An Astrologer's Day- R. K. Narayan

 Also read :-

- Look Back In Anger - John Osborne

- Saint Joan - George Bernard Shaw

- Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett

Introduction to the author and his story:-

R.  K. Narayan, born in Madras(1906) and educated at Mysore, is distinguished living Indian novelist and short story writer. he writes in English. He has attained popularity not only in India but in the whole English world for his sensitive observation of human life. Most of his stories deal with Indian life they are written in a simple and artless style. Though he has written full length novels like "The Bachelor of Arts", "Mr. Sampath Swami and Friends", " Waiting for Mahatma, "The Dark Room", "The financial expert" and the best known one "The Guide", yet he has won a place in modern literature as a short story writer.

           R. K. Narayan ranks with Raja Rao and Mulk Raj Anand, among the Best Indian novelist writing in English. His novels and short stories, usually set in the fictitious town of Malgudi, deal with the Indian way of life and the Indian character with great maturity and artistry.

           The stories of R. K. Narayan are chiefly plot stories there is not too much emphasis on incidents and characterisation, emphasis is on the presentation of accurate observation of day to day life. There is seldom any thing in his stories that ordinarily we have not known or experienced in life. He only recreates the atmosphere in simple prose style and heaping details upon details succeeds in creating a lively tale of human experience.

            R. K. Narayan is a conscious story writer. He pursues it with all the seriousness of an artist who is dedicated to the task of faithful presentation of Indian life and scene. His stories are free from all artificial and superfluous details. He appears to write with a set formula, working out the details of the story with painful efforts, which however do not undermine the naturalness of the homely narrative.

            He does not follow the western pattern of story writing, but bears close affinities with the American short story writer O Henry. His stories have tail and aim at surprise ending. He is a skillful narrarter of factual and human scene. His narration is direct, simple and pointed. 

Introduction

 "An Astrologer's Day" is one of the best known stories of R. K. Narayan. There is not much of a substantial plot but it has been skillfully presented. The story has a surprise ending which is cleverly concealed till the end. The quite humour and mild satire on the fake astrologer engross the reader to the extent that he believes it to be a ridicule of the way side hoax played upon the innocent men's credulous nature. The element of coincidence is artistically shown in the story and for a moment the doubt that it is the conscious effort to bring two men together does not are. Primarily for its Indian background the story appeals to us the most. It is a truthful account of the Indian market place and the wide variety of vendors who crowd the pavements. The story writer has sketched an astrologer who earns his living by reading the palms of customers. Like many in his profession be knew no more of what was going to happen to others then he knew what I was going to happen to himself. He was as much a stranger to the stars as were his innocent customers. However though he knew little about the subject he knew a great deal about human nature, so that he constantly astonishes. people through the exercises of his common sense. He never committed himself but elicited information from other before opening his lips. Therefore, he spoke in vague terms but much to please others e.g. "Most of your troubles are due to your nature. How can you be otherwise with Saturn where he is ?" All the same it was an honest man's labour and he deserves the wages he carried home at the end of a day.

                  The appearance of the astrologer and the cowrie shells and other paraphernalia along with the market scene is faithfully presented so as to form an effective background of the lively portrayal of the human weakness such as futile curiosity to know about future or find solutions to all the problems through an astrologer. 

Summery

 The Astrologer was a fake person who tried to deceive by pretending to be what he was not. Virtually, he was a young man from a far off village where he had picked a quarrel with another young man named Guru Nayak. He attacked Guru Nayak fatally and thinking him to be a dead he threw his body in to a dry well nearby and left his village to avoid detection by the police.

        The fake astrologer went very far off in the south and adopted this fake name and profession of an astrologer. He would sit punctually at a place to attract customers. He would open his bag and spread out his things which consisted of a number of cowrie shells, square piece of cloth with a mysterious chart on it, a notebook and writings on the leaves of Palmyra tree. His forehead was covered with sacred ash and bright red coloured powder. There was a sharp unusual gleam in his eyes which was the result of his continuously looking for customers, but which the customers took for his prophetic enlightened genius. His dark whiskers streamed down his cheeks. He wore a saffron colour turban around his head.

      The astrologer sat under a tree by the side of a path running through the town park. It was an important place from the business point of view. People were moving up and down from morning till night. Some of the shopkeepers shouted at the top of their voice to attract the customers. Throughout the day there was a great noise around this place. The place, at night, was lit up shop lights only as there was no municipal lighting there. One or two shops had gas lights also.

      The astrologer was a quack he had no knowledge of astrology. He had made astrology as a profession so that by cheating innocent orgulous persons he might make some money for sustenance and bare necessaries of life. Virtually he never intended to be an astrologer. He was simply to hide his identity under a false cover that he had to pretend to be an astrologer to tell others future when he did not know his own. The police might detect him any time and send him behind the bars. However, he was going all right with that way of living. 

     The astrologer was very shrewd, however, and he said things that pleased and astonished everybody. He had a working analysis of man's troubles marriage of a daughter, seeking of employment profit in business or any other undertaking and so on. Long practice had sharpened his perception and within a few minutes he understood what was wrong with a customer and what should his foretelling be to please the customer and extract money from him or her.

    One great incident made his life and removed all his fears of being caught. The young man, Guru Nayak whom he had fatally struck and dropped into dry well, was still alive. He somehow, managed to come to the place where the astrologer, his assailant, used to sit. It was a sheer chance. Seeing a so called astrologer predicting fates of others, he was tempted to be fore told his own future. So he (Guru Nayak) went near the astrologer and sat in front of him to be told about his story by a person who had once almost killed him and whom he had been searching for years to take a revenge on. But he had not the slightest inkling of the astrologer being his sworn enemy. The astrologer, too, at first knew nothing about the new customer till, all of a sudden in the matchlight of a cheroot he caught the glimpse of the customer's face and knowing that it was Guru Nayak, his sworn enemy, he trembled from head to foot. He, however, did not loose his presence of mind began to answer the question pored by the new customer, Guru Nayak, against a fee of eight annas only.

       He told Guru Nayak, his old enemy, that he would speak only when the latter agreed to pay him one Rupee. The customer consented Then the astrologer said that a knife passed through him once and then he was pushed into a well nearby and had been left for dead. It was a passerby who pulled him out of the well. the new Guru Nayak, was simply filled with surprise as all this was true. The astrologer further told the new customer that he would never catch enemy who was no more in this world Lastly. The astrologer advised his client that it would be better for him if he took the next train and was gone because, once again there was a danger to his life. Thus, the astrologer got rid of his sworn enemy. The astrologer then put his articles into his beg and started for home. It was mid night when he reached home .His wife was waiting for him at the door. He told her that a great load was off his heart .He told her the whole story and his wife was happy that her husband was safe.

 Meanings of difficult words:-

1. Astrologer   -  one who predicts future from charts of planets

2. Professional Equipment    -     the usual things carried by a professional astrologer

3. Obscure  -   dark, mysterious 

4. resplendent  -   shining brightly 

5. vermilion  -  brilliant, red powder

6. sparkled  -  shone brightly

7. abnormal   -  unusual 

8. gleam   -   transient light

9. client  -   customers

10. prophetic look    -    looking as a prophet does

11. felt comforted   -   were greatly satisfied

12. enhanced    -   increased

13. considerably   -   greatly

14. whiskers   -    hair on the checks