AN ASTROLOGER’S DAY
R.K. Narayan
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayan (1906-2001) was an Indian writer known for his works set in the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi. He was born in Madras, South India. He wrote many novels including Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher, along with short stories and other works. He was among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists who wrote in English. He highlighted the social context and everyday life of his characters.
Astrology is a form of fortune telling, originated in ancient Babylonia. It has been practised in many cultures, including ancient Rome, Greece, India, and China. 'An Astrologer's Day' is a thriller, suspense story describing a day in the life of an astrologer who makes his living by selling cosmic insights to innocent villagers, though he has no knowledge of the cosmos or actual spiritual insight. 
This story is about a day’s event in the life of an astrologer who earns his livelihood through selling his prophecies to the gullible villagers by his fake means. This story is a fine blend of suspense and surprises where the astrologer has become successful to get rid of his great burden of his life using his smart mind.
The story begins with a setting of the place and environment in which the astrologer (who is unnamed) meets his clients and does his work: Malgudi. He begins his work every day at midday in a public place under a large tree that is close to a public park in his town. The place chosen for his work is generally full of people who pass by or gather there, such as customers attracted by vendors of nuts, sweetmeats (confectionaries), and other snacks. It is a place poorly lighted in the evening, and because the astrologer has no light of his own, he must depend on what light comes from the flickering (unsteady) lamps kept by neighbouring vendors; a dully lighted, murky (dark/gloomy) place is best for his purpose. He is not an astrologer by profession but was led into it by circumstances that forced him to leave his village, where, if he had stayed, he would have settled down to a life of tilling (ploughing) the land.
He is a smart person who hardly had any knowledge of astrology. He just made a guess work when people approached him. He had to work hard to earn his wages. He was a mastermind at analysing human mind and psychology. He has a practical knowledge of the common problems of most people: “marriage, money, and the tangles of human ties.” His sharp eyes, used to scanning for customers, make people believe he has an unusual ability to tell people’s fortunes. His strong perception made him diagnose the exact problem of his customers. His customers would finally leave satisfied.
Punctually at midday he opened his bag and spread out his professional equipment, which consisted of a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure (vague) mystic charts on it, a notebook and a bundle of palmyra writing.
His forehead was magnificent with sacred ash and vermilion, and his eyes sparkled with a sharp abnormal gleam (glow) which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which his simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted. The power of his eyes was considerably enhanced by their position—placed as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks.
He sat under the boughs (branches) of a spreading tamarind tree which flanked (edged) a path running through the Town Hall Park.
Next to him in vociferousness came a vendor of fried groundnuts, who gave his ware a fancy name each day, calling it Bombay Ice-Cream one day, and on the next Delhi Almond, and on the third Raja’s Delicacy, and so on and so forth, and people flocked to him.
He had a working analysis of mankind’s troubles: marriage, money and the tangles (masses) of human ties. Long practice had sharpened his perception. Within five minutes he understood what was wrong. He charged three pies per question and never opened his mouth till the other had spoken for at least ten minutes, which provided him enough stuff for a dozen answers and advices.
An Astrologer’s Day opens as its title character arrives at his workplace, at midday, and as usual spreads his charts and other fortune-telling props before him, though no one comes seeking his aid for many hours. Later, with nightfall approaching, he closed his shop for the day when his neighbour, groundnut vendor blew out his light. On the day under description in the story, the groundnut vendor left and the astrologer was packing up his wares when he located a man standing before him. He perceived him to be his prospective customer. When the astrologer invited him, he posed a challenge before him and his astrological science. In the exchange of talk that follows, the astrologer carefully tries to spread the net of his craft around the client, and the client, Guru Nayak, responds with a challenge: The man gave him an anna and asked the astrologer to answer his questions and if he doesn't answer satisfactorily he will have to return the anna with interest. At the same time if the astrologer is able to answer the questions satisfactorily, he would give him eight annas. But if the astrologer fails, he would pay double amount i.e., sixteen annas to the man. Thus, the deal was finalized between them. The astrologer prayed to the heaven. Then suddenly the astrologer denied the challenge and requested the man to let him go. The man said that he will not let him give in. He holds him in his grip thereby making the astrologer shiver (shake). Finally, the astrologer realised that he is trapped and has no chance of moving out.
The astrologer tried distracting the man by telling about some woman but the man was not satisfied and stopped him. He had a single question that whether he would get what he was searching for. The man promised the astrologer that if he is satisfied with his answers, he would pay him a rupee. The astrologer prayed a few incantations before replying. The astrologer began with his prophecies by saying to the man that you were left for dead in the past and a knife has passed once on your chest. The man was excited at this information since he had really faced it. After he got wounded, he was thrown into a well nearby to die. A passer-by saw him and rescued him and that is how he was saved from dying. The man was waiting to revenge the culprit who had attacked him and was in search of the culprit who had tried to kill him. The only thing which the man wanted to know from the astrologer was if he can find his killer.
The astrologer instantly replied that the culprit had died four months ago in a far - off town. The man was disappointed to hear this. The astrologer identified the name of the man before him as Guru Nayak. He told the man that his village was a two days' journey to north and warned him to go back home and never to travel south again. He asked him to return to his hometown immediately as his life was in danger if he left his hometown again. The man replied that he left home just to search the culprit who had tried to kill him and was interested in knowing if he had died in a worst way. The astrologer satisfied him by informing that the culprit was crushed under a lorry. The man left after giving the astrologer a handful of coins. The astrologer too winded up his belongings and went home.
The astrologer's wife was waiting for him worriedly since he was unusually late that day. The astrologer flung the coins at his wife to count. They were twelve and a half annas in all. She was extremely happy to encounter that big amount. She planned to buy jaggery and coconut for their child, who was demanding for sweets from a long time. However, the astrologer looked worried and was not happy like his wife. He was angry at Guru Nayak as he had cheated him. He promised to give a rupee and actually gave only twelve and a half annas. After dinner, he shared the secret of his life with his wife. He said that a great burden of his life was gone that day. He always felt that he had killed Guru Nayak. So, the astrologer had run away from his native village due to the fear of being accused as a murderer. He settled in Malgudi and married and decided that he would never return back to his native village.
Actually, the man who tried to kill Guru Nayak was the astrologer himself. So, he was able to make accurate predictions about him though he hardly knew astrology. The astrologer confessed to his wife that in his youth he was into bad company with Guru Nayak. He drank, gambled and quarrelled badly one day and had a fight and had almost killed Guru Nayak.
This is how life with its unpredictable twists and turns had created an astrologer out of a vagabond (wanderer).
Sources:
Grade XI English (Text Book) - Curriculum Development Center, Sanothimi Bhaktapur
http://www.tmv.edu.in
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq48mag8Ln8
https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/astrologers-day-r-k-narayan-1947
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