Personality cannot be entirely predictable but its basic pathways can be somewhat mapped. It, however, comes into its own when it meets a contrasting outlook(s), and these have to combine or clash — more so in literature. Anything with more than one principal character works on the interplay of differing personality types — ranging from two to five. The optimum is three — reflecting the famous Viennese psychologists conjecture of personality.

While most of Sigmund Freud’s theories have been discredited or replaced, they continue to make their presence felt in popular media. Among the most prevalent is his classification of the three constructs making up the psyche.

Outstripping the association of a passionate, impetuous, enthusiastic character matched with a more serene, controlled and observant counterpart (say Dr Watson/Sherlock Holmes or conversely, Tintin/Capt Haddock), the four-philosophy (cynical, realist, optimistic or apathetic/conflicted) or four-temperament (phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and melancholic) ensemble or the five-man band (leader, lancer, smart guy, big guy and chick) is the Freudian Trio.

This trio of the Id, Ego and Superego is present in a wide range of literature from possibly the most famous trio of Russian brothers to the Boy (Wizard) who lived, a swordfight and intrigue story set in early 17th century France to the fantastic tale of a scientist and his aides taken (unwillingly) on a marvellous undersea tour, and the defining tale of Christmas to arguably the most famous space story — as seen on TV.

But what exactly are these three? Freud, in his “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” (1920) and “The Ego and the Id” (1923), postulated the individual psyche comprised these three parts, all developing at different stages in life and non-corporeal. Saul McLeod of the University of Manchester says that, at the simplest, they can be understood as the primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and aggressive drives and hidden memories (Id), the moral conscience (Superego), and the part that mediates between desires of these two (Ego). Each has its unique features and they mix to form a whole, each part making its contribution to an individual’s behaviour.

More simply, Id is completely unconscious and has no judgments or sense of morality and governs our basic instincts. For Superego, Freud, who was in a sexist time, envisaged it as a symbol of the strong father figure — emerging after a boy jettisoned the Oedipus complex and since women don’t display this, their Superego is less developed. Ego, the referee, being realistic and rational, is the organised — and organising — part of the consciousness. While this is now commonly thought as a central mediator between the competing demands, Freud thought of it as more of a middleman, driven by the Id and confined by the Superego.

Freud originally used “das Es” (id), “das Uber-Ich” (superego) and “das Ich” (ego), or “the It”, “the Over-I” and “the I”, which while intelligible to German-speakers, had no evocative English equivalents, so his translator James Strachey coined them from Latin.

But where can we find them? One of the best examples is “Star Trek: The Original Series” where the highly emotional Dr James ‘Bones’ McCoy is Id, the supremely logical Spock is the Superego and Captain James T. Kirk, who strikes the middle path, is the Ego.

Then Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” has the boastful and hedonistic Porthos (Id), the man of the world Aramis (Superego) and the quiet, noble Athos (Ego). Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” is itself Freudian involving being dragged down to subterranean depths in a mysterious vessel, seeing frightening creatures, and so on. Its not difficult to figure what impulsive Canadian harpooner Ned Land, calm aide Conseil, and mostly calm but sometimes upset Professor Aronnax represent.

In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov”, the eldest Dmitri, with his boozing and wenching, the cold, clever and contemptuous Ivan and the youngest Alyosha, who is the only to have good relations with the others, are also obvious. Try to identify the Three Ghosts of Christmases that Scrooge sees in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” too?

There is Harry Potter world — Harry, with his desire to save people at any cost, can be Id but with his constant mediation between Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and his constant reliance on both, can be Ego. Ron, a balance between Harry’s impulsiveness and Hermione’s cautiousness can be the Ego or as fond of eating, oblivious to others’ needs or states, can be Id. However, knowledgeable, respectful and rule-abiding Hermione is always the Superego.

Also, in the Marauders (save Peter Pettigrew) — the born rebel, highly emotional Sirius Black is Id, the less reckless but over-confident James Potter is Ego and studious and sensible Remus Lupin is Superego.

Another popular fantasy series — Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series — also display this, with again the wise woman protagonist (Annabeth Chase) the Superego, Percy, whose primary goal is to help his friends, the Id, and Grover Underwood the Ego.

A 42-year-old woman has filed a complaint against her husband and two step-daughters of harassing her, police said today.

The woman married the 52-year-old man in February 2016 and when she went to live with him at his house in Dombivli township here, she came to know that he had three daughters, aged 12, 19 and 23, from a previous marriage, a police official said.

