An Astrologer's Day

Class 11 New course

An Astrologer's Day 

by  R. k. Narayan 

An Astrologer’s Day

In an unnamed village, an astrologer laid his tool of trade, requirements for telling fortune of others. He had some cowries; shells obscure charts, a notebook and other such curios. They are the matter of the mysticism. He has painted his forehead with sacred ash (may be abeer) wrapped his head in a turban and seated under a big tree. He has set up himself in very busy market place among people fencing stolen goods, cheap food, and low quality fabric.  He makes his livelihood through making prophecies or selling cosmic insight to gullible villagers though he does not know cosmos or actual spiritual insight.

The astrologer always opened his business at midday. He used to sit under a tree on the Town Hall road. The road was crowded and he could allure his costumer. The groundnut vender also used to sit beside him. The gaslight of vender helped him to run his business in the evening. The astrologer used to analyze human nature and psychology.

He just made guesswork to satisfy his costumers. He left his village, as he did not want to continue the traditional occupation of his ancestor. He had never plan to return his native land.

One day the light of vendor blowout and astrologer started to pack up his stall. Then, he saw a man. The astrologer’s tongue watered, as he could be prospective customer. However, the man challenged his astrology. The man made a bet with him. He provided an anna to the astrologer and asked him to return with interest if he could not satisfy him. The astrologer denied and informed the man that he would take three pies for each question. He demanded five rupees for satisfactory answer. In negotiation, he agreed on eight anna. However, he would ask double if he did not get satisfied with his answer.

The astrologer happened to see the face and he denied the challenge/ and asked the man to let him go. But the man held him tightly. So, the astrologer accepted challenges unwillingly. He started using the same traditional pattern of  narrating astrology. But, the man informed him that he had only one question to be answered. The man asked him whether he would get the things that he was searching for. He promised to give him a rupee if he got satisfied with answer. Astrologer informed the man that he was stabbed and thrown into a well nearby to die.

The man informed him that a passerby saw and rescewed him. The man wanted to know about the culprit.

 

The astrologer informed man that culprit died four month ago in a far town. The man was disappointed hearing this. The astrologer even identified his name and addressed him as Guru Nayak. He also told the man that his house located in north side with two days journey. He warned him not to travel to south. He might get trouble if he stayed there. The man gave him handful coins. The astrologer went home.  The astrologer wife counted the money. She decided to buy jaggery and coconut for the children. However, astrologer looked worried and not happy. He was angry with Guru Nayak, who promised to give him  a rupee but he gave only twelve and half anna. After dinner he shared a secret of his life. He said a great burden of his life had gone away. He used to think that he had killed a man, Guru Nayak. In fact, he had a bad company with the man. He used to drink and gamble with him. 

Theme of Story

The story focuses on single day incident that has happened in the life an astrologer. The main theme of the story is to present darker side of human life with its hypocrisies, shrewdness, revengeful nature and selfishness.

The story presents hypocrisy of human. The narrator presents hypocrisy as he writes:

”… he had not in the least intended to be an astrologer when he began life; and he knew no more of what was going to happen to others than he knew what was going to happen to himself next minute.

It  presents astrologer as a hypocrite. He does not know about others’ idea. He can not have any idea about cosmos. However, he pretends he knows other’s fortune. He runs his business analyzing mankind’s trouble. The narrator further writes:

He had a working analysis of mankind’s troubles: marriage, money and the tangles of human ties. Long practice had sharpened his perception. Within five minutes he understood what was wrong.

The astrologer has done a job analyzing different situation of  humankind. He has used different triangular situation of life. He observes common problems that human face like marriage, money and marriage. There is no any cosmic understanding. He simply listens others problems. The story presents how wisdom plays role in living. The astrologer uses his common sense to tell the people about cosmos and make a living. The way he deceives Guru Nayak presents his wisdom to tackle the situation. In fact, it was a danger in the life of Guru Nayak. It was for astrologer but he managed to assure Guur Nayak, and keep him away from him.

 

 

Irony in the story

The story has irony. The greatest irony of the text is that a drunkard or ill mannered man has started his life as  an astrologer. The people visit him to know about cosmic idea. The ironic expression is that human pretend to be export of the things that they do not have even a single idea about. In the same line, GuruNayak asked the astrologer whether he would find the person who stabbed him. In fact, the astrologer was the person who stabbed him. The greatest irony is that we call other to be superstitious but we ourselves do the same. Guru Nayak, at first, suspects the astrologer. He presents astrologer as a fraud. Soon after, he relies on him.

Point of view:

It depicts the tension between darkness and light of the life. Though the plot of the story is brief, it presents the inner core of human psychology, where people are longing to know about future. It  has ironical point of view that presents reality of the society. It turns on a most important human weakness, the desire to know the future.