An Astrologer's Day || R.K. Narayan || Compulsory English Grade 11

 

7. An Astrologer’s Day

 

R.K. Narayan

v Rashipuram Krishnaswami Ayer Narayanswami, born in 1906 and died in 2001,

v Birth place- South India, Madras

v Indian writer who writes in English; short story and novel writer

v His most of works are set in fictional South Indian town of Malgudi,

v He highlights the social context and everyday life of South Indian people,

v Works:

o   Swami and Friends,

o   Bachelor of Arts

o   The English Teacher

 

The Story:

v An Astrologer’s Day is a thriller and suspense story that describes a day in the life of an Astrologer who makes bread and butter by selling cosmetic insights to gullible villagers though he has no knowledge of the cosmos or actual spiritual insight.

v This story deals with dark sides of human nature with its hypocrisies, shrewdness, revengeful nature, and selfishness,

v Setting: A south Indian town of Malgudi after midday

v Characters:

o   Astrologer and his wife

o   The Stranger, Guru Nanak

o   A vender of fried groundnuts

 

Before Reading:

a. Have you ever shown your palm to o fortune teller? Do you believe in fortune telling?

Ans:- Once I had show my palm to two fortune tellers at the same time, and they predicted two different things which were contradictory. And since then, I have not found any resemblances on what they said. So I don’t believe in fortune telling.

 

b. Why do you think people want to know their future?

Ans:- I think people want to know their future because we are curious to know what happens in our future life.

 

c. Look at this picture. Can you name each of the zodiac signs? What is you zodiac sign?

Ans:-

1. Pisces, 2. Aries, 3. Taurus, 4. Gemini, 5. Cancer, 6. Leo, 7. Virgo, 8. Libra, 9. Scorpio, 10. Sagittarius, 11. Capricorn, 12. Aquarius.

 

My zodiac sign is Capricorn

 

Exercises:

Understanding the text

 

Answer the following questions

a. How does the astrologer’s appearance help him attract customers? How does he help the customers satisfy their needs?

Ans:- Along with the professional equipments, the astrologer ‘s resplendent forehead with sacred ash and vermillion, his long beard and a saffron colored turban around his head, attracted the customers as if he has cosmic or spiritual insight of fortune telling. He satisfied the customers by telling their past and present troubles such as marriage, money and fortunes reading on the lines on their palms.

 

b. How do you characterize the astrologer’s attitude toward the stranger?

Ans:- By the time he is about to leave for  his home, the astrologer  sees the stranger standing before him, and senses him to be a possible client. He assumes the stranger like other gullible villagers who easily believes on his so-called cosmic insight.

 

c. What details does the astrologer give the stranger about his past?

Ans:- The astrologers said the stranger that he was Guru Nanak, and he had been left for dead into the well after being stabbed by someone and a passerby had saved his life.

 

d. Why does he advise the stranger to go home immediately?

Ans:- The astrologer advises the stranger to go home immediately because he foresees a great danger in his life if he travels to the south.

 

e. What is your reaction to the conversation between the astrologer and his wife?

Ans:- I am quite surprised to know after hearing the conversation between the astrologer and his wife that he is the very person who tried to kill Guru Nayak and how he became an astrologer. He has managed to survive by earning money by disguising his appearance as an astrologer and hiding his crime even to his wife.

 

Reference to the context

a. Suspense is the feeling of anticipation you may have as you read. In this story, what details contributed to your feelings of suspense and surprise? Explain.

Ans:- When we read the story “An Astrologer’s Day” in the beginning we fell that the is story is really about an astrologer having some cosmic insight. The professional materials and the physical appearance suggest us that he is a real palmist. The sense of suspense is aroused in the reader’s mind when they read the line, “This color scheme never failed.” Suspense is added when the writer discloses that palmistry is not his family business, and he is as much stranger to stars as his customers. The way the astrologer analyses people by listening the customers for 10 minutes is interesting. He is clever enough to tell present and past; once customers find him telling their present and past, easily believes on his future prediction. The incident the astrologer encounters with the stranger is quite interesting. He is the one who challenges about the knowledge of palmistry to the astrologer. There is a confrontation between the astrologer and the stranger. The stranger gives an open challenge to the astrologer. He becomes uncomfortable when he sees the face of the stranger and the astrologer says the correct past of the stranger which surprises both the readers and the astrologer. And later we are surprised that the astrologer is the same person who tried to kill the stranger many years ago.

 

b. Analyze the conflicts in “An Astrologer’s Day.” Explain how the conflicts are resolved and what they reveal about the characters involved in the story.

Ans:- In the middle of the story the conflict between the astrologer and the stranger arises. Astrologer assumes the stranger to be like other customers, but he turns out to be different because he doubts on astrologer’s profession. There is a conflict between them because the astrologer feels challenged. When the astrologer gets a glimpse of the stranger’s face, he quits the challenge. The stranger threatens to answer his question. When the astrologer tells his past, the stranger gets surprised and believes to be a real astrologer. The stranger is searching the person who tried to kill him to take revenge, but when he is told that the person was crushed under a lorry then the stranger leaves the place giving him some coins. Then the astrologer feels safe.