The woman alleged that the two elder daughters demanded money from her and when she could not give it to them, they complained to her husband who beat her up.

She further alleged that her husband also made demands for money from her and harassed her when she could not fulfil it, the official said.

Based on the woman’s complaint filed last evening, the Manpada police in Dombivli registered offences against the man and his two elder daughters under various IPC sections, including 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), the official said.

No arrest has been made so far, the police added.

Cooking is a great way to unwind from a hectic week. This delight session at the weekend is full of fun with creativity. In the ongoing freezing weather, you always feel like eating hot snacks on a holiday. The most helpful recipes are the ones that can be prepared in no time and are enough to be delicious. You will love to add spinach pakodas with lots of your favourite winter recipes. These are simple to cook with very few and inexpensive ingredients.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Besan                       2 cups

Water                        1 cup

Spinach                      150 grams

Green chillies             2

Garlic                           2 flakes

Salt                               1 tsp

Red chilli powder       ¼ tsp

Eno powder                 1 tsp

Oil                                  To fry

Method:

Mix besan and water. Beat well to make a thick and smooth paste.

Chop spinach and green chillies nicely.

Grate garlic flakes.

Add spinach, green chillies, garlic, salt and chilli powder in it. Mix well.

Add eno powder and stir well.

Heat the oil in a pan for deep frying the pakodas.

Take a small table spoon. Fill it with pakoda batter.

Leave this spoon full batter in hot oil.

Repeat the same with rest of the batter.

Turn the high flame low.

Fry them till golden turning their sides frequently on low flame.

Note: Serve them sizzling hot with coriander chutney and tomato ketchup.

For frying, use olive oil instead of any other refined oil to make the snack healthier.

The tasty and crunchy snack is ready.

Liverpool confirmed on Saturday that it had agreed a $192.5 million deal to sell Brazilian international Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.

In a statement issued from Anfield Stadium, Liverpool confirmed that Coutinho will be leaving the club after a transfer agreement was reached with Barcelona, subject to medical and agreement of personal terms, Xinhua reported.

“The player now has permission to conclude the transfer immediately.”

Liverpool are expected to receive $142.5 million up front, setting a new British record, with the rest of the fee in realistic add-ons.

The final deal will be eclipsed only by the $271 million Paris Saint Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar last summer and the $223 million Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG at the end of his initial loan spell from Monaco.

Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for $11.6 million in January 2013.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com: “It is with great reluctance that we — as a team and club — prepare to say farewell to a good friend, a wonderful person and a fantastic player in Philippe Coutinho.

“I can tell the Liverpool supporters that we, as a club, have done everything within our means to convince Philippe that remaining part of LFC was as attractive as moving to Spain, but he is 100 per cent certain his future — and that of his family — belongs at Barcelona. It is his dream and I am now convinced there is nothing left at our disposal to change his mind.”

“Players will come and players will go, that is football, but as a club we are big enough and strong enough to continue with our aggressive progression on the pitch, even when we lose an important player. We have never been in a better position in recent times, as a club, to react in the right way. We will use our size and strength to absorb moments like this and still move forward.”

 Actor Tom Hanks feels a “huge responsibility” when he plays “real people” onscreen.

Hanks has played the lead characters in a number of biographical films, including congressman Charlie Wilson in “Charlie Wilson’s War”, Walt Disney in “Saving Mr. Banks”, pilot Chesley Sullenberger in “Sully”, and the titular mariner in “Captain Phillips”.

He thinks the movies often become an accepted “official record” of events, reports femalefirst.co.uk. “I play real people a lot. And it is a huge responsibility. Anytime you are playing somebody who was alive, for good or for bad, that performance becomes a version of an official record of what happened: what motivated them, what obstacles they faced, and how they got through their particular struggle,” Hanks told W magazine.

“There’s a degree of leeway that you can allow yourself as long as you’re not turning good guys into bad guys, or knowledge into ignorance,” he added.

The cities of Srinagar and Jammu on Sunday recorded the season’s lowest minimum temperature at minus 6 and 4 degrees as an intense cold wave has tightened its grip on the state, the weather office said.

“The cold wave has further intensified due to the clear night sky. Present weather conditions are likely to continue for another 48 hours,” a MET department official said.

