A poem : "The Road not taken” by Robert Frost

                   “The Road not taken”   by Robert Frost 

         

       The poem “The Road not taken” is written by Robert Frost.  He is a famous American poet.  His poems are classics because they have many layers of meanings.  In the poem “The Road not taken”, he shared his views about decision making.  He revealed the importance of our decisions which can decide our destiny.

         On the road of life, the speaker arrives at a point where he must decide which of two equally appealing (or equally intimidating) choices is the better one. He examines one choice as best he can, but the future prevents him from seeing where it leads.

         The speaker selects the road that appears at first glance to be less worn and therefore less traveled. This selection suggests that he has an independent spirit and does not wish to follow the crowd. After a moment, he concludes that both roads are about equally worn. 

           The speaker remains committed to his decision to take the road he had previously selected, saying that he will save the other road for another day. He observes, however, that he probably will never pass this way again and thus will never have an opportunity to take the other road. 

           In years to come, the speaker says, he will be telling others about the choice he made. While doing so, he will sigh either with relief that he made the right choice or with regret that he made the wrong choice. Whether right or wrong, the choice will have had a significant impact on his life. 

A Drama : A Marriage Proposal -- Anton Chekhov

               “A Marriage Proposal” -- Anton Chekhov           

             In the short play “A Marriage Proposal,” Anton Chekhov. The play is set in the rural countryside of Russia during the late 1800s. Lomov, aged 35, is a long time neighbor of Chubukov. He is a landowner who has inherited property from his aunt. Though he is well fed and healthy, he is a health nut. He suffers from palpitations. He now knows that if he will search for an ideal woman or true love, he will never marry. So he is now desperate to marry Natalia. He thinks that she is not bad-looking and has some education. He wants to lead a steady and regular life. So, he visits the house of his neighbor Chubukov early morning dressed in formal suit.

      When Lomov arrives at the home of the Chubukov family, the elderly Chubukov assumes that the well-dressed young man has come to borrow money. Lomov asks him Natalia’s hand in marriage. Chubukov is also desperately looking for a suitable man for his 25-year-old daughter, Natalia. As a father of a grown-up daughter, he immediately gives joyful permission to marry Natalia.

       She is invited into the room. Lomov becomes nervous and instead of putting his proposal, he begins to beat about the bush. When he says that his Oxen Meadows touch her birch woods, she begins to argue with him about the ownership of that piece of land. After her father notices they are arguing, he joins in, and then sends Lomov out of the house. Chubukov then tells his daughter that Lomov was there to propose her.

      Natalia repents and asks her father to call him back. Lomov comes and she asks him about his hunting program. He says that he will start hunting after harvest because his best dog has gone lame. At this point, Natalia contradicts him again and claims that her dog Squeezer is better than his dog Guess. Thus the quarrel begins again till over-excitement makes Lomov faint in a chair. Seeing him quiet and unmoving, Natalia thinks that he is dead and becomes hysterical.

       At last Lomov comes into senses and Chubukov forces them to kiss each other and accept the marriage proposal. Immediately following the kiss, Natalia and Lomov start quarrelling. Chubukov shouts for Champagne because he wants to celebrate their marriage and at the same time he feels free by the burden of his grown-up daughter.

A Short story : An Astrologer’s day - by R K Narayan

              An Astrologer’s day - by R K Narayan

         In the story “An Astrologer’s day” there is an astrologer who punctually starts his business at mid-day. He sits under the boughs of a tamarind tree which stood on the side of a path running through the Town Hall Park. His professional equipment consists of dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a note book and a bundle of Palmyra writing .His forehead is resplendent with sacred ash and vermilion and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks. He wound a saffron colored turban around his head. This colour scheme never failed. He attracts the people as bees are attracted to dahlia stalks.

          The astrologer transacts his business by the light and flare of a groundnut heap nearby and manages without lights of his own. He had left his village without any previous thought or plan. If he had been there, he would be in a good position. He had to leave home without telling anyone. He knew nothing about astrology but he had a working analysis of the troubles of mankind. He pleases others with his shrewd guesswork. He charges three pies per question and never opened his mouth till others revealed their problems which provide him enough stuff for a dozen answers and advices.

          When the astrologer was ready to go home, a man came there . The stranger flung an Anna at him and challenged him to answer his question. If the astrologer fails to tell the right answer, he has to give all his coins. After some haggling, the stranger agreed to pay a rupee if he is satisfied with the answer. The astrologer said the Stanger was left for dead, when he was stabbed and pushed into a well nearby his village and told stranger name. The stranger said that he was saved by some passer-by. He came to the city to take revenge against the person who tried to kill him.

         The astrologer said that person who tried to kill the stanger dies in a lorry accident. The Stanger felt happy and gave a handful of coins to astrologer and went to his village. The astrologer reached his house in the midnight and gave the money to his wife. He said that he was relieved from the guilty of killing a person.