 

c. “All right. I will speak. But will you give me a rupee if what I say is convincing? Otherwise I will not open my mouth, and you may do what you like.”

 

i. Who is the speaker?

Ans:- The speaker is the astrologer.

 

ii. Who is he speaking to?

Ans:- He is speaking to the stranger (Guru Nayak).

 

iii. What does the expression ‘open my mouth’ mean?

Ans:- The expression ‘open my mouth’ means uttering the convincing words to the questions asked by the stranger.

 

d. Description helps readers visualize what is happening in a story. What details and techniques does the author use to describe the astrologer?

Ans:-  The descriptive language helps the reader to visualize context, incidents and characters. The story is written in descriptive way, and the dialogues in the story add a clear insight in the reader to understand the real nature of the characters. The astrologer, the central character, is depicted clearly disclosing his past life as well as present. In the past, he was a violent type of person, but now he is totally changed. He has changed his personality by his intelligence. He is a clever, progressive, determined and fearless character. He has been living a familial life keeping his wife and children happy by adopting fortune telling job however he has no cosmic insight. His shrewd mind and disguised personality help him to attract customers. In every profession there come challenges but we have to face such challenges. The incident of his encounter with Guru Nayak is an example of a challenge he faces in his profession. His intelligence, determination, courage, experiences, responsibility to his family makes him able to sort out such problems. If he is not such a clever and courageous person he could not survive and feed his family in a densely populated city by developing a new personality.

 

e. Irony is a contrast between appearance and reality. What is ironic about Guru Nayak’s meeting with the astrologer?

Ans:- This story is ironic as there is the difference between the reality and appearance from the beginning. People mistakenly believe the astrologer to be the actual astrologer for his disguised appearance and shrewd mind. The reality is that the astrologer is a common man, but in the eyes of the people, he is an astrologer with cosmic insight. He is a fake astrologer but to convince the customers he shows some professional materials, smears sacred ash and vermillion, keeps long beard, wears a saffron color turban around his head. Guru Nayak’s meeting with the astrologer is ironic in a sense that he is looking for a man who is in front of him. The person who stabbed the stranger in attempt to kill him is in front of him, he is none other than the astrologer. The astrologer recognizes him but he becomes able to veil the stranger saying that the person who the stranger is searching for has been crushed under a lorry.  The stranger trusts the astrologer and leaves the place by giving him some coins.

 

f. How does the astrologer’s manner of dress suit his personality?

Ans:- In the story “As Astrologer’s Day”, the unnamed astrologer is the protagonist. His actual name is not given in story to generalize the so-called astrologers who disguise themselves acting as if they have cosmic insight. To get trust of the customers and become a center of attraction, they change their complexion. They smear holy ash and vermilion on the body and forehead; wear yellow clothes, and saffron color turban around head. Our astrologer is also in same disguise with shrewd eyes. He is also a center of attraction because he can satisfy and convince his customers. So his manner of dress suits his personality.

 

Reference beyond the text

a. The astrologer attracts many customers in the street who are pleased and astonished by what he tells them. What does this tell you about the people of the town walking in the street?

Ans:- In the story, the astrologer does his business nearby Town Hall Park. A surging crowd always moves there. Lots of people do a variety of trades and occupations there. People sell medicine, stolen hardware and junk, clothes, foods and so on. Among them there is an astrologer who attracts many customers in the street to sell his cosmic insights. These people trust him and feel comfort on his fortune telling. This shows that most of the people are superstitious, believe in cosmic insight and palm reading. They are innocent and they believe on what they see in front of their eyes. Except one or two, they easily trust on astrologers.

 

b. Why do most people want to know their future? Do you think astrologers can really help them know their future?

Ans:- It is human nature, that people want to know what their destiny is. Rich and poor, educated and uneducated people believe in superstition and cosmic insight. People are entangled in different problem such as job, money; marriage etc. and they always want to get rid of such problems. This kind of fortune telling tradition has been in practice since time immoral. As the astrologer in the story, almost all astrologers are of same type except those who have studied astrology. They disguise their appearance and convince people pretending of having cosmic insight. Actually fake astrologers have knowledge of analyzing mankind’s troubles with sharpened perception. They listen to the history of people and on basis of that they predict their future.

 

c. Is astrology is a good practice of fortune telling or is it just a blind faith? Give reasons.

Ans:- Astrology is a form of fortune telling by reading palms of people. It is believed that the positions of heavenly bodies have either positive or negative influence on humankind. There is no scientific basis on such things. It is almost impossible to predict cent percent however positive readings make people optimistic. In the daily course of life, some prediction might be true, but this is nothing than coincidence. If this kind of act is possible, the science could already have developed fortune telling machine. If we go to the two different fortune tellers, there may be contradictions. If the future of any human could be read, all astrologers must predict same things but this is not the case. So I would like to say it is just a blind faith.