Pahalgam recorded minus 8.9 and Gulmarg minus 9.4 degrees Celsius as their minimum temperatures while Leh recorded a minus 16.8 and Kargil minus 18.8 degrees Celsius.

In the Jammu region, Jammu city recorded 4, Katra town 5, Batote 1.9, Bannihal 2.6, Bhaderwah minus 1.1 and Udhampur 0.7 degrees Celsius.

Due to the cold winter season, the scalp starts getting dry which can lead to eczema, psoriasis or superimposed fungal infection. Avoid using chemical treatments and apply coconut oil to save scalp from dryness, suggest experts.

Vandana Punjabi, Dermatologist at Nanavati Super Specialist and Farah Arfeen, Nutritionist at AktivHealth, suggested few ideas to avoid the problems:

* Apply coconut oil on scalp for half an hour before hair wash, then shampoo with mild, sulfate-free shampoo. Avoid over cleansing the scalp as this will worsen the dryness.

* Avoid chemical treatments such as smoothening or colouring as these may worsen scalp dryness. If there is itching and excessive scaling, anti-dandruff shampoo will help. This will also prevent hair fall.

* Diet is an important part of managing dry scalp and hair fall. Have a diet rich in omega 3 such as almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, protein-rich food such as eggs, lean meat, fish, cottage cheese, tofu, pulses, iron-rich foods like green leafy vegetables, fruits, lentils and more.

Dairy products can make hair shiny and bouncy which can boost up your confidence. Milk is the powerhouse of good nutrients like protein, calcium and vitamins, which is essential to nourish the medulla the innermost layer of hair which provides light.

A well-balanced diet which has a rich source of selenium and zinc nuts like almonds, macadamia and argon seeds and selenium boosts hair growth and reduces dandruff and can also destroy fungus from the scalp.

* Water is an essential component of nutrition. It is required for proper blood circulation, which enables the nutrients to reach from the scalp to the hair follicles and make them healthy. Without adequate water, scalp become dry, itchy which lead to brittle hair.

Braving the winter chill, the national capital’s book lovers turned up in good numbers for the annual World Book Fair which began here on Saturday.

Held at Pragati Maidan, this time there are more than 1,500 stalls with 800 publishers participating. Though the early hours saw limited visitors, a huge rush thronged the venue later in the day.

Nidhi Mehrotra, a resident of East Delhi, dropped in at the book fair early with her 9-year-old son Manan. “We wanted to avoid the Sunday rush tomorrow, so decided to come today. Also, we have always been coming on the first day itself because more variety of books are available than the last few days,” Mehtorta told IANS.

Sanjay Kumar who also came in along with his family from west Delhi also voiced similar thoughts. He said: “it becomes very difficult to find books of choice on Sunday. Last year, I couldn’t even enter some of the stalls as they were so crowded. So, I wanted to get the best out of the lot today itself.”

Like every year, stalls offering children’s book appeared to be a favourite among visitors again this year. The Children’s Pavilion saw variety of short story books, syllabus books, cartoons and colour books as well as stationary products drawing a good crowd.

“We have been coming every year. Kids love the ambiance at book fair. Physically connecting to books is very important and especially for children its very important. And what better than book fair to get them associate with books physically,” Ashwini Narwal, a resident of Ghaziabad stated who came along with his son and daughter.

Even for publishers, this edition seemed to be a better start compared to last year as there is no shadow of demonitisation.

“Last year, the demonitisation did had an impact but luckily no such issue this time. Rather, there are more people on the first day than we had expected. We are hopeful that it will be a good show this edition,” Debashish Nandy of Niyogi Books said.

Being held at Pragati Maidan and co-organised by the National Book Trust (NBT) and ITPO, the Theme Pavilion highlights various environment-related issues like climate change, global warming, water pollution and other relevant matters this edition.

The book fair will continue till January 14.

The makers of Padman have said the film’s January 25 release date will not change amid speculation that Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed Padmavati may hit theatres the same day.

B-town is abuzz that Padmavati, which has been making headlines due to its plot line, is set to release on January 25 – the same day as the Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman.

The producers of the film, however, said they have no clue about Padmavati release or the possible box-office clash between the two films.

“I am clueless what is happening… with clash. I have no idea about it. Even we have heard about it. All we know is Padman is releasing on January 25. Akshay announced it officially.

Padmavati is a very important film. It’s a beautiful film and it should release soon. I am also looking forward to see it. It depends on Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions to decide on the date,” Prerna Arora, one of the producers of Padman.

