The Who sang, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
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Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation…KAHLIL GIBRAN
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Even a sheet of paper has two side… JAPANESE PROVERB
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We carry within us
The wonders we seek outside.
Rumi
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What is not good for the beehive is not good for the bee…MARCUS AURLEUS
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No tree is an island…
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I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree…JOYCE KILMER
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Billy Bragg described the courts as: This isn’t a court of justice son, this is a court of law.
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Every thinking person is an atheist… ERNEST HEMINGWAY

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“The Woman Who Rode Away” by D. H. Lawrence, is a short story first published in 1925. It is one of Lawrence’s more mysterious and disturbing works, dealing with escape, civilization versus primitive society, female desire, sacrifice, and the unknown.

Synopsis

The story follows an unnamed English woman who is dissatisfied with her comfortable but emotionally empty life. She lives with her husband and children in a remote part of Mexico, but feels increasingly alienated from her family and conventional society. She longs to escape the restrictions of civilized life and seeks something more primitive, mysterious, and spiritually powerful.

One day, almost impulsively, she rides away on horseback into the wilderness. Her journey takes her into the territory of an isolated indigenous community living in the mountains. The people she encounters are mysterious and frightening, and she gradually realizes that she has entered a world governed by beliefs and customs completely different from those of European civilization.

She is eventually taken to a remote settlement and becomes associated with the tribe’s ancient religious rituals. At first, she appears fascinated by the possibility of discovering something beyond ordinary civilized existence. However, her fascination gradually turns into fear when she learns that the tribe intends to use her as a human sacrifice.

The story reaches its climax when she is taken into a cave and prepared for the ritual. Rather than providing a conventional escape or rescue, Lawrence leaves her fate deliberately ambiguous and terrifying. The woman who rode away from civilization ultimately discovers that escaping one form of confinement may lead to another, far more frightening one.

The major themes are

1. Escape from civilization:
The woman wants to escape her conventional domestic life, but Lawrence questions whether freedom can really be found by simply abandoning civilization.

2. Civilization versus primitive life:
The story contrasts modern European society with an ancient tribal culture. Lawrence does not present either world as completely good or evil.

3. Female dissatisfaction:
The woman’s journey represents a revolt against the restricted role expected of women within marriage and domestic life.

4. Sacrifice:
The ending transforms her search for freedom into a horrifying encounter with sacrifice and death.

5. Mystery and the unknown:
Lawrence deliberately avoids explaining everything. The mysterious atmosphere makes the story feel almost like a dream or nightmare.

Significance of the title

“The Woman Who Rode Away” is significant because the act of riding away represents the woman’s desire for freedom and escape. Yet the irony is that her escape does not necessarily lead to freedom. She leaves one world behind only to enter another in which she has even less control over her destiny.

The story is therefore not merely an adventure tale; it is a psychological and symbolic exploration of a woman’s desire to break free from conventional life and the frightening consequences of confronting the unknown.

Written and posted by Kamlesh Tripathi

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Synopsis by Kamlesh Tripathi

Yes. “Christabel” is a famous unfinished narrative poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, written mainly in 1797–1800 and first published in 1816.

Christabel — Brief Summary

The poem tells the story of Christabel, a young and innocent noblewoman who encounters a mysterious woman named Geraldine in the forest at midnight. Christabel finds Geraldine apparently helpless and brings her home to her father, Sir Leoline.

Geraldine’s presence gradually creates an atmosphere of mystery, fear and supernatural unease. Although Christabel feels an immediate attraction and sympathy towards her, strange things happen around Geraldine. Christabel’s dog reacts violently to her, and Christabel herself experiences disturbing sensations.

When Geraldine meets Sir Leoline, he recognises her as the daughter of an old friend. He welcomes her warmly. However, the reader is given strong hints that Geraldine is not what she appears to be—possibly a supernatural or demonic being.

The poem ends unfinished, leaving the mystery unresolved.

Major themes

1. Good versus evil – Christabel represents innocence and goodness, while Geraldine appears to embody a darker supernatural force.
2. The supernatural – Dreams, spells, mysterious sounds and unexplained events create a Gothic atmosphere.
3. Innocence and temptation – Christabel’s innocence is threatened by Geraldine’s mysterious influence.
4. Beauty and deception – Geraldine appears beautiful and vulnerable but may actually be dangerous.
5. Psychological fear – Coleridge explores fear through suggestion rather than directly explaining everything.

Why Christabel is important

The poem is one of the important works of English Gothic and Romantic literature. Coleridge uses a haunting atmosphere, supernatural ambiguity and musical language rather than a straightforward narrative. Its famous opening—

“’Tis the middle of night by the castle clock”

—immediately establishes the mysterious Gothic mood.

In short: Christabel is a tale of innocence encountering an apparently beautiful but possibly evil supernatural presence, and its unfinished ending makes the mystery even more powerful.