Asked if the makers will push the release date of Padman to avoid any potential box-office clash with the big -budget period drama, Prerna said, “We are coming on January 25.”

Sources close to the team of Padman said no one from the team of Padmavati has had any talks about the possible clash.

Some reports even suggest that Padmavati might come out on February 9.

Anushka Sharma’s next home production venture Pari and director Luv Ranjan’s Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, starring Kartik Aaryan, are slated to release on February 9.

“I see no sense in clashing with a big film like Padmavati and harming the best release my film can get. If Padmavati comes on February 9 I will change the release date of my film,” Luv Ranjan said.

“We are coming on February 9, we are waiting for official announcement on Padmavati release date, so till then we cannot comment,” said Prerna.

Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions remained unavailable for comment regarding the speculation over the release date of Padmavati.

The film, which was earlier scheduled to hit cinema houses on December 1, features Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone in the lead.

Recently, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) decided to give the film a U/A certification along with some modifications and suggested change of the film’s title to Padmavat.

Around 900 flights from the IGI airport here are expected to be either cancelled or re-scheduled from January 18-26 due to the Republic Day and its rehearsals, officials said.

According to airport sources, landing and take-off will not be allowed from 10.35 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. during January 18-26.

“A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued regarding the operational restrictions from January 18-26. The issuance of NOTAM for the period leading upto Republic Day is a routine process which happens every year,” a source said.

“The international carriers will be requested to reschedule their flight operations. However, domestic flights will be cancelled due to capacity constraints.”

 NorthEast United notched only their second win of the Hero Indian Super League’s fourth season after goals from Marcinho and Seminlen Doungel helped them down FC Goa 2-1 at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium here on Saturday.

The victory means technical advisor Avram Grant starts his stint in the Hero ISL with a big upset, and keeps them in ninth position, though just one point behind Kerala Blasters.

Doungel scored the winner after Cesario’s lovely through ball found him clear on goal. Goa goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani steamed off his line in what seemed a rash decision and Doungel clipped it over him expertly.

Marcinho had opened the scoring with a delightfully taken goal in the 20th minute. Cesario’s cross was behind him, but the Brazilian reached out to bring it down with some fine control, and set himself up for the side’s first goal at home. A deflection helped him but he had earned his luck.

The home side’s joy didn’t last too long though. The flag stayed down when Pronay Halder found space on the left wing and his lofted cross was turned in by Manuel Arana, after what looked like a clear handball from Jose Goncalves. In the end though, it was NorthEast who had the last laugh.

The teams were locked 1-1 at the breather.

The second half took right off from where the first half had ended – when Doungel found space down the right channel but was confused between pulling it back for Cesario or taking a shot. He chose the latter but it went straight at Kattimani.

It was at the hour mark when the drama really began. A back-pass resulted in an indirect free-kick for NorthEast from the edge of the six yard box but the shot was blocked. Cesario had the next chance, but his attempt to place the shot in the far corner was wide.

Ten minutes later, Lanzarote delivered a sumptuous cross from the left but this time Arana could not tap it in. The frustration got worse for the visitors when Manvir Singh missed from a couple of yards out when his shot struck the post with the keeper nowhere near the goal line.

In the 88th minute, NorthEast’s defence made two off-the-line clearances and it was in that moment that they seemed unbeatable on the night.

In the first half, NorthEast dominated the first 25 odd minutes. Apart from Marcinho’s goal, they had a couple of chances to increase their lead. Cesario was through on goal but tried to lob Kattimani and couldn’t pull it off.

This was after his shot from a tight angle was parried away. Marcinho almost turned provider in the 33rd minute when his freekick found Martin Diaz, but the glancing header was straight at the goalkeeper.

But FC Goa, like they so often do, grew into the game. Before the equaliser, they had a brilliant chance when Manuel Arana found Corominas in the box, only to see his kneed shot brilliantly saved by T.P. Rehenesh.

The Goans could have come from behind and go in the lead at the stroke of the first half but Brandon Fernandes’ left-footer was palmed over by Rehenesh at the near post.

World No. 1 Simona Halep won her first title of the new tennis season after defeating Katerina Siniakova in the final of Shenzhen Open here on Saturday.

Heavy rain forced the match to be played at an indoor court, but that was no trouble for Halep to have a good start, who easily won the first set 6-1 without a single break point, reports Xinhua.

Siniakova fought back and managed to break Halep three times to take the second set 6-2. But the World No. 1 was back on her rhythm to sweep the Czech without conceding one game in the third set.

“We had a great match today. I tried everything to win.” Halep said.

“I just try to enjoy the moment even if it’s a little bit different indoors. It’s not easy but we did our job and I’m happy that I could win the first title of the year,” she added.

TV personality Scott Disick got “jealous” with his girlfriend Sofia Richie when she ran into her former boyfriend Lewis Hamilton at a party in Aspen, Colorado. Disick and his crew had been “party hopping” over New Year and didn’t realise that Hamilton was at the same party last week, reports pagesix.com.

A source shared that Hamilton was playing a billiards game when Disick saw him talking to Richie. “Sofia started talking to Lewis during the (pool) game. When Scott saw them talking, he went ballistic, crazy. He was very jealous. He insisted they leave the party immediately,” the source said.

Another source said: “Scott got frustrated that they ran into Lewis over the weekend, and that it was unexpected. He doesn’t like surprises and reacts aggressively in situations like that. This isn’t the first time that Scott has lost it for a minute.”

Four national-level weight-lifters were killed and two others, including a world champion, were seriously injured when the car that they were travelling met with an accident near the Delhi-Haryana border on Sunday, police said.

The accident took place at around 4 a.m., near Alipur village of Delhi, close to the Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana.

The victims were travelling on the Delhi-Panipat National Highway-1 in a Swift Dezire car.

While four weight-lifters were killed in the accident, Saksham Yadav, who won a gold medal in the 2017 weight-lifting championship for the country, was seriously injured along with another weightlifter, a police official said.

Yadav and the other injured weight-lifter were rushed to the Max Hospital in New Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh for treatment.

The car, according to the official, first hit a divider and then crashed into an electricity pole.

Due to severe impact, the car’s roof was blown away.

The official said that the driver was speeding despite dense fog in the area.

The weight-lifters were travelling from Panipat towards Delhi.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has decided that presidents of all state units will continue in their posts after its organisational polls unless a decision is taken to replace them, a party release said.

Gandhi, who was elected party chief last month at the culmination of organisational elections, took the decision among speculation that there could be changes at the top in states.

“Congress President Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that the presidents of all Pradesh Congress Committees, Regional Congress Committees and Territorial Congress Committees will continue in their posts after the organisational election also unless some decision is taken to replace them,” the release said.

In another decision, Gandhi gave approval for formation of several committees including election campaign panel in Chhattisgarh in view of assembly polls in the state next year.

State party chief Bhupesh Baghel will be assisted by Ram Dayal Uike and Shiv Kumar Dhahariya as working presidents.

Congress Legislature Party leader T. S. Singdeo will head the Election Manifesto Committee while Charandas Mahant will head Election Campaign Committee, Ravindra Choube will has been made chief of the Planning and Strategy Committee and Ramgopal Agrawal of the Election Publicity Committee.

The party also constituted disciplinary committee and communication department.

The appointments, made almost a year before the assembly polls, are geared at the party making an early start in its election preparations.

Congress has lost successive elections in Chhattisgarh.

South African veteran pacer Dale Steyn may not take further part in the ongoing first Test against India due to a left heel injury which might force him to miss the next two matches of the series.

Steyn landed awkwardly during his run-up in India’s first innings in the post-lunch session. According to espncricinfo, he may not bowl again in this Test.

The report also states that Steyn could be even out for 4-6 weeks, and possibly out of series.

Steyn, 34, had not played in a first-class match since suffering a fractured shoulder in a Test in Australia in November 2016.

Atletico Madrid on Saturday won 2-0 at home against Getafe in the 18th round of Spain’s La Liga, putting pressure on league leaders Barcelona.

Angel Correa opened the scoring for Atletico just 18 minutes into the match. Atletico forward Diego Costa found the back of the net in his return to La Liga, after having left English Premier League defending champions Chelsea, where he played from 2013 to 2017, reports Efe.

Costa scored the second goal for Atletico in the 68th minute, his first goal in La Liga this season.

However, he was sent off after being shown a second yellow card following his exuberant celebration of the goal with fans.

Following this win, Atletico hold the second position in La Liga with 39 points, six points behind Barcelona, who are set to host Levante on Sunday.

Atletico continue to chase Barcelona after their first victory in 2018, while Getafe, having suffered seventh defeat this season, remain in the eighth position with 23